The Art of Agency Acquisition: What Kyle Hunt Looks for in a Buyout

Are you built to scale?

Built for sale?

Or built for fail?

TL;DR: Tune into this episode of OOH Insider with Tim Rowe and Kyle Hunt if you’re thinking about starting your own ad agency, especially if you want to work with D2C and ecom brands.

• Learn the key pitfalls that make an agency unacquirable
• The critical difference between working in your business vs. on your business
• And the seasonal dynamics that impact ad spending

Discover what makes a company an attractive acquisition target and why owning brands could be a strategic move for agencies. Get insights on prioritizing effective merchandising over basic marketing, the risks and rewards of making significant business bets, and the common trap of chasing new ventures at the expense of expanding what already works. This episode is packed with actionable strategies for anyone looking to elevate their agency-operational acumen.

Scaling agencies is hard BUT there are a few common mistakes that can hinder growth and make them less attractive as acquisition targets - how do you know if you’re making them or not?

Thinking about starting an agency? Here’s how to know when it’s the right time.

• 00:03:29-00:03:39 - "I'm making so much money for these guys. I should be doing this on my own and starting something else."

BEWARE The Brilliant Bottleneck - Does this sound like anyone you know?

• 00:06:53-00:07:04 - "The Brilliant Bottleneck is where they are so involved in working in the business and they know where all of the deep tribal knowledge is buried. They know how it should look and feel, (so much so) that they themselves become the thing preventing the agency from actually scaling."

The #1 Shortcut to Building a Better Business

• 00:16:09-00:16:19 - "It's a little bit of good old fashioned roll up your sleeves and figure it out. Talk to humans."

Is the silent killer lurking in your day-to-day?

• 00:24:07-00:24:17 - "I think shiny object syndrome is the number one killer of great entrepreneurs because it pushes your focus to multiple places."

Top 3 Things I Learned From Kyle Hunt:

1. Avoid being the "brilliant bottleneck": Agency owners should learn to delegate and trust their team, rather than being the bottleneck for decision-making and progress. This allows for scalability and growth.
2. Be cautious of shiny object syndrome: Agency owners should resist the temptation to constantly chase new strategies and channels. Instead, focus on doing more of what is already working and optimizing those areas for better results.
3. Plan ahead for peak seasons: Proper planning and preparation are key for successful peak seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Start planning well in advance to ensure smooth operations and avoid last-minute chaos.

📧 Connect with Kyle

Kyle offers a free 21-point agency assessment: If you are an agency owner in the one to five million dollars per year revenue range and looking to exit, you can reach out to Kyle Hunt for a free 21-point agency assessment to explore potential opportunities.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/huntkyle

Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/kyledtc

Get the entire back catalogue of OOH Insider, since 2019 at https://www.theoohinsider.com/

There are more than 4.4M sites hosted on Shopify.

Best known for as a powerhouse platform enabling DTC and E-Commerce brands, Shopify isn't just for boutique challengers. It's trusted by Blue Chips like Heinz, Tesla, and Red Bull too, but regardless of size - your site speed is a HUGE part of your customer's experience and ultimately, revenue 🤑

Why does it matter?

Because media money drives interest. Interest drives intent.
And intent shows up as bricks or clicks - store visits or web visits.

Imagine 9 out of every 10 customers who walked into your brick-and-mortar store turning around and walking out before buying or even talking to anyone.

Would you consider that a success? Of course not.

Deloitte Insights 📰

"A staggering 70% of consumers admit that a slow-loading website negatively affects their willingness to make purchases from online retailers"

A delay of 1-3 seconds in page load time increases the likelihood of a bounce by 32%.

As the delay increases to five seconds, the bounce rate jumps to 90%.

This means that 9 out of every 10 customers will leave the site if it takes five seconds to load.

Now consider the opening question..."Why does it matter?"

Find out:

1) How the scam works 😲
2) How to identify if you or someone you're working with has been duped 🧐
3) Why it matters to anyone responsible for driving traffic 📈

What does site speed and media mix say about YOUR brand?

00:10:55-00:11:05 - "If it takes that long to load, I'm thinking personally..."Ah, you know, they're advertising on a billboard. They're old school. They're not quite online-ready." So they're not cool. In my mind. I'm going to go get this brand.

How much is a slow site costing?

00:17:29-00:17:40 - "A page load time goes from one to three seconds? The probability of a bounce increases by 32%."

Click-and-Mortar - How are offline retail and DTC most similar?

00:52:18-00:52:29 - "How quickly is someone coming to greet me? How friendly are they? How quickly are they asking me the right questions to get me moving towards the right part of the store? How effectively are they building rapport as we're walking to that area of the store? How's their eye contact? It's just all these, it's like the, you know, speeds version of, you know, how quickly are they relaying the information to me and not rambling random"

Search 'OOH Insider' wherever you enjoy fine podcasts or directly, here: https://www.theoohinsider.com/shopifyspeedscam

Get in touch with Lukas here:

• On Twitter https://twitter.com/igobylukas
• On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukastanasiuk/
• With The Nice Agency https://www.theniceagency.co/

Get the entire back catalogue of OOH Insider, since 2019 at https://www.theoohinsider.com/

In this week's episode, Zachary Pardes, co-founder of Black Valley, a modern media collective, and shares his expertise on how out-of-home advertising can be a game changer for brands.

From the power of tangible marketing to the importance of creative and engaging content, Zach breaks down the strategies for cutting thru the clutter with big, bold OOH - how in a world saturated with fake influencers and AI, OOH advertising stands out as a genuine and authentic way to connect with consumers.

🚀 Why Out-of-Home Advertising Matters

Zach emphasizes the tangible and real nature of OOH in a world filled with digital noise. He highlights the unique opportunity out-of-home provides to capture attention and engage with audiences in a meaningful, memorable way.

• 00:02:19-00:02:29 - "OOH is one of those few channels that is tangible. It's still real. And not to mention it's sleek, it's sexy. You throw some killer creative up on a board or on transit, people take note."
• 00:06:18-00:06:29 - "Let's not lose sight of the fact that there is huge value in running BIG, bold, visual creative, that's fun, that's engaging, that's entertaining, and that gets eyeballs on the brand."

📊 Data-Driven Strategies for Success

Discover how Black Valley leverages data to drive successful OOH campaigns. From analyzing customer clusters to creating timely and relevant offers, Zach shares insights on how data plays a crucial role in campaign planning and execution.

• 00:05:47-00:05:58 "I always laugh when execs or senior leadership will come into a room and they'll say, How can you justify this? And it feels so much like you're talking to your pops, like your grandfather back then. "Oh, when I was your age, hot dogs cost a nickel!" And look, yeah, that was true. But we're also not dying of polio, right? So some things have gotten better. Some things have changed. Let's open up our minds a little bit here."
• 00:09:02-00:09:12 - "I'm sure 2% to 5% of people are like, you know what? I could go for a chicken sandwich. But for the rest of them, it's like, look, you've planted the seed. And the seed is there. And it's going to grow. And you're going to cultivate it."

🌈 Message of the Month: "Chill the F Out!"

In a world filled with hustle and bustle, Zach reminds us to take a moment to relax and enjoy life. Remember, it's all going to be okay. So, take a deep breath, put down your phone, and spread some positivity around you.

• 00:30:57-00:31:07 - "Chill the fuck out. Everyone relax. It's all going to be OK."

Connect with Zachary Padres here 🤝

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zpardes/
• Check out the Black Valley media collective here: https://blkvlly.com/

Get the entire back catalogue of OOH Insider, since 2019 at https://www.theoohinsider.com/