Creative Agency Account Manager Podcast

Welcome to Episode 174. This episode is particularly useful if you're wondering how your clients are really adopting AI, and what that means for the future value of agencies.

I'm chatting with Zaynab Zubair, a digital change and adoption specialist with more than 12 years' experience helping large organisations turn new technology into genuine business value. Her career has taken her from communications and large-scale digital workplace transformation (including supporting the rollout of Office 365 across 14 countries and 60,000 employees) through to EY, where she worked in Digital People Experience and helped organisations rethink the future of work. More recently, her focus has moved increasingly towards AI transformation: helping senior leaders understand not just what AI can do, but how to drive adoption, change behaviours and ultimately demonstrate measurable value from it. Today, as an independent contractor, she works directly with large enterprise clients on digital change management and adoption. These are the kinds of organisations many agencies have as clients, so I wanted to find out what your clients are being told about AI transformation, and what that means for your agency.

We cover:
- why clients are increasingly doing more execution in-house
- why agencies need to move from being doers to more consultative partners
- what senior leaders are really concerned about when it comes to AI
- why stakeholder management and human judgement are becoming even more valuable
- and how agencies can use AI to strengthen their proposals and stand out.

What really stood out to me during our chat was Zaynab's advice to stress-test your own proposals with AI before you send them.
Your client may well be doing exactly the same thing at their end.

You can connect with Zaynab Zubair here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zaynabzubair/

Sign up for my newsletter to stay updated on how AI is changing agency account management, client retention and growth: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 173. This episode will be genuinely useful if you're an agency owner thinking about how you'll eventually sell your business, or wondering whether AI is actually giving your agency an edge or just helping you do things faster.

I'm chatting with Dominic (Dom) Marchant, Co-founder of Run Riot and Riot Studios - Running apparel x Hybrid intelligence agency. As a creative, Dom has sat on the jury of several of the world's biggest advertising/creative competitions (including Cannes Lions Health, Head Judge at PM Awards) and continues to be active in judging creative work. He's also won a few gongs in his time, including Cannes Lions, Creative Floor Awards, PM Awards, PMi Awards, and many others. He was Chair of the PM Society for three years and continues to run Creativity for Good. Currently, he is Creative Lead and founder of Riot Studios with his long-term business partner, Olly Childs. As an entrepreneur, he has built and sold three agencies including DJM, Plastic, and ARK. He continues to invest in companies where he has interest and passion and manages a portfolio of startups and more mature opportunities. As a runner, he co-founded Run Riot - a running apparel brand - and, in his own words, is a very average but passionate runner.

We cover:
- what he's learned from building and selling three agencies
- why differentiation matters
- how he shared the proceeds of one sale with employees
- and why agencies should use AI to create better work, not just quicker work.

What really stood out to me during our chat was his point that if you're building your business purely to sell it, you've probably got it wrong.
Build the best business you can, and the rest follows.

You can connect with Dominic Marchant here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicmarchant/

https://dominicmarchant.com/

https://www.riot-studios.com

https://runriotwear.com/

Sign up for my newsletter for updates on AI, agencies and account management. And if account growth feels inconsistent, I'm running Account Growth Diagnostic sessions this autumn. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 172. AI in agencies has moved on significantly from simply experimenting with ChatGPT and saving a bit of time.
My guest is Roy Murphy, Co-founder at G3NR8 - AI innovator for brands including Samsung, Arsenal, and Perrigo. Roy helps businesses unlock exponential technologies as a driver of growth, guiding organisations to understand and act on AI through comprehensive training, strategy, and implementation initiatives. He serves as AI Advisor to the in-house agency network Inside Out and has delivered AI training for over 150 brands, including GSK, Lego and the Bank of England. Roy regularly speaks at AI roundtables, podcasts, and industry events, working with HR, communications, marketing, and operations teams to drive meaningful transformation.
In this episode, we look at:
• what comes next
• why agencies need to rethink their business model and service lines
• how connecting your existing client data can give account managers much better intelligence
• and why agentic workflows could fundamentally change the way we manage and grow client relationships.
We also talk about the skills account managers need to stay valuable as AI becomes embedded in everyday agency life. There’s a lot packed into this one.
You can connect with Roy Murphy on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roymurphy/

He has also generously shared his calendar link for 30 minutes free AI Q&A and Consultancy. Let him know your challenges (either personal or organisational) and he'll look at your next practical step to solve.
https://calendar.app.google/jPAG7FhMFYk7HxED8

If you'd like to keep updated with shifts in the agency world as they relate to account management, or talk to me about client retention and growth training, go to https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 171. I’m joined by Duncan Arbour, Head of AI Innovation in the Kinetic team at Syneos Health.

