VaynerMedia’s CMO Avery Akkineni is getting prepped in Australian slang ahead of Mumbrella360. The sight of C-suite executives practicing “arvo” and “brekkie” captures a truth about global business: fluency extends beyond PowerPoint. It’s the preparation that separates executives who show up from those who land. Meanwhile, Indie Agency News members are discovering that morning intelligence briefings can contain useful percentages — like Klick’s latest revelation that 35% of oncologists are prioritizing innovation while 43% of HCPs want educational support.
🌏 Global Expansion Requires Local Fluency
When cultural preparation becomes competitive advantage
un-held is helping Australian businesses prepare for global expansion through Tomorrow Conference workshops, focusing on the cultural nuances that determine whether your pitch lands or crashes. It’s the difference between knowing your market and understanding your market.
VaynerMedia took cultural preparation beyond language lessons, with Avery Akkineni also unveiling Vayner Co-Lab, “a new way we’re showing up for the industry.” The combination of slang training and new business models suggests an agency preparing for something bigger than a conference appearance.
📊 Data That Drives Decisions
Intelligence worth interrupting a meeting for
Klick continues delivering healthcare intelligence through their Wire newsletter with statistics specific enough to quote in board meetings. Not stopping there, they’re also unpacking “The Past Year in AI: What Mattered, Why, and How to Use It Today” at PharmaBrands 2025, while Quentin O’Brien explores how Medical Affairs teams can harness innovation at PHARMA FORWARD. If that weren’t enough, they collected three D&AD Pencils and shared insights on why authentic creative ideas matter in healthcare.
TravelBoom Hotel Marketing dropped research showing 45% of travelers want wellness amenities, 54% prioritize local culture, and 73% say culinary experiences influence booking decisions. The kind of specific data that rewrites brand strategies and justifies infrastructure investments.
🤖 AI Strategy Beyond the Hype
Executive education that matters
territorial is hosting genAI and brand strategy webinars with co-founder Topher Burns and Evertune AI CEO Brian Stempeck, addressing the gap between AI potential and brand reality. It’s executive education stripped of vendor pitches.
Chameleon Collective is tackling insurance industry transformation head-on, noting the conversation has shifted from “if change is needed” to “how to lead it.” Their founder Freddie Laker continues sharing insights on how “bold leadership and innovation” drive actual reinvention.
📊 Attention as Starting Point
Rethinking media from the ground up
VaynerMedia‘s John Terrana shared with AdMonsters at POSSIBLE 2025 a simple insight: “The media plan doesn’t start with a budget. It starts with where attention is going.” It’s the reframe that makes you wonder why anyone starts anywhere else.
🎯 Strategic Preparation Without the Overthinking
From exit planning to subscription models
Legal+Creative | Toerek Law offers Agency Accelerator sessions about preparing for eventual sale “before a deal is on the table.” They’re addressing the reality that “too often, legal risks and unclear IP ownership come up during due diligence” — the kind of forward thinking that distinguishes agencies planning to thrive from those hoping to survive.
Davis+Gilbert LLP is bringing legal expertise to SubSummit 2025 with TableTalk sessions on subscription economy navigation. When lawyers show up where business models are evolving, it suggests they understand where their clients are heading.
🎭 Portfolio Reviews Reimagined
When agencies acknowledge the human side of creative evaluation
FUSE Create has transformed the traditionally intimidating portfolio review into group therapy sessions for aspiring creatives. They acknowledge these encounters are “stressful and sometimes even intimidating,” then do something about it. The self-aware acronym play (FUse CReate = FUCRs) suggests an agency comfortable enough with itself to make young talent comfortable too.
🎙️ Indies on the Record
Podcasts, playlists, and trend reports from the field
Model B launched Beyond the Brief with Rich Santiago, exploring “how to identify the core of what will move people and culture forward.” Ambitious territory for episode one.
Quench Agency featured Daily Crunch founder Laurel Orley on Forktales, exploring the sprouted almond business with enough detail to suggest genuine interest in client stories. They’re also releasing their 16th annual Food & Beverage Trend Report, tracking how consumer tastes are evolving across the entire landscape.
Buntin‘s VP Michael Boyd shared his Now Playing playlist, featuring “pop queens, bluegrass legends, and a few songs that hit way harder than expected.” Sometimes the best agency content is simply showing what’s on repeat in the creative department.
🏆 Creative Recognition with Business Impact
When awards come with evidence
Oberland‘s “So Many Dicks” campaign for E.L.F. Beauty won a 2025 Effie Award in Social Good — bold creative meeting measurable impact in exactly the way Effies are supposed to reward.
Saylor earned recognition as “Outstanding Independent Agency” of 2025 from The Marketing Club NYC, the kind of acknowledgment that means something when it comes from your peers.
Raindrop took home Gold at the Hermes Creative Awards for “What a Singular World,” their celebration of individuality, imagination, and authenticity.
🌐 Global Perspectives, Local Insights
Indies thinking beyond borders
The Gerety Awards continues building connections with Canadian jury discussions on June 11 and their Indie Agency Founders series in partnership with Indie Agency News. Not content with one conversation, they’re also preparing another edition of Gerety Talks that brings together creative minds from across the industry.
Worldwide Partners, Inc. curated their network’s top Cannes Lions contenders, including Tombras’s “Bark Air | 100% Real Flights for Dogs and Their Humans.” They’re also pushing the conversation beyond awards with Howard Moggs’ advice to “stop selling services, start selling outcomes”.
🌟 The Participation Philosophy
Invitations over instructions
The Many delivered perhaps the year’s most succinct strategy brief through their “Warriors On Board” project with Wounded Warrior Project. Noting that veterans have dropped from 18% to just 6% of Americans since 1980, they chose participation over donation, turning blank skateboards into raw manifestos. “Don’t make better messages. Make better invitations.”
broadhead. shared cause marketing lessons from working with “one of the world’s most beloved nonprofits,” proving that purpose-driven work can teach strategic fundamentals that apply across categories.
Want to join this community of forward-thinking independents? Learn more about becoming part of Indie Agency News.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
