Move beyond focusing solely on the latest AI tools and instead concentrate on developing a comprehensive business blueprint for 2026.

Shifting from Service Provider to Transformation Partner

Focusing on Client P&L Over Metric Tracking

Leveraging AI for Human Judgment and Insight

Integrating Marketing into Business Operations

Building Trust as a Competitive Advantage

In this quickfire 20-minute podcast, Robert Craven and Rob Illidge covered the following:

• Defining Employee Advocacy

• Content Strategy and Authenticity

• Implementation Strategy

• Advantages of Employee Advocacy

• Agency-Specific Challenges

• Best Practices and Common Pitfalls

• Accelerating Advocacy Programs

Measuring return on investment solely by hours saved creates pressure to lower prices. Agencies must instead reposition AI as a revenue multiplier for higher performance.

Paddy is an advisor, coach, mentor (and occasional unofficial therapist!) for digital agency founders via his consultancy, Founder Focus. He currently supports a range of agencies to help them run and grow their business, whilst focusing on the person behind the agency. Before this, he was the co-founder of his own agency, which he stepped back from after 10 years.

Tom is Clarity’s Chief Digital Officer. He has been leading digital marketing teams for over 20 years. He started out in ‘dot coms’, way before the technology was able to meet the ambition of this new era! This has given Tom a unique set of expertise which underpins his position leading Digital Marketing teams globally.

An SEO consultant/expert and speaker, business owner, surfer and advocate of all things positive.

Robert and George discuss scaling and rebranding agencies UK Linkology and Reachology to over £4 million in turnover.

In this podcast, Robert talks to Paul Smith, who elaborates on the SOSTAC framework's components, its application in agencies, the importance of 90-day review cycles, and the role of AI in planning, emphasising careful strategic use.

In this GYDA Talks, Rob talks to Jon Payne… a "Totally unemployable" RevOps Consultant and Fractional Commercial Director

In this GYDA Talks, Robert talks to Matt Essam, a creative business coach, author, and speaker who helps creative studio founders and service-based business owners attract better clients and grow with confidence. He’s known for practical frameworks such as his Partnership Playbook™, that turn relationship-building into a consistent client-attraction strategy.

Blair Enns introduced his background as the founder of Win Without Pitching, a sales training organisation.

Robert Craven presents the "GYDA State of the Nation for Q1 2026," characterising the market as volatile. He emphasised that "trust is your superpower" for agencies facing AI, outdated business models, and low growth and goes on to detail winning strategies like niche specialisation and service expansion to possibly become "transformation partners." Robert concludes with an action plan for leaders to pivot from "traffic to trust" and drive decisive action.

David, Managing Partner at M&A Advisory and Principal at Eaton Square, leads M&A transactions to maximise client value in consulting, marketing communications, digital, and MarTech sectors. With over 30 years of experience in corporate finance, business management, and strategic consulting, David offers deep insights into industry dynamics and trends.

In this GYDA Talks, Rob talks to Sarah Clay. Sarah is a LinkedIn trainer who helps professionals harness the power of social media to amplify their voices and grow their businesses. With a career that spans law, photography, TV production, and marketing, Sarah discovered her passion for social media while leading PR and social media for a film company. Growing up as the only girl among six brothers taught her creative ways to be heard -skills she now passes on to her clients. Driven by a desire to make an impact, Sarah brings her diverse experience and “secret sauce” strategies to empower others to stand out authentically on LinkedIn.

In this GYDA Talks, Rob talks to Andy Bounds, who helps companies communicate better.

In this GYDA Talks, Rob talks to Antoinette Dale-Henderson, a TEDx speaker, executive coach and founder of The Gravitas® Programme. She has over 25 years’ experience in leadership communications, including 16 years holding senior positions in some of the world’s top PR agencies.

Antoinette specialises in delivering strategically-driven, bespoke leadership programmes and masterclasses, which are proven to make a powerful difference to leaders and their teams.

She’s on a mission to decode Gravitas and demonstrate that it’s a skill that can be accessed by everyone. Her proprietary Gravitas® methodology has empowered thousands of leaders to navigate change with credibility and confidence for over a decade.

In this GYDA Talks, Rob talks to David Plunkett of Collaboration Junkie, a ‘nearbound specialist’ who helps agencies gain work through word-of-mouth referrals and partnerships.

Humans have always been tribal, based on shared values, and business is no different.

Referrers are the tribe who appreciate your value but may not fully understand it. They need to be educated.

Partners are the tribe who know your value and can leverage it.
They need to be motivated.

Collaboration Junkie work with Agencies and other businesses where high degrees of trust are needed in their sales process, to develop the skills, systems and processes that allow for the consistent delivery of ideal clients, at the ideal time to buy, from trusted third parties.

In this episode, Remeny Royle and Robert Craven pull back the curtain on the all-too-common pitfalls in agency-client relationships.

Remeny helps agency owners and professional services to understand what their clients truly think of them. By listening to their clients, she can help proactively turn clients into advocates.

In this GYDA Talks, Rob talks to Robin Bonn, CEO and founder of Codefinary a specialist consultancy helping agencies reimagine differentiation to scale faster, command a premium, and attract top talent. With 25 years’ experience driving growth for global networks, independents, and start-ups, Robin has advised some of the world’s most renowned agencies and led pitches for brands including Spotify, Microsoft, and Ford. He is also an executive coach, Marketing Week columnist, founding co-chair of BIMA’s CEO & Leadership Council, mentor for SheSays, author of Market of One, and host of The Immortal Life of Agencies podcast.