Duncan has spent a decade in innovation roles in healthcare communications at Syneos Health, first as an evangelist for AI, then as an operator of the tools for live client projects, and now building out agentic services for cross-business teams. He believes the agency world is rapidly shifting from a content economy to a trust economy, where verification, judgment and accountability are the product; and that account teams are better placed for that world than most people are telling them.

In this chat, we cover:
- Why trust, governance and AI disclosure are becoming increasingly important for MedComms agencies
- How procurement and clients may start scrutinising agency AI use much more closely
- How AI could change agency pricing and the traditional hours-based model
- Why some clients may soon have stronger AI capabilities than their agencies
- The skills agency people need to stay valuable as AI adoption accelerates.

Duncan’s message is very human: despite all the advances in AI, critical thinking, judgement, challenging and giving good feedback are going to become even more valuable.

You can connect with Duncan Arbour on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanarbour/

If you’d like to keep up to date with changes in the agency world as they relate to the account management role, or find out more about my client retention and growth training, go to https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 170. This is a fascinating one if you work in or with design agencies, or if you’ve ever wondered why brilliant creative work doesn’t always get the influence it deserves inside client organisations.

I chatted with John Gleason, Founder & President of A Better View Strategic Consulting who help corporate organizations elevate and leverage design as a strategic business competence and catalyst for growth, help agencies become more relevant for the markets and clients they aspire to inspire while becoming better businesses, and enhance the client/agency relationship to be better, together.

John is one of the most vocal advocates for the role, power, influence, and BUSINESS impact of Design that you will ever meet. Interested in helping those who lead design... to better lead a strategic design proposition.

In this conversation we talk about:
- Why design has been pushed further down the value chain in many businesses
- What John learned from his time client-side at P&G
- How he's now helping both corporate organisations and agencies work better together
- The rise of in-house teams
- Why agencies often struggle to sound different from one another
- How account managers can have more strategic conversations with clients beyond projects, deadlines and budgets

John shares some brilliant advice on helping clients navigate their own internal politics, ask better questions, and translate design into business impact.

I found it such a useful reminder of what clients are really dealing with internally, and why agencies need to understand the human and political dynamics inside client organisations - account managers can add huge value by helping them make the case internally.

You can connect with and find out more about John Gleason here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johngleason/

THE FUTURE OF... conference (www.TheFutureOf-conference.com)

11 Influencers Who Elevate Packaging Design - Packaging Digest (https://www.packagingdigest.com/packaging-design/11-influencers-who-elevate-packaging-design)

How To Innovation When You Are Asked to Cut Costs - Packaging Digest (https://www.packagingdigest.com/packaging-design/how-to-innovate-when-you-are-asked-to-cut-costs)

Webinar + Panel: Beyond free pitching: building stronger, smarter client relationships [DESIGN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION member content] (https://www.dba.org.uk/resources/beyond-free-pitching-building-stronger-smarter-client-relationships/)

Podcast: Finding Our Way: Episode 59: Design Isn't Dead, But It's Seen Better Days (ft John Gleason) - https://findingourway.design/2025/06/06/59-design-isnt-dead-but-its-seen-better-days-ft-john-gleason/

'Is Design Dead?' - Design Leaders Wrestle With The Question - FAST COMPANY article, by Mark Wilson, Global Design Editor (https://www.fastcompany.com/91299152/future-of-design-leaders-executives)

If you’re listening before September 2026 and you’d like to join me in Atlanta, I’ll be co-hosting the next AM:PM Event on Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th, an in-person event for agency leaders focused on the future of account management, project management, client retention and growth. You can find out more and register at https://theampmevent.com