What actually keeps an agency team together for over a decade? Mark Scrivner sits down with Kindra Svendsen, VP of Agency Services at Speak, to unpack the leadership philosophy and culture-building strategy behind one of Nashville's most established creative agencies. Kindra shares her journey from brand marketer to agency leader, why "shiny ball syndrome" derails good strategy, and how storytelling drives every piece of client work at Speak.

The conversation covers what it means to lead with trust, why niching down accelerates agency growth, and how AI is reshaping (and complicating) the marketing industry. Listeners will walk away with practical insight on leadership, client relationships, agency positioning, storytelling strategy, distributed team culture, and navigating AI adoption with clients who don't want it.

Episode Highlights
00:00 – Welcome to The Spark with guest Kindra Svendsen, VP of Agency Services at Speak
01:33 – Kindra's journey from brand marketer to agency leader
05:08 – The power of storytelling and finding your "why"
05:59 – Inside Speak's full-service model and specialized client verticals
13:57 – Stop the shiny ball syndrome: why CEOs derail their own marketing teams
18:54 – Empowering leadership: trust your people to grow
20:36 – What 12 years in Nashville has taught her about agency growth
26:36 – The future of Speak: AI, websites, and the next creative shift

Learn More & Connect

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/
Connect With Kindra Svendsen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kindrasvendsen/ | https://www.madebyspeak.com/
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health
Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health
Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/
#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #AgencyLeadership #MarketingStrategy #NashvilleCreative #BrandStorytelling

What happens when you build an agency around trust instead of surveillance? Mark Scrivner sits down with Josh Miller, President of 5by5, a Nashville marketing agency that recently transitioned to 100% employee ownership. Josh traces his path from a near-dropout physics major to web developer at Paramore to co-founder and now president of 5by5, sharing the leadership lessons he picked up along the way — including an unforgettable story about integrity from his former boss, Hannah. He digs into why trust, not more analytics, has been 5by5's real competitive edge, how the agency prepared its team to become owners, and how AI is already showing up in their margins. This conversation covers agency leadership, employee ownership (ESOP) transitions, team trust-building, AI adoption in marketing, acquisition integration, and redefining what growth metrics actually matter.

Episode Highlights
00:00 – Welcome to The Spark, intro to guest Josh Miller, president of 5by5
02:20 – Josh's winding path into advertising and the agency world
07:34 – The Hannah story: a lesson in integrity from a mentor
12:07 – How stepping back from meetings pushed Josh into leadership
19:24 – Trust as 5by5's "cheat code" for running the business
23:12 – Inside 5by5's transition to employee ownership (ESOP)
33:00 – How AI is showing up in agency efficiency and margins
42:06 – Josh's vision for fixing what's broken in agency life

Learn More & Connect

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/
Connect With Josh Miller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshmiller7/ | https://5by5agency.com/
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health
Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health

Snapshot Health | Behavioral Health Marketing Built for Growth and Impact

Snapshot Health is a strategic growth and marketing partner for behavioral health organizations nationwide. We help treatment centers, mental health providers, and recovery programs grow responsibly by aligning brand, digital strategy, and patient acquisition with clinical integrity and long-term outcomes. Our team specializes in performance-driven marketing for behavioral health, including SEO, paid media, branding, marketing strategy, website development, and admissions enablement. We focus on attracting the right patients, improving conversion, and building scalable systems that support sustainable growth. Snapshot Health brings deep expertise in compliance, ethics, and trust-based marketing. We partner closely with executive teams to drive predictable admissions growth while protecting reputation, mission, and quality of care.

Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #AgencyLeadership #EmployeeOwnership #NashvilleAgency #TrustBasedLeadership

What does a 450-mile canoe trip have to do with becoming one of Nashville's most respected brand storytellers?

In this episode of the Spark, Nelson Eddy, former Managing Partner at FINN Partners and official historian for the Jack Daniel Distillery, joins Mark Scrivner to trace a 40-year career that took him from an English classroom to the boardrooms of two agency mergers, the launch of the Nashville Predators, and decades spent safeguarding one of the most storied brands in the world.

This conversation covers brand authenticity, mentorship, the discipline of "asking what else," navigating the Nearest Green story with care, and why respecting people is the real secret sauce behind long client relationships.

Episode Highlights

01:03 – Mark introduces Nelson Eddy and his background at FINN Partners and Jack Daniel's
02:09 – The 450-mile canoe trip that landed Nelson his first agency job
09:34 – What stayed consistent — and what changed — through two agency mergers
17:06 – Building the Nashville Predators brand from a hockey stick T-shirt to a saber-tooth tiger
26:04 – Becoming Jack Daniel's official historian after 20 years of research
33:16 – Telling the story of Nearest Green, and why patience mattered
47:16 – Nashville's hidden lore, from Sulphur Dell to stone box graves
53:49 – Nelson's closing lesson: respect is the foundation of everything

Learn More & Connect

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

Connect With Nelson Eddy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelson-eddy-55860515/

Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency/health

Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency/health

Snapshot Health | Behavioral Health Marketing Built for Growth and Impact

Snapshot Health is a strategic growth and marketing partner for behavioral health organizations nationwide. We help treatment centers, mental health providers, and recovery programs grow responsibly by aligning brand, digital strategy, and patient acquisition with clinical integrity and long-term outcomes. Our team specializes in performance-driven marketing for behavioral health, including SEO, paid media, branding, marketing strategy, website development, and admissions enablement. We focus on attracting the right patients, improving conversion, and building scalable systems that support sustainable growth. Snapshot Health brings deep expertise in compliance, ethics, and trust-based marketing. We partner closely with executive teams to drive predictable admissions growth while protecting reputation, mission, and quality of care.

Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/

#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #BrandStorytelling #NashvilleCreative #AgencyLife #AdvertisingHistory