Digital Agencies, Part II: How Three Successful Agencies Made It Work

In this second episode of a three-part series, Gordon & Corey ruminate on a few spectacular agency failures from the past but shift focus quickly to success stories. Featured in this episode are interviews with Steven Goldstein from Hubbard Radio's 2060 Digital, Kyle Wirick from Adams Publishing Group's The High Road Agency, and Jason Holmes, who cultivated his own firm, Thrive Fuel, from the ashes of a burned-out agency once run by a newspaper.

Digital Agencies, Part I: Were Media-Borne Agencies a Bad Idea?

Digital agencies are all the rage, but not all survive. In this episode, Gordon & Corey embark on the first of a three-part series exploring the phenomenon. Episode 48 interviews three executives from newspaper and TV companies whose agencies failed. They include Mark Poss from Big Fish Works in Red Wing, Minnesota; Chris Edwards from Fusion Farm in Cedar Rapids; and Dan Easton from Advocate Digital Media in Victoria, Texas. They all succeeded initially. But everything unraveled after each made a critical decision.

Episode 47: release date May 10, 2021

Dealing in Distractions: Strangling Time Bandits, Staying Focused, & Finding Value in Clarity

You'll want to silence your phone for this episode (unless, of course, you're listening on your smartphone). Corey and Gordon explore the phenomenon of distractions and what opportunities they hold for the advertising and marketing world. The podcast features an interview with award-winning journalist Maggie Jackson, author of "Distracted: Reclaiming Our Focus in a World of Lost Attention."

Episode 46: release date April 26, 2021

Hitting REORG on Digital: A Big Shift for the Nation's Largest Local TV Company

Nexstar Media Group owns one of the nation's largest local digital operations, with 122 local websites, 316 mobile apps and more than $200 million in digital revenue last year. But it underwent a major reorganization in late 2020, shutting down its separate digital venture and jettisoning unprofitable products. So, where's the company headed in 2021? This episode features an interview with Karen Brophy, a former Hearst newspaper executive who was tapped recently as president of Nexstar's digital division.

Episode 45: release date April 12, 2021

Are Digital Services Worth the Trouble?

Sure, everybody is buying SEM and SEO and needs help managing their Facebook pages. But local businesses are pretty much handling that on their own. So why try to get all up in their stuff and take it over? This episode examines the profitability of handling digital services for SMBs, and checks in with sales expert Adam Burnham from AffinityX, who hasn't always been in sync with the opinion of at least one co-host.

Episode 44: release date March 29, 2021

Yoga in Alabama, MLB on YouTube, Squishmallows, and, oh yeah, Record Retail Sales

While a lot of people were hand-wringing their way through 2020, the world changed in big and little ways. Corey and Gordon talk about one of the most unnoticed shifts -- what happened to one of the biggest drivers of advertising, U.S. Retail Sales.

Episode 43: release date March 16, 2021

Brace Yourself: 2021's Latest Local Ad Forecast Has Some Twists

With the dust settled, a clearer picture of 2021 is emerging. Corey lays out his forecast for local advertising and notes a major shift in businesses from "retention" mode to acquiring new customers this year. Will that strengthen mass media like TV and newspapers?

Episode 42: release date March 2, 2021

Why Streaming Video Is So Hot for Local Businesses

Fire up your favorite note-taking software before you listen to this episode. Corey & Gordon throw out a lot of statistics as they take the pulse of the 45% of businesses that are buying streaming-video advertising. They discover a smoking gun in one set of stats that points directly to one type of ad-buyer that seems most attracted to video marketing.

Episode 41: release date February 16, 2021

Can 'Radio' Survive the Future? We Worry, But RAB's Erica Farber Sees Metamorphosis

Radio officially turned 100 last year, but can it survive the next 10? Corey & Gordon explore radio's challenges but discover something remarkable: It's morphing and beginning to distance itself ever so slightly from the word "radio." The episode features an interview with Radio Advertising Bureau CEO and President Erica Farber, who offers a broader view (think "audio") of an industry that's actually growing.

Episode 40: release date February 2, 2021

Prepping for the 2021 Advertising Springboard, and the Future of Events, According to Peter Newton

Corey and Gordon explore a fascinating survey revealing exactly when local marketers expect a return to normalcy. It's an important inflection point that's likely to unleash a tightly coiled ad budgets, the hosts believe. This episode also features an interview with Evvnt Chairman Peter Newton, who discusses how the events business may be forever transformed by the pandemic.

