Episode 34 - Allen Adamson

Today’s guest is the renowned author, branding expert and industry commentator Allen Adamson – co-founder of Metaforce, adjunct professor at NYU Stern School of Business, and former leader at Ogilvy and Landor.

Reflecting his brand strategy lens, Allen explores a crucial yet often overlooked question: if every agency claims to be different, why do so many feel exactly the same?

Referencing powerful lessons from his storied agency career, he unpacks the importance of tangible points of difference in how clients experience agencies, including the value of the right behaviors and culture.

We also cover why doing fewer things well beats doing everything adequately, how to avoid the trap of constant firefighting and what it really takes to scale excellence.

HIGHLIGHTS:

[03:14] Everyone’s a brand expert now

[05:13] What ‘brand’ really means

[06:07] Selling services isn’t brand building

[10:31] Customer Experience as a competitive advantage

[13:58] Mapping the moments that matter

[17:57] Desperation kills innovation

[24:07] Anticipate what clients don’t ask for

[27:30] Scale means nothing without culture

Previous episodes

Comedy’s greatest ad agency

Episode 50

Haley Hunter

Co-founder, Party Land

Building modern legends

Episode 49

Jaime Robinson & Lisa Clunie

Co-founders, JOAN

The AI-enabled creative renaissance

Episode 48

Andrew Swinand

CEO, Inspired Thinking Group (ITG)

A balanced take on indies vs HoldCo.s

Episode 47

John Harris

President & CEO, Worldwide Partners Inc.

Bringing contagious positivity

Episode 46

Karen Martin

CEO, BBH London & Dublin

Evolving the business of creativity

Episode 45

Guy Wieynk

Global CEO, AnalogFolk Group

Scaling culture at pace

Episode 44

Dimi Albers

CEO, Dept

Retaining the soul of creativity

Episode 43

Mark Figliulo

Founder, FIG

The power of ownership

Episode 42

Rania Robinson

CEO, Quiet Storm

Pioneering a new agency model

Episode 41

Luke Smith

CEO, Croud

The alchemy of modern media agencies

Episode 40

Richard Morris

CEO, UK and EMEA, IPG Mediabrands

Standing up for the next generation

Episode 39

Tesa Aragones

CEO, The Americas, AKQA

The hidden goldmine of B2B

Episode 38

Valerie Beauchamp

VP Global Head of Agency Development and Marketer Education, LinkedIn

Reinventing your passion

Episode 37

Armando Turco

President, Mojo Supermarket

Building a Market of One

Episode 36

Laurence Green

Director of Effectiveness, IPA

Coaching for commercial growth

Episode 35

Maureen Falvey

Lead Coach & Trainer, Strong Training & Coaching

Leading the next phase of digital

Episode 33

Michael Olaye

EVP, Huge

AI and the pursuit of happiness

Episode 32

Matt McNeany

President, WPP Open

Knowing the people behind the creds

Episode 31

Lisa Colantuono

President, AAR Partners

Creativity as a process

Episode 30

Eric Zuncic

Global MD & CPO, Forsman & Bodenfors

A human-first future for agencies

Episode 29

Holly Maguire

Global Chief Growth Officer, Design Bridge & Partners

Leading with culture

Episode 28

Michael Lebowitz

Founder & Executive Chairman, SPCSHP

A unique perspective on agencies

Episode 27

Marla Kaplowitz

CEO, 4A's

Challenging the global market

Episode 26

James Townsend

CEO, Stagwell EMEA

Differentiating your client experience

CONTACT US

OUR WORK

USEFUL LINKS

Subscribe to Believe in Better