The BroxtenDigital Show

Broxten Davis
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Your go-to advertising and marketing career podcast. Every other week, host Broxten Davis sits down with the agency leaders, CMOs and media executives who have already done it, and gets the advice they wish someone had given them earlier: how they got hired, what they look for when they hire, and the moves that got them promoted. Whether you are trying to break in, gain the skills or get ahead, you will leave every episode with something you can use this week.

  1. 6d ago

    Head Of Analytics Day In The Life: What An Agency EVP Really Does

    Head of analytics day in the life: an agency EVP on sixth grade math, better questions, and the data that actually changes a decision. Charity Taylor is EVP of Analytics at Publicis Collective, with 20+ years in automotive data before that at General Motors, J.D. Power, automotiveMastermind and S&P Global Mobility. She is not a data scientist. She has an undergrad and a master's in finance, and she will tell you that sixth grade math can take you really, really far. I asked her what a head of analytics actually does all day, and her answer starts before the data: what decision are we informing, what problem are we solving, and what would tell us to push the button. We get into how she earned an industry's trust at J.D. Power when every number was wrong in absolute, why she rewards Smokey the Bear instead of the firefighters, the bathroom mirror trick for building mastery, and the OMIT framework (Ownership, Mastery, Initiative, Teamwork) she uses to find exactly which leg of the chair broke. If you have ever wondered what a VP of analytics does, or whether you are technical enough to try, this one is for you. FREE: The BroxtenDigital Blog, the LinkedIn newsletter with the takeaways from every episode https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-broxtendigital-blog-7510050135746232320/ Watch next: What Does A Marketing Agency Do? An Agency Founder Explains https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkrgG1QXXDA CHAPTERS 0:00 Why a head of analytics is on the show 1:28 What does a VP of analytics do with a question before touching the data? 2:44 Is sixth grade math enough for data analytics? 3:24 Why are questions more powerful than answers? 4:51 What if the client's ask is different from what they need? 6:44 Should you trust someone else's interpretation of the data? 11:12 How do you present data so a client acts on it? 13:22 How accurate does data need to be? Every number was wrong 15:01 Head of analytics day in the life: from data ingestion to the C-suite 16:13 Head of analytics day in the life: a finance person leading the data ops team 18:17 Why reward Smokey the Bear instead of the firefighters? 19:30 How do you build mastery? Present it to yourself first 22:03 What is the OMIT framework? Ownership, Mastery, Initiative, Teamwork 25:43 How do you use OMIT with your manager? 29:52 Why is 'I don't know' the right answer? 32:59 What does a VP of analytics hire for? 35:28 How do you deal with fear and self-doubt at work? 40:16 Who gets to define success for you? Connect with Charity: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charity-taylor-autoanalytics/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing.

  2. Oct 2

    What Does A Marketing Agency Do? An Agency Founder Turned Consultant's Answer

    What does a marketing agency do? A founder who sold two agencies and hired them as a CMO on what clients pay for and how to get ahead inside one. Tim Kilroy has spent more than 25 years in and around agencies. He started three, sold two, sat on the client side as CMO of Karmaloop, and now coaches agency owners. I asked him for the advice he would give at every stage of an agency career, and he did not hold back (heads up, the language is not clean). The first half is for anyone working at a marketing agency or trying to get into one. Make friends with the people hired when you were. Your boss is probably not your mentor, so find one sideways and ask for information, never for help. Tim explains why the jump from team lead to director has almost nothing to do with how good a marketer you are, and the one-line note that lets you act without waiting for permission. The second half answers the question in the title from the owner's chair and the client's chair. What big brands actually want from an agency, why optimizing to one metric makes every ad look the same, and the story from his CMO years where the agency kept handing him best practices when he needed them to understand his customer. His line on it: your job is to give the client what they need, which is rarely what they asked for. We close on AI. Knowing which button to push used to make you better at this job. Tim's take is that it no longer does, and that even the most junior person on the team has a mandate to bring a better idea. Subscribe for a new video every Friday: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyRzVW-NdwVH2heV7ES0JdA?sub_confirmation=1 Watch next: Jobs In Advertising, Explained: Every Seat And Where To Start https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfz8t0r5-fQ CHAPTERS 0:00 What does a marketing agency do? Meet Tim Kilroy 0:30 What advice would an agency founder give at every career stage? 0:49 What should you do first in an entry level agency job? 1:34 Why is your boss not your mentor? 3:15 How do you ask someone senior for help without asking for help? 4:08 How do you get promoted from team lead to director? 6:37 What does Extreme Ownership look like inside an agency? 10:58 Why does the school habit fail at work? 13:28 Why do new hires freeze instead of acting? 14:00 How do you take initiative without waiting for permission? 16:06 Why does nobody want to work with a passive teammate? 17:30 Is client retention a junior person's job? 20:07 What does a marketing agency do once AI runs the platforms? 21:01 What do big brands want from a marketing agency? 23:32 Why does every ad look the same? 25:42 What did his agency get wrong when he was CMO of Karmaloop? 32:48 What does a marketing agency do for a client? 34:08 Why do junior people have a mandate to have a better idea? 37:55 Why do most bad decisions in advertising come from fear? 38:45 How do you defend a decision that went wrong? 42:04 Where can you find Tim Kilroy? Connect with Tim Kilroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timkilroy/ Tim's site: https://timkilroy.com Tim's newsletter, Agency Inner Circle: https://agencyinnercircle.com Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing. #WhatDoesAMarketingAgencyDo

