What does a three-minute country song have in common with a brand message?
According to Peter Cronin, almost everything. Peter is the co-founder and CEO of Cronin Creative. He spent decades on Music Row as a Billboard journalist, music publisher, and songwriter before building a branding agency with his wife, designer Karen Cronin.

In this episode, he shares how a Waffle House waitress ended up with her own jukebox song, and how a persistent publicist pushed him into running Madonna’s Nashville publishing company. He also explains how he gave a sprawling Mississippi arts center a story it could tell in one paragraph. Creatives, marketers, founders, and agency leaders will hear why imagination and real relationships still beat AI. The conversation covers brand messaging, songwriting craft, the Nashville music business, building a business with your spouse, AI in creative work, and building a creative career.

Learn More & Connect:
Show Notes + Resources: https://snapshot.agency/the-spark

Connect with Peter Cronin: LinkedIn | Website

Connect with Mark Scrivner: LinkedIn | Website
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What brought you to the table might not be what keeps you there.
Jamie Dunham, founder and president of Brand Wise, joins Mark Scrivner to trace her path from journalism to two of Nashville’s most influential agencies, then out on her own in 2010. She explains why journalism made her a better strategist, describes the prospect who wouldn’t hire her because she was a woman, and shows how consumer research changed Gigi’s Cupcakes’ view of who its customers were.

This conversation is for creatives, marketers, founders, and agency leaders who want to build a business that lasts. Topics include brand strategy, marketing to women, consumer research, lean agency models, Nashville’s creative community, and professional networking.

Learn More & Connect:
Show Notes + Resources: https://snapshot.agency/the-spark

Connect with Jamie Dunham: LinkedIn | Website

Connect with Mark Scrivner: LinkedIn | Website
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What happens when the company you built runs fine without you?
Elise Mitchell started a PR firm at her kitchen table in Fayetteville, Arkansas, grew it 500% in five years with clients like Walmart and Tyson Foods, and sold it to Dentsu. She tells Mark Scrivner the founder story most people skip: the workaholism that came with growth, the intervention that changed how she led, and the hard question of who she was once she stepped away. For creatives, founders, and agency leaders, it’s an honest look at building something big without losing yourself. Topics include mindset during change, scaling with limited talent, founder burnout, selling an agency, identity after the exit, and looking through the turn.

Episode Highlights
00:00 – The founder story that starts after the sale
06:04 – Moving to Fayetteville and choosing “bitter or better”
14:36 – What 500% growth cost: workaholism and perfectionism
20:43 – The intervention that changed how Elise led
31:12 – “I think I’m bored”: the road to selling to Dentsu
36:10 – Who are you when you’re no longer the CEO?
40:27 – Two questions that revealed her next chapter
44:46 – Big Mike and the lesson of looking through the turn

Learn More & Connect:
Show Notes + Resources: https://snapshot.agency/the-spark

Connect with Elise Mitchell: LinkedIn | Website
Get Elise's Book, Leading Through the Turn

Connect with Mark Scrivner: LinkedIn | Website
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What does it take to build something that lasts nearly a century?
Manuel Delgado is the owner and master luthier of Delgado Guitars, the family business his grandfather and great-uncle founded in Mexico in 1928. He still builds every instrument by hand in East Nashville.

In this episode of The Spark, Manuel joins host Mark Scrivner to share how he went from East LA to East Nashville and why his grandfather’s advice to “take your time, because we’re in a hurry” still guides every decision. He also explains how a serve-first mindset led to restoring history at The Hermitage and building custom guitars for Nashville SC and Arrow McLaren.
For creatives, founders, and business owners, it’s a lesson in building with patience and purpose.
Topics include family business legacy, craftsmanship and quality, standing out in a crowded market, customer-centered product design, purpose-driven entrepreneurship, and community leadership in Nashville’s creative scene.

Learn More & Connect
Show Notes + Resources: https://snapshot.agency/the-spark

Connect With Manuel Delgado: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuel-a-delgado-7765b48/ | https://delgadoguitars.com/

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

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

#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #Luthier #HandmadeGuitars #FamilyBusiness #NashvilleCreatives #CreativeEntrepreneur

What happens to creative work when anyone can generate something “good enough” in seconds? Mark Scrivner sits down with Wes Webb, art director at Nashville's Locomotion Creative. By day, Wes builds brands for some of the region’s biggest names. By night he makes salvaged wood sculpture, ambient music, DJ sets, and homemade software. Wes explains why DJing is really just design, and how a quote from Louis Kahn shaped his whole creative practice. He also covers why Locomotion lets clients work directly with the people doing the work, and how he uses AI to augment ideas instead of replacing them. This conversation is for creatives, marketers, agency leaders, and young designers navigating a fast-changing industry. Topics include creative process, agency culture, client collaboration, AI in design, mentorship and Nashville’s creative community.

