Kevin Wassong on How AI Is Reshaping Creative & Media—and What Marketers Are Getting Wrong
The mktg.ai CEO on why brands are drowning in content and what AI can (and can’t) fix
Agency Business is brought to you by Brian Wieser’s Madison and Wall, in collaboration with Olivia Morley's FusionFront Media.
Good evening and welcome to Agency Business for the week of February 17, 2025. Episode 9 is available now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you listen.
This week, mktg.ai CEO Kevin Wassong joins Agency Business to explain why AI-powered creative optimization is changing the marketing landscape—and why many brands are using it wrong.
Kevin breaks down how AI is accelerating content production, why most marketers have little control over their own creative assets, and what it takes to turn endless content into actual business results. He also shares his perspective on the long-standing disconnect between media and creative, why agencies are at a breaking point, and what needs to change.
The group also analyzes the latest agency holding company earnings, what’s behind the struggles of major creative shops, and whether consolidation is helping or hurting the industry.
Agency Business is sponsored by FirmDecisions, part of Ebiquity plc—the world's largest marketing contract compliance specialist, dedicated to enhancing commercial transparency in client-agency relationships.
News of the Week: Discussed in Episode 9
Our Takes
MW: Dentsu is continuing to struggle, especially as they have centralized the company’s leadership in Japan. It seems like their problems are structural but there’s no clear answer for how the company expects to rebuild and return to the growth it now forecasts in 2027.
FFM: It seemed like there were brighter days ahead for Dentsu Creative after the group won the Adobe pitch last fall. But Americas revenue, which accounts for 30% of the group’s total, was down -4.1% for the 2024 fiscal year as internal leadership shakeups continue.
In the last ~month, Dentsu Americas CEO Michael Komasinski left to lead ad tech firm Criteo and Jeff Greenspoon was promoted to Dentsu’s first standalone chief global client officer.
Our Takes
MW: Putting aside whether current period results matter much ahead of the sale of the company to Omnicom, IPG’s issues don’t seem quite as bad as Dentsu’s. There are issues in terms of how they “go-to-market” that will probably be improved with any restructuring and further improved post-acquisition, but it really is a handful of big client losses behind the current weakness
FFM: I agree. Restructuring is clearly the priority right now, and that involves so much. IPG’s Q4 investor presentation hit on technology integration spanning Omni, Interact, Acxiom, and Flywheel. Bringing these tools together will inevitably be complex and costly, and I wonder what this tech system look like when it’s complete.
Interpublic in new negotiations to sell R/GA to Truelink Capital
Our Takes
MW: Although the sale of R/GA isn’t news, it’s still a good reminder that it’s unfortunate big agency groups had a hard time building out these digital specialists who went way beyond “simple” creative and media. I’m thinking of the issues WPP had and still has with AKQA, too. But hopefully the business will go to a better home where there will be more investment placed into it in order to support a new iteration of the agency.
FFM: R/GA has been in murky waters for a long time. I recall when the shop won Mattress Firm in 2022, only for the brand to pull out of that relationship suddenly, just a few weeks after the partnership went public. In 2023, R/GA laid off more than 100 employees, and things never really got better. Now it’s becoming a private equity investment, and only time will tell what’s next.
The Trade Desk reported 4Q24 growth of 22%—a pace well below prior company guidance.
MW: There was much in the way of self-flagellation from the company for failing to meet its own goals during its earnings call, but I suspect that the bigger issue is market saturation. Moreover—and this is the agency connection—I think at least some of The Trade Desk’s weakness is impacted by a shift away from a focus on agencies, who it has historically depended on to drive demand, and towards marketers directly. It’s provided an opening for competitors including Yahoo to build up their own DSP business.
FFM: Much in the way of self-flagellation is right, though I was heartened by CEO Jeff Green’s LI post acknowledging the miss—the first one in 33 quarters! We can’t forget revenue fell short of expectations, but still grew 22% YoY. As you note, the underperformance could be due to a more competitive landscape.
Notable Guests from Past Episodes
Samir Balwani, founder and CEO of independent media agency QRY.
Chrissie Hanson, CEO of OMD USA.
Ruben Schreurs, CEO of Ebiquity.
Kamran Asghar, CEO and co-founder of independent media agency Crossmedia USA.
Joanne Davis, founder of Joanne Davis Consulting.
Josh Lane and Matt Ferebee, founders of indie agency FerebeeLane.
Jay Pattisall, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research.
Paul Woolmington, CEO of Canvas Worldwide.