  3. Sep 18

    Stop Blending In: Advice For Your First Marketing Job

    Your first marketing/advertising job, from a brand strategist who hires: how to stop blending in, pick the right boss, and answer "why should I hire you?" Andrew Butler spent 25 years in brand strategy at Chiat\Day, Hill Holliday, Arnold and Leo Burnett, was chief brand officer at Big Boy, and now teaches brand management at Northeastern, where he runs a personal brand program for students heading into co-ops and their first jobs. He wrote Fear The Familiar. He also hires, and he told me exactly what he hires for. We start with what a brand strategist actually does and the difference between branding, marketing and advertising (brand is why you exist, marketing is how you tell the story, and at Big Boy he pulled money out of marketing to retrain the staff first). Then the exercise he runs on every student: erase the names off the résumés and they all read the same, so what makes one of you different than the next? He walks through how to introduce yourself by how you see the world, what to post on LinkedIn when you are scared to post anything, the self-audit that finds what you are known for, and whether a career coach is worth the money. The back half is first-job advice. Pick the person you will learn from over the brand on the door. Move on after two or three years. Why his political science degree did not decide his career. The number one soft skill if you ever want to lead. And why he tells students to put their phones down and skip the marketing books. Watch next: What 25 Recruiters Say Actually Gets You Hired In Marketing & Advertising https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d63P9jjWqWs CHAPTERS 0:00 Meet Andrew Butler, brand strategist and Northeastern professor 0:41 What does a brand strategist do? Brand before marketing 0:52 Branding vs marketing vs advertising, in one line 2:20 Big Boy pulled its marketing budget to fix the restaurant first 5:09 Building a personal brand as a young marketer 6:11 The résumé test: erase the names and they all read the same 8:28 Introduce yourself by how you see the world 11:06 Scared to post on LinkedIn? Have a point of view 15:28 The Breaks: Andrew's personal brand program for students 19:16 Is a career coach worth it? The self-audit 22:58 Is the book too aggressive for this generation? 28:31 Where students fall short: don't ask for the playbook 31:44 First marketing job advice: pick the person you will learn from 33:08 Two or three years in a first marketing job, then find the next mentor 36:22 Does your major matter? Pre-law to advertising 39:43 The number one soft skill for your first marketing job 41:12 Put your phone down and talk to people 44:20 Marketing books are stupid; go learn culture Connect with Andrew Butler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theandrewbutler/ Andrew's book, Fear The Familiar: https://www.clutchworkshop.com/fearthefamiliar Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing. #FirstMarketingJob

