“Death of the ‘Sexy’ Account: Why Every Brand Deserves Your A-Team” How X&O’s founders are challenging the old agency hierarchy
Brett Banker and Eric Segal, co-founders of X&O, sat down to tackle something most agencies do but rarely discuss: client hierarchies. You know the drill—entertainment and CPG get the A-team while healthcare and B2B get whoever’s available.
Banker’s LinkedIn post sparked the conversation, sharing his experience being called into a CEO’s office at a big New York agency. He was being moved from high-profile accounts like the NFL to run the OTC healthcare portfolio—one of the agency’s biggest revenue generators, but somehow seen as less prestigious.
When “sexy” becomes the enemy
“I felt like I was being punished,” Banker explains. “You could see lesser talent being pushed into that world because there’s this ranking—that’s not the best work, therefore we put lesser talent on it.”
The real kicker? Banker fought the move initially, then discovered these “unsexy” accounts often presented bigger, stickier problems to solve. That realization became part of X&O’s founding philosophy: match expertise to the problem, not the prestige.
The ranking game nobody talks about
Segal breaks down the reality of running creative departments. “You’re going to have those situations where you’re undoubtedly looking at people—this brand is going to get our best, no matter what. And someone’s going to be at the other end of that spectrum when you’re dealing with a finite set of talent.”
The industry’s award-chasing mentality feeds this cycle. Agencies put their best people on accounts likely to win hardware, using those wins as business development tools. Meanwhile, healthcare, financial services and B2B clients—often spending significant money—get the bench players.
Flipping the script
X&O’s approach centers on problem complexity rather than category bias. “As long as the question’s interesting, then nothing else matters,” Banker says. They’ve had financial services clients ask directly: “Are you going to get bored of us?” The answer: interesting challenges never get boring, regardless of the category.
Segal adds another layer: “The best person for X or Y” matters more than “the best people” broadly. Different problems need different expertise, and the most prestigious account doesn’t always present the most interesting challenge.
What clients can do
For clients who suspect they’re getting the B-team, Banker suggests requesting blue-sky thinking sessions every few months. “Take tactics off and just develop ideas that you think will catapult the business forward.” Stop asking for 50 Facebook ads; start presenting problems that need solving.
Segal emphasizes framing work as problems versus tasks. “I got a real problem I need solving” fires up different brain circuits than “develop 50 Facebook ads for me.”
The network advantage
X&O’s structure eliminates the availability trap. With 150 experts in their network, they operate on suitability, not availability. “We’re always starting with: who is the right brain or brains to solve that?” Banker explains.
This model lets them treat Fortune 500 companies and startups equally, assigning talent based on problem fit rather than account size or category perception.
Why it matters now
The conversation hits differently in today’s agency landscape. As holding companies consolidate and independent agencies rise, there’s opportunity to reset these outdated hierarchies. Value should come from problem-solving capability, not category prestige.
“Pay people their worth and charge clients accordingly,” Segal suggests. “Because you’re bringing the goods.”
The real shift happens when agencies value the opportunity in question—not just the creative output potential, but the actual business growth possibility. Banker puts it simply: “Use creativity to solve business problems. It’s not ‘use creativity to create great work that drives awareness.’ It’s got to actually ring the register.”
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