The business case for differentiation

Just over a year ago, Common Interest burst onto the scene with the acquisition of former Coke and Airbnb CMO Jonathan Mildenhall’s fabled branding agency, TwentyFirstCenturyBrand. It was one hell of an entrance into the global agency space.

Today’s guest is Anthony Freedman, Common Interest’s CEO and Founder. Together we unpack how he’s building a new kind of holding company. 

Of course, we’ve all heard ‘new kind of…’ rhetoric before, but Anthony is unusually clear on how he’s looking to do it – in this case, to accelerate brand and business growth through creativity in popular culture. Check out his response when I challenged him on his ‘brands in culture’ proposition. He’s definitely serious about being different. 

There are so many learnings on offer here. From why specialisation matters and how risk aversion hampers innovation at scale, to unhelpful agency conditioning and how to avoid like-for-like comparison with your competitive set. 

For Anthony, being different is a commercial imperative. So if you want your own agency to create lasting standout, then you’re going to love this episode. 

HIGHLIGHTS: 

[02:32] What makes Common Interest different.

[05:48] Why CMOs struggle with cultural relevance.

[08:48] Redefining the concept of holding companies.

[13:05] A new model for cultural relevance.

[19:56] The distinction between agency positionings and value propositions.

[21:33] Why so few agencies are genuinely different.

[25:05] Avoiding the race to the bottom.

[29:01] His inspiration to be different. 

[36:30] Being right for some clients and wrong for others.

[38:20] The power of being the only choice for your target audience.