Learn More & Connect
Follow The Spark: https://snapshot.agency/the-spark
Connect with Wes Webb: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wes-webb-7731598a/ | https://loco.design | https://iamweswebb.com
Email Wes: wes@loco.design
Listen to Wes on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5CaHtlHWsf55Kq8VHXImc9
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner
Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency

#TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #NashvilleCreatives #ArtDirection #AIinDesign #CreativeProcess #AgencyLife

What happens when a global creative director trades 200-person agencies for a team of seven and starts making more work than ever? Alex Goulart, Founder and Executive Creative Director of Fire Kite, spent two decades creating campaigns for Gillette, Nissan, Honda, and Qatar Airways across Europe and the US before launching his own agency in Franklin, Tennessee. He joins Mark Scrivner to share the Ben Franklin story behind Fire Kite, why strategy has to come before audacity, and how a small team became the most awarded agency at the local Addys. Topics include creative agency growth, brand platform strategy, cause marketing, Nashville's creative scene, new business development, and creative collaboration.

Episode Highlights

00:00 - Alex shows off a replica of Ben Franklin's kite 10:28 - Why Alex left big agencies to start Fire Kite 14:01 - The Ben Franklin story behind the Fire Kite name 19:42 - The alien abduction insurance ad in The Wall Street Journal 23:34 - King Tut, charity: water, and a love ballad to the penny 30:20 - Why Nashville's creative energy feels raw and unformulaic 34:27 - Instinct Sessions and the power of small beginnings 40:30 - A goal to end human trafficking in Nashville in our lifetime

Learn More & Connect Show Notes + Resources:

Vaulted: Because Gold Campaign
charity: water: Penny Ballad
Flower Crown
https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/ Connect With Alex Goulart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandergoulart/ | https://www.firekite.co Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency Our Sponsor - Snapshot: https://snapshot.agency Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/ #TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #CreativeAgency #BrandStrategy #AgencyOwner #NashvilleCreatives #AdvertisingCreative

As AI-generated content floods every feed, what actually cuts through? Rob Erickson, founder and CEO of Massive Mission, joins Mark Scrivner to share how he turned a severance package into a video production company trusted by major agencies and global brands. Rob explains why he believes authenticity will win the AI era, how his team uses AI to move faster without replacing people, and why a company mission rooted in giving back still guides his work. The conversation covers live event video production, agency partnerships, creativity in regulated industries, AI workflows, referral-driven growth, and his new paranormal podcast, The Weird Side.

Episode Highlights

• 00:00 – Welcome to The Spark with Rob Erickson
• 02:12 – From aspiring engineer to hooked on video production
• 05:33 – The severance offer that launched Massive Mission
• 10:44 – The story behind the name Massive Mission
• 13:38 – Why authentic storytelling will outlast AI slop
• 19:32 – Growing through referrals and honest sales conversations
• 24:41 – Rob's AI mandate: faster work, no replaced people
• 30:04 – Inside The Weird Side, Rob's paranormal podcast

Learn More & Connect

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/ Connect With Rob Erickson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberickson77 | https://www.massivemission.com Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency

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

Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/ #TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #VideoProduction #LiveEventProduction #CorporateVideo #AIinMarketing #NashvilleCreatives

What does it really take to build an agency from a hare-brained idea into a company that helped bring Amazon and MLS to Nashville?

For episode 52, host Mark Scrivner, founder and CEO of Snapshot, steps into the guest seat while Snapshot President Josh Moquin takes the mic.

Mark traces his path from restaurant operations to advertising, launching Snapshot on a $50,000 line of credit, surviving COVID with $40,000 in the bank and payroll due, and learning the discipline to niche down. It's an honest look at the pivots, near misses, and relationships behind a founder's journey. Topics include career pivots, bootstrapping, agency growth, crisis leadership, niche strategy, and the power of an abundance mindset.

Episode Highlights 00:00 - Intro: Josh Moquin takes the host chair as Mark Scrivner steps into the guest seat 02:26 - From Houston's and J. Alexander's to running an ad agency 09:36 - Launching Snapshot with video resumes and a $50,000 line of credit 13:05 - Why founders who won't pivot go down with the Titanic 20:49 - Surviving COVID with $40K in the bank and payroll due next week 26:04 - Learning to say no and niching into industrial and behavioral health 31:40 - The story behind launching MasterMined and The Spark 45:43 - What Mark usually leaves out of the Snapshot story

Learn More & Connect

Show Notes + Resources: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/ Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner | https://snapshot.agency Connect with Josh Moquin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-moquin/ | https://snapshot.agency

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

Follow The Spark: https://creativeassembly.agency/ca-podcast/ #TheSparkPodcast #CreativeAssembly #FounderStory #AgencyGrowth #Bootstrapping #NashvilleBusiness #AgencyOwner