  4. Sep 4

    A Media VP On How To Get Into The Advertising Industry

    How to get into the advertising industry, from a media VP who taught 8,000 students which ones make it: resume, informational meetings, certs. Julie Beaty sold media for 26 years at Leo Burnett, BET, Viacom, Oxygen, Xandr and iHeartMedia, walked away from a VP title, and has since taught somewhere north of 8,000 advertising students at Michigan State. She was also my professor. Most guests can tell you the one story of how they broke in. Julie has watched thousands of people try it from the front of the room, so she can describe the pattern instead. That is what makes this the most tactical episode I have made. She walks through how to get a human being to actually look at your resume, the exact way to ask for an informational meeting so nobody can tell you they are not hiring, what she calls the student superpower and the point at which it expires, how to use AI on your resume without lying, and the thing an EVP at NBCU told her separated the people they hired from the people they did not. The other half is her own career, and it is not a straight line. She put in two and a half years at a job she hated. She taught a software class without ever opening the software. She moved to LA for a sales role having never worked in sales. Her whole thesis is that you say yes before you feel ready, and she has the receipts. FREE: The Student Superpower Playbook. Julie's four plays for getting hired before you are qualified, on one page. https://playbooks.broxtendigital.com/student-superpower Watch next: Breaking Into Advertising: What A Chief Creative Officer Screens For https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNNLgaNTxok Connect with Julie Beaty: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliehaynesbeaty/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis Failed to mention: Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing. #AdvertisingIndustry

  5. Aug 21

    Breaking Into Advertising: What A Chief Creative Officer Screens For

    Eric Levin runs creative at Publicis Media. He got there by walking into rooms he was not qualified for, which is exactly why I wanted him to talk about breaking into advertising with no experience. He is a Michigan State grad who did not take a marketing class until his third year. Started in movie marketing, opened an office in Chicago, went brand side for a bit, then got handed a digital media team at a time when he admits he knew nothing about media. That is the story I wanted, and it is the one most people breaking into advertising need to hear. If you are trying to break into advertising or marketing and you have been told you are not the creative one, this episode is for you. We get into what "creative" actually means now that the job has split into ten different versions of itself, what he screens for when a candidate has almost no experience, why he wants junior people to push back in the room, and what he learned from a run of genuinely terrible bosses. He's willing to talk about getting fired, which is something senior people almost never say publicly. After that, we get into the future of the creator economy. He thinks the easy phone and ring light version of it is played out, and he says the next wave of creators are already becoming networks, producers and film moguls. I think he is right. FREE: The No-Experience Playbook Everything Eric said about getting hired before you are qualified, written up as a one-page plan you can actually work through. https://playbooks.broxtendigital.com/no-experience CHAPTERS 0:00 Meet Eric Levin, chief creative officer at Publicis Media 1:20 MSU, and the marketing class that changed everything 3:45 What he actually screens for in new grads 6:58 Why they want your opinion on the brand 7:43 "I always said I'm not a creative" 8:57 What creative really means now 12:27 How to find your way into advertising 14:45 Your passion outside work matters 16:17 Movie marketing, Chicago, and the long route 20:24 Bad bosses, and getting fired 24:40 Chasing the shiny object 29:02 The ring light era and the shill problem 31:46 Creators as networks, moguls and producers 35:04 The campaigns he loves right now 39:00 What he'd tell his 23-year-old self 40:22 "Let's make better mistakes tomorrow" 41:05 Rapid fire: cars, pizza, bagels and campus Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing. Connect with Eric Levin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericlevin11/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow #BreakingIntoAdvertising #AdvertisingPodcast #MarketingCareer #YoungProfessionals #DigitalMarketingPodcast

  6. Jul 31

    The BroxtenDigital Show - Episode 24: Chris Greene

    Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow Chris Greene is YoPro's founder and an ex agency VP with 25+ years across IPG and Omnicom. He noticed the gap between college and the first job two years ago, so he interviewed 35 parents and students along with 25 entry-level recruiters to see where young professionals were really struggling. Next, he built a coaching program based on what he uncovered. 85 YoPros have been through it, and 90%+ have landed jobs from it. We get into the stuff nobody teaches you: why the average young-professional resume has two or three typos in it, what a recruiter really hears when you say you're collaborative and hardworking, why applying through the portals can wipe you out across every job at once, the networking email length that gets replies, and the five jobs he steers students toward that build more real skill than most internships. If you are a student or young pro trying to break into marketing and advertising, this one is a playbook. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:26 What YoPro is and the gap it fills 3:12 Inside the program: pitch, resume, interview 7:23 The networking email that gets replies 8:27 Why the portals reject you 10:41 New business: what agency pitching looks like 16:19 The skill he had to learn (warmth, not competency) 19:12 Why the path is a jungle gym, not a ladder 23:17 When to jump agencies, and boomeranging 29:25 What his Gen Z research actually found 32:31 Five generations in one workplace 36:14 The five jobs that build real skills 39:38 Follow up: send the fifth email 43:51 The one question that got a client hired 45:46 Rapid-fire value 51:27 How to connect with Chris Connect with Chris Greene: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-a-greene/ Learn more about YoPro: https://www.theyopro.com/ Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing! #DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