Episode 39: release date January 19, 2021

Local Media's Big Pivot

Faced with an advertising crisis, many local media companies pivoted in a new direction that may foretell their future. In this episode, Corey & Gordon take a look at how one trade association blazed a very different path for broadcast and print media in 2020 that has them working together and finding support from communities they serve. It features an interview with Nancy Lane, a former publisher and now CEO of the Local Media Association.

Episode 38: release date January 5, 2021

Whither Local TV?

As more viewers turn to on-demand programming and advertisers shift dollars to targeted media, how much trouble are local broadcasters really in? Corey & Gordon discuss the headwinds and advantages local TV faces. The podcast features an interview with Emily Barr, 2020's Broadcaster of the Year and Graham Media's CEO, who offers her thoughts on what TV needs to do to survive.

Episode 37: release date Dec 22, 2020

Good Riddance 2020! Reflections on Our Bizarre Year

In this last episode of the season, Corey & Gordon assemble a few colleagues around the hearth for a healthy look back at 2020. They recall how the year started with a standing-room-only Local Advertising Conference in Miami, then morphed quickly into panic, lockdowns, and a lot of pivoting. The episode even includes a holiday song that's, well, as chaotic and off-tune as the year.

Episode 36: release date Dec 8, 2020

What Would Bezos Do? Don Graham Reflects on Lessons from Selling The Washington Post

What's the fate of local newspapers? Do local TV stations face the same issues headed into the new year? Our penultimate podcast of 2020 features an interview with Donald Graham, chairman of Graham Holdings and former publisher of The Washington Post. Graham reflects on what led to the decision to sell the paper in 2013 after eight decades of family ownership, and what lessons today's print and broadcast media might learn from Bezos' handling of The Post.

Episode 35: release date Nov 24, 2020

Stunning News, Staggering Facts, and Bombshells from a New Poll of Local Ad Buyers

The nation's largest survey of local advertisers is in, and hosts Gordon & Corey are all agog over the key findings. Episode 35 also features what the hosts claim will be the soundtrack for the first quarter of 2021. Listen closely!

Episode 34: release date Nov 9, 2020

Jim Doyle Looks Back: Getting Thrown Out of His First Sales Call, Losing $1 million, and Lessons from Kodak

After five decades in the media business and three as one of the industry's most popular sales trainers, Jim Doyle is easing into retirement. Consider this podcast a sort of "exit interview" with the guy who knows advertising sales inside and out. He discusses what's changed about the business since his first days as a sales rep, what hasn't changed, and the "magic wand" he'd like to wave to fix the media-sales process.
Read Episode 34 Transcript Here

Episode 33: release date Oct. 27, 2020

Feeding the Monster: How Content Marketing Fuels Growing 'Owned' Media Demand

Gordon & Corey discuss new research pegging the burgeoning Content Marketing industry at a whopping $63 billion. As more businesses develop their own channels, they're finding a growing need to feed the "news" monster. Julia Campbell, GM of The Branded Content Project, join the hosts for a lively discussion on where it's all headed.

Episode 32: release date Oct. 12, 2020

Ad Agencies' COVID Remix: Big Love for OTT & Social Media

Corey dives into a recent survey of 225 local ad agencies and finds that their deepening love affair with OTT is being financed by their tried and true longtime lover -- broadcast TV. The podcast has Gordon & Corey poring through key findings, including how agencies feel the pandemic has changed the effectiveness of certain types of media.

Episode 31: release date Sept. 29, 2020

She's Baaaack... 'Smartypants' Weighs In On Media's Outrageous Claims

Corey & Gordon bring back their most popular guest, a local ad buyer who isn't afraid to be blunt about what works and what doesn't. This no-holes-barred episode has the hosts listing some of the ....uh... more interesting audience claims made by different types of media, and has their guest reacting. Brace yourself before you hit play. "Smartypants" hasn't mellowed a bit since her 2019 appearance.

Episode 30: release date Sept. 15, 2020

The Rise of Content Marketing, & Breathing New Life Into Obituaries

Fresh off a project to size the U.S. Content Marketing business, Corey talks about how COVID-19 has buoyed the need for many businesses to tell their stories via "sponsored content" methods. This podcast also features an interview with Brian Gorman, founder of iPublish, which was recently acquired by Legacy.com. Gorman says the company is now processing 600,000 obituaries a year and is discovering new ways develop a business around these content-rich capsules of information.

Episode 29: release date Sept. 1, 2020

Taylor Swift, Eminem, & SMBs: Vevo's Plan to Partner With Local Media

Vevo has slipped into the role once occupied by MTV, serving up 26 billion music-video views per month. Gordon & Corey discuss Vevo's plan to tap media sales forces to sell commercial spots. Will Gittchee Goomee Tattoo in Duluth buy an ad in Post Malone's Latest Video? This episode features an interview with Nick Simonetti, who heads up Local Ad Sales at Vevo.

