25th March 2025
Conrad Persons on balancing jeopardy, intuition and evidence
Episode 24
Conrad Persons
President, Grey London
From President to Presidency, Conrad shares his journey – from chasing Barack Obama around Virginia, to taking the reins at Grey London.
He describes the importance of balancing intuition with evidence – an essential skill when balancing change with heritage at Grey over the last 12 months.
We dive into value propositions and what makes them succeed, particularly how they become insular and indulgent if they lack jeopardy or anything meaningful for clients to buy into.
Conrad also explores the stagnation of the agency business model, strongly advocating for a change in how agencies show-up for clients; to better assert value by redefining what it is we mean when we talk about creativity.
HIGHLIGHTS:
[02:09] Chasing Barack Obama around rural Virginia
[07:06] How to make make better decisions
[11:50] Why vision really matters
[15:17] Acting on hunches
[20:32] What ‘Famously Effective’ really means for Grey
[25:14] Making agency propositions feel real
[27:39] The problem with agency pricing
[29:13] AI and demonstrating value
[33:06] The impact of creativity on business
Previous episodes
Every moment is a chance
Episode 25
Nils Leonard
Co-Founder, Uncommon Creative Studio
Nurturing creative cultures
Episode 23
Toby Southgate
Global CEO, We Are Social
Breaking the burnout cycle
Episode 22
Bianca Best
Global Growth Officer, Performics
How audacious ideas get made
Episode 21
Trevor Guthrie
Co-founder, Giant Spoon
The quest for agency simplification
Episode 20
Ruud Wanck
CEO, Candid
From phoney to fearless: building an agency ‘for the culture’
Episode 19
Omid Farhang
Founder & CEO, Majority
Honest leadership in times of change
Episode 18
Josh Krichefski
CEO, GroupM EMEA
The risks of malicious obedience
Episode 17
Greg Hahn
Co-founder, Mischief
Why creativity relies on diversity
Episode 16
Jo Wallace
Global ECD, Jellyfish
The business case for differentiation
Episode 15
Anthony Freedman
CEO, Common Interest
When change becomes transformation
Episode 14
Neil Perkin
Founder, Only Dead Fish
How to maintain entrepreneurialism at scale
Episode 13
Tim Ringel
CEO, Meet The People
How AI is changing the agency business model
Episode 12
Chris Johnson
CEO, TomorrowToday
The secrets of successful client relationships
Episode 11
Alex Lubar
Global CEO, DDB
The recipe for agency swagger
Episode 10
Natalie Graeme
Founder, Uncommon Creative Studio
Building careers in a changing world
Episode 9
Sue Unerman
Chief Transformation Officer, EssenceMediacomX
The profound impact of being yourself
Episode 8
Harjot Singh
Global Chief Strategy Officer, McCann & McCann Worldgroup
How to create healthy growth
Episode 7
Katie Lee
Chief Operating Officer, Wavemaker
A global perspective on creativity and innovation
Episode 6
Ruth Mortimer
Global President, Advertising Week
Fighting for diversity is not enough
Episode 5
Rob Campbell
Chief Strategy Officer, Colenso BBDO
Meeting the needs of modern clients
Episode 4
David Meikle
Founder, The HTBAG Company
A new game plan for agencies
Episode 3
Michael Farmer
Chairman and CEO, Michael Farmer and Co.
How agency CEOs can compete with talent's need for freedom
Episode 2
Faris Yakob
Co-Founder, Genius Steals
Where does innovation really come from?
Episode 1
Rory Sutherland
Vice Chairman, Ogilvy UK
Stay in
the know
Subscribe to Breaking Bland – our regular digest of recent podcast episodes, articles and Marketing Week columns.
"*" indicates required fields
Our regular newsletter helps your agency stand out and grow faster. Packed with new thought pieces and our latest podcast episodes.