  7. Jul 24

    The BroxtenDigital Show - Episode 23: Michael Kraft

    Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow Michael Kraft is the VP of Business Development & Strategy at MVP Collaborative, and he brings 30+ years across some of the biggest names in Detroit advertising: Campbell-Ewald, Chrysler brand work, research at General Motors, and now experiential marketing at one of the top agencies in Detroit. This episode is packed with actionable advice for students and young professionals trying to get into advertising and marketing. We get into the marketing jobs nobody tells you exist, why relationships beat cold outreach every single time, how he wins new business on day one, and the simple career move that costs nothing: show up and do not sit in the back. If you're early in your career and want to understand how this industry actually works, this conversation is packed with real experience. Michael is one of the best and brightest in the game, and this episode is all about turning industry icons like him into your peers. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 2:33 The marketing jobs college never shows you 4:19 His first job out of college (account planning on Chrysler) 9:00 What experiential marketing actually is 12:34 How he wins new business: relationships over cold outreach 28:03 Bringing ideas to the table early in your career 38:18 Where AI is taking advertising 46:59 Rapid-fire value (and the best pizza in Detroit) 54:22 Show up: do not sit in the back 61:12 How to connect with Michael Connect with Michael Kraft: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraftdet/ Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing! #DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

  8. Jul 17

    The BroxtenDigital Show - Episode 22: Matty May

    Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis Follow the show on Instagram for more daily value and insights: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow/ Everyone tells students that if you don't land the big internship, you're already behind. Matty May built a 20-plus year career at Paramount, and she says that idea is exactly the wrong way to think about breaking in. This episode is her real playbook for starting a career in media: she's a VP of Convergent Ad Sales, a Michigan State advertising grad, and a certified leadership coach, and she has spent decades watching what actually separates the people who make it. We get into how a marketing degree turns into a career when you stop waiting for permission and start creating your own experience. This is for students and young marketers who keep hearing that it's internship or bust and feel stuck when the "perfect" opportunity doesn't show up. Matty breaks down the mistake most people make in the job hunt, why smaller organizations can teach you more and faster than the big names, and how volunteering and freelancing (especially if you know how to work the socials) turn into the network and the resume nobody else has. She gets into her own MSU story, what ComArtSci and its professors do differently, why she pours so much back into students, and what her actual day job pitching convergent ad deals at Paramount looks like. We get into the leadership coaching angle, reframing setbacks, staying adaptable as the industry shifts around you, and why real AI fluency right now is one of the fastest ways to stand out. Here's what I keep thinking about: you start your career as a nobody, then if you keep grinding and adding wins, one day you wake up in a VP seat. You don't have to wait for the title to start building this skill. Give it a watch and let me know which piece of advice you're actually going to take action on. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro: Two Spartans, One Show 1:30 The Biggest Job-Hunt Mistake Students Make 3:45 Why Smaller Organizations Beat the "Dream" Internship 5:10 Freelance and Volunteer Your Way to Experience 8:40 What MSU ComArtSci Does Differently 11:20 Professors Who Actually Lived the Career 13:30 Why She Pours Back Into Students 16:45 Inside Her Day Job: Convergent Ad Sales at Paramount 19:20 How to Network the Right Way 24:30 The Coaching Side and Reframing Setbacks 29:40 What Inspired Her to Start Coaching 33:30 Selling Big Deals Without Losing Yourself 40:00 Staying Adaptable as the Industry Shifts 42:40 Cannes and Learning AI on the Job 46:30 Why AI Fluency Is Your Career Edge 50:20 Rapid Fire: Pizza, People to Follow, and MSU Love 55:30 Final Thoughts and Go Green, Go White Connect with Matty May: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matty-may-pcc-3407871/ Mentioned in this episode: - Evan Shapiro, media cartographer, a great free follow to understand where the industry is headed - Matthew Belloni and The Town podcast for the business behind media and entertainment Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing! #DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

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About

Your go-to advertising and marketing career podcast. Every other week, host Broxten Davis sits down with the agency leaders, CMOs and media executives who have already done it, and gets the advice they wish someone had given them earlier: how they got hired, what they look for when they hire, and the moves that got them promoted. Whether you are trying to break in, gain the skills or get ahead, you will leave every episode with something you can use this week.

Information

  • Creator
    Broxten Davis
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Broxten Davis
  • Show Website
    The BroxtenDigital Show