4As

What a night for agency leadership! On July 21, as day 1 of the Ad Age Small Agency Conference concluded, we gathered a select group of agency executives for an evening built around honest conversation on where our industry is headed, the challenges agencies are navigating and the opportunities ahead. We were delighted to welcome Rishad Tobaccowala and Howard Moggs as our guests. No stage, no pitch, no agenda. Just a great meal and real conversation among leaders who care deeply about the future of our craft. (And we can't wait to dive into Rishad's latest book Rethinking Work - thanks for the copies, Rishad and Howard!) An insightful and inspiring evening with forward-thinking agency leaders in an intimate and intentional setting, with Juan Suarez, Susan Franceschini, Andy Goldsmith and Kristin Woxland representing the 4As. Our guests included: Dominic Tremblay (TUX) Anthony Romano and Amy Merchant (Laughlin Constable) Josh Lane (FerebeeLane) John Birnsteel (Doe-Anderson) Carl Fremont (Quigley-Simpson) Megan Lally (Highdive) Courtney Williams✨ (The Variable) Matthew Naffah (MKR) Trevor Monteiro (Truth Marketing + Media) Greg Almeida (Colossus) Suzy Langdell (Party Land) João Coutinho and Stacia Shields Parseghian (Atlantic New York) Jamon Deaver(Cornett) Conversations like these are where our industry's next chapter takes shape. #AdAgeSmallAgencyConference #AgencyLeadership #RishadTobaccowala #FutureofAgencies #FutureoftheIndustry

When it comes to Talent, It's time to translate talking points into track record. In her latest piece for LBBonline - Little Black Book, 4As EVP of People, Talent and Upskilling Sylvia Banderas Coffinet breaks down why Face of Talent, our celebration of the 2026 MAIP Fellows on August 11, is a working session the industry can't afford to skip. 53 years. 4,500+ alumni. One pipeline still setting the standard for what "ready on day one" actually looks like. Hear directly from the leaders and alumni shaping that legacy, including Shannon Maher (Fashion Institute of Technology), Mark Robinson (Author, MAIP Alum 1977), Ronnie Dickerson Stewart (Executive Coach, MAIP Alum 2004), Tiffany R. Warren (Sony Music Group), Chauncey Wesley (Omnicom Media, MAIP Alum 2004), Marc S. Strachan (Coach Marc Consulting, MAIP Alum 1981), Marques Gartrell (Wieden + Kennedy, MAIP Alum 2006) and Sandi Preston (Translation, MAIP Alum 2005). Rising voices like Guadalupe Rivera, Izadora Lima, Quang Nguyen and Samuel Aruleba have shared the power of MAIP's impact and Face of Talent is an opportunity to see it come to life. Read the story. Get your tickets. Help build our industry's next generation. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gzGWjJ78 4As Foundation #FaceOfTalent #MAIP #4As #TalentStrategy #FutureLeaders #FutureofAgencies 

Does advertising still believe in its own future? 57% of agency leaders have already slowed or paused entry-level hiring as AI absorbs the tasks junior talent used to learn on. And for the first time in MAIP's 53-year history, brands and non-agency organizations hired more fellows than agencies did. This shift points to the collapse of the apprenticeship model that built this industry's leaders and is a direct threat to the pipelines that bring cultural fluency and fresh perspective into our work. 4As EVP of People, Talent and Upskilling Sylvia Banderas Coffinet wrote about why starving the talent pipeline, not AI itself, is the real risk to agency business. "By intentionally investing in comprehensive upskilling programs and talent communities such as MAIP and “I'm New Here,” we do more than fill seats. We transform junior talent from easily automated task-executors into the irreplaceable drivers of human ingenuity we need to lead the next era of advertising." Read the full piece on Campaign US: https://lnkd.in/emzhGxBe 4As Foundation #TalentStrategy #AdvertisingTalent #MAIP #4AsFoundation #EmergingTalent #FaceofTalent

🎙️New Episode on the 4As.4sight Podcast How do agencies earn a permanent seat at the table in an era disrupted by AI and client insourcing? According to Navy Federal Credit Union CMO Pam Piligian, the answer lies in becoming true brand strategic consultants who execute with brilliance. ✨ In the latest 4As.4sight episode, Matt Kasindorf sits down with Pam to explore the shifting dynamics between clients and agencies. She shares insightful perspectives on why agencies must deeply understand a client's business landscape, including regulatory environments and competitors, to drive real value. Worth a listen: https://lnkd.in/eD_4YVyW #4As #podcast #lookahead #MarketingStrategy #BrandConsulting #AgencyPartnerships #Leadership

🎉 A warm welcome to Ronnie Dickerson Stewart and Edward Frankel as they join the 4As Foundation's Board of Directors. Their perspective and contributions will be key to moving us forward as the advertising industry’s most trusted accelerator of future-ready creative talent, powering innovation across every corner of marketing, media and technology. 👏

Don't miss your 4As member benefits from Prxy AI: • Early access to new platform features • 20% off annual membership • A complimentary Strategy Challenge Skip the demo. Send Prxy your five toughest research or strategy questions—for a current client or new business pitch—and get executive-ready recommendations back within 24 hours. https://lnkd.in/gZkMi6yH

The 2026 Jay Chiat Awards bring together the sharpest strategic minds in advertising — and your brand belongs in the room. 🏆 Sponsoring the Jay Chiat Awards puts you in front of senior strategists, agency leaders and the teams driving the industry's most celebrated work. 📍 Awards Ceremony: October 5 | New York City Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Reach out to Aaron Zimmerman azimmerman@4as.org. #JayChiatAwards #Advertising #MarketingStrategy #4As #Sponsorship

Scale your agency's campaigns—not your team’s burnout. 🚀🤖 Leading agencies are already using automation to run more campaigns across more locations without adding to their headcount. Ready for your playbook on what's next in agentic workflows? Join the 4As, Fluency and L.T. AGENCY to see real, proven use cases that eliminate the manual execution burden keeping your best talent bogged down in operations. The real-world payoff: - Unlock Growth Capacity: Expand your campaign footprint without expanding headcount. - Shift the Focus: Move your people off repetitive, manual tasks to high-value strategy and creative. - Client Differentiation: Turn operational efficiency into a competitive edge. Evolve your operations and innovate fearlessly. Click below to save your seat. 👇 #4As #AgencyOperations #AgenticAutomation #ArtificialIntelligence #MarketingStrategy https://lnkd.in/dCgncZ9s

Real talk that shifts how you think. StratFest is back — and the conversations will be as sharp as ever. Hope to see you October 6 at Convene, NYC. Featured: Joe Maglio, Cheil Agency Network — StratFest 2025 🔗 Register: https://bit.ly/4f0RKwv #StratFest2026 #4As

60% of CEOs now see marketing as a cost center. A year ago, that number was 35%. That stat alone should stop every agency leader in their tracks. At Cannes, the 4As brought together CEOs, CMOs and agency leaders to unpack why. Marketers and agencies cannot afford to be vendors who just execute. They must be strategic partners. Great piece from Jameson Fleming/Campaign US digging into what it'll take to win back the C-suite: fluency in the language of growth (revenue, CAC, market share, not just impressions), a renewed investment in brand as the "operating system" of a company and agencies willing to fight for a seat at the planning table instead of waiting for the debrief. Worth a read: https://lnkd.in/d7C36wKr #agencyleadership #agencyclientpartnership #thefutureofagencies #marketing #agencypartners #strategicpartnership