Episode 28: release date August 18, 2020

How Out-of-Home Is Morphing Into a Powerful 'Broadcast' Medium

Gordon & Corey turn a critical eye toward out-of-home advertising, the only "traditional" form of media that's been wholly unaffected by Google, Facebook, and other digital media. This episode features an interview with Anna Bager, the new CEO of the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of America. She sees OOH as a viable competitor for video advertising that has a very bright future in taxis, airports, elevators, gas pumps, and lobbies.

Episode 27: release date August 11, 2020

Why SMBs Ain't Buyin' Big-Brands' Facebook Boycott, and a Promising 'Local' Ecommerce Strategy in Pittsburgh

Are SMBs' buying into the big-brand brouhaha over Facebook? Has COVID-19 altered their love affair with social media? Gordon & Corey pore over new research that draws out some raw responses from local marketers on the whole situation. This episode also features an interview with Joe Lawrence, CEO of a Pittsburgh-based tech company called MeSearch that's taking an innovative approach to ecommerce.

Episode 26: release date July 21, 2020

With Circulars at a Tipping Point, How Will Newspapers Support Local Journalism?

Episode 26 features an interview with Dean Ridings, the president and CEO of the newspaper industry’s largest trade association, America’s Newspapers. With classified ad revenue all but vanished and print circulars at a “tipping point,” Ridings talks about how the industry will generate enough funds to sustain it’s biggest competitive advantage: well-staff newsrooms. Gordon & Corey offer their insights and take a swipe at those who think advertisers will abandon social media and “come back” to tried-and-true print and broadcast media.

Episode 25: release date July 7, 2020

As Ad Market Recovers, OTT and Political Hold the Most Hope for 2020

Kicking off Season 3, Gordon & Corey place OTT and political advertising and OTT front and center. Borrell's latest Business Barometer is looking good, but prospects look best for OTT or streaming video sales. This episode features an interview with Mark Lieberman, president & CEO of Viamedia, the nation's largest independent seller of local TV advertising solutions, who discusses a "perfect storm" that's coming in August as political advertising comes raging back.

Episode 24: release date June 23, 2020

51 Webinars, 12,000 Ad Buyers, 2 Big Ahas

While Corey has gone dark to generate new forecasts for 2020, Jim Brown steps in as guest co-host. Gordon & Jim discuss what they learned from interacting with thousands of local businesses during 51 "crisis marketing" webinars they conducted since late March. Jim also offers insights on a few markets where ad sales will rebound much slower, and what's driving the difference.

Episode 23: release date June 9, 2020

Corey's Crystal Ball on 2020 Advertising, & Why SMBs Are Rushing to 'Shopify' Themselves

Corey takes a break from numbers crunching to talk about where he thinks local advertising will wind up in 2020. (Spoiler alert!) Newspapers and radio are in for the biggest shock, and some markets will fare far better than others. This episode features an interview with Shopify's Ian Black, who describes a big uptick in smaller, local businesses rushing to the company's ecommerce solution during the COVID-19 crisis.

Episode 22: release date May 26, 2020

Media's 'Survival of the Fittest' Scenario Comes True -- And Why TV Is Immune

Even before the pandemic, local media companies were going dark at a rate of 6 per week. Gordon & Corey discuss how things have accelerated as scores of print and broadcast companies have gone belly-up in the past two months. The only one in a comfortable position is broadcast TV. The podcast features an interview with TEGNA President & CEO Dave Lougee, who describes how TV's transformation since the last big economic downturn a decade ago has put the industry in an insulated and enviable position.

Episode 21: release date May 12, 2020

Sappy Messaging and Warning Signs: COVID-19's Effect on Marketingp> (Cue the maudlin piano music) In these unprecedented times, Gordon & Corey are here for you. That's why they've teamed up with Fruity Pebbles.... Episode 21 takes a look at how marketers are struggling to remain in sync with consumers who seem to be suffering media overload. The podcast also identifies marketing decisions that equate to warning signs that a business might not make it through the crisis.

Episode 20: release date April 27, 2020

A Grand Reopening or Bland Reopening for Local Businesses?

Fresh off a late-April survey of local businesses, Gordon & Corey debate what's in store as they plan to hit re-start on advertising budgets. With a 10-point shift in the percentage of local businesses planning to resume or increase ad spending since late March, is a Grand Reopening imminent?