On Creative Assembly’s The Spark podcast, our mission is to amplify Nashville’s diverse creative voices, foster growth through shared journeys, and inspire a city that thrives on collaboration.And now, here’s The Spark.Welcome back to The Spark.I’m your host, Mark Scrivner, and today I’m joined by a special guest, Kendra Svenson, the VP of agency services at Speak.Uh, Speak is an agency that has an office in Memphis and with deep roots here in Nashville.And I know, Kendra, you’ve been here since day one of, uh, launching the Nashville office for Speak, so excited to have you on the show today, excited for you to be a part of the- Yeahthe show.I’m so excited to be here.I appreciate the invite.Thank you.Well, yeah.And, uh, just to kinda kick us off maybe, Kendra, talk a little bit about, like, your journey.What got you to the point of, you know, being able to lead or, um, lead off as one of the first employees here in Nashville?Yeah.So I, uh, started my career as a brand marketer.Um, was a military wife working in the Panhandle of Florida.Easieryou know, harder places to live, for sure.Mm-hmm.Uh, but jumped into media buying and really wanted that agency experience, kind of, you know, wanted to move to Nashville, the big agency life.That was at the top of my list.Uh, ended up at Speak and, um, started in content, so writing blogs, doing social media.Uh, when I graduated college, my professor said, “Keep an eye on this social media thing.It may be big in the future.”Mm-hmm.So was never really taught that, um, in any sort of education capacity, but just cut my teeth on as trends emerged and figuring it out.So, um, did content and social media for a couple years.Uh, led the digital marketing team, and then as our team grew, found myself wanting to take on more responsibility.So now I oversee the teams that do all of our creative production, from performance marketing content to d- design development, um, as well as our client relationship folks.Yeah.Well, that’s interesting.And you’ve been with them for 12 years.Yeah.And you’ve worked through a, a lot of different disciplines, probably every one that you’re now managing with the agency services.Like, what is, what’s something that’s kept you there, like, long enough to learn all that and grow into the position that you’re in today?Yeah.When I first started, I just thought it was, you know, kinda glamorous to do social media and write.I liked writing, and so to be able to do that for a job felt like match made in heaven career-wise.Mm-hmm.Uh, but the industry has just evolved and changed.You know, just talking social media, uh, it used to be posts that you wrote, and then it was finding great pictures, and now it’s creating content.Uh, so it’s really evolved, and that’s kept me engaged and, um, excited about the industry, and there’s always something new.So it’s definitely kept me here.Um, as we’ve been able to progress, I’m always learning.I haven’t found that, kind of, where the road ends yet.Yeah.Um, technology’s always changing.It, it probably never will end.Yeah.So it’s, uh, crazy how much you have to keep up with on a- Yeahdaily basis of what’s happening, and now with AI, and I know we’ll dig into that probably, uh, a little bit later in the show.But, uh, you know, today, like, do you still get to, you know, um, do you still get to work on, like, writing stuff even though you’re running agency services, knowing that you, you know, you thrived in that area w- as you started your career?Yeah, probably more than I should.I find myself, um, picking up tasks and, um, getting them done, just that whole, like, wanna be a part of the team.I wrote a press release today.But, um, you know, now I oversee an awesome team, so I try to delegate where I can, for sure.But yeah, it’s fun to still keep up with trends.It’s a lot harder to keep up with trends when you’re leading people who are in it day to day versus being in it day to day.So- Yeahevery once in a while I like to jump back in.Well, you know, as we were doing research on you, too, uh, for the show, I mean, you describe yourself as a marketing storyteller.And, uh, I guess, you know, as you’re leading the agency operations there, um, what d- what do you expect of the team when you’re telling stories for your clients?Like, what are some of the best stories you’re seeing?Yeah.Anytime we’re creating, there’s a story to be told, and what that means to me is, like, there’s an emotion to evoke.There’s a reason that we are doing the work that we’re doing.And so it’s really important for my team to understand that why and then understand how the right audience might react to it.So, uh, any story, you know, has to have a listener, and we want to, um, work on, why do people wanna listen?Finding that why kinda drives- Mm-hmmeverything we do.Yeah.And for those in the audience that may not-know of Speak.Uh, you know, what- Just maybe give a little overview of the agency and, uh, what services you’re providing today, and then maybe even, like, what types of clients do you typically lean into- Surethat, uh, are some of the ideal clients for you?Yeah.So we are full service agency.Um, we started as a web design shop in 1999.We’ve kind of grown from there.So today we offer, uh, full scope marketing, everything from strategy to execution, reporting, um, across the marketing sphere.So whether that’s content, SEO, um, website design, development, branding, we do a lot of creative work for different clients.Uh, we have specialized with cultural attractions and nonprofits as well as, uh, education and, um, museum space.And so what that has allowed us to do is get really, uh, specialized in the types of services we need to offer.Uh, we’re always connecting with audiences to sell a ticket, to find a volunteer, to find a donation.Um, and that has allowed us to really pivot into some interesting spaces.We’re working with clients on their membership.Um, offering digital passes is a big thing for us for our cultural attractions.You know, how do they engage with their audiences?It’s a little bit different than, um, how a small business would engage with their audience.Hmm.So lots of products, lots of different services have come from that, um, ever-evolving, for sure.Yeah.Well, as you’ve moved into the VP of agency services now, what are some things that maybe you had to learn or you had to give up, you know, to move into that position, besides the writing?I know, you know, that was something important to you.But beyond that, were there things that you had to learn or give up?Yeah.Uh, I would say I’ve been told I’m a doer.Um, I love a brainstorm session, but coming out of a brainstorm session, I want a task list, I want a due date, I want to be able to complete things.And so as I’ve grown into agency leadership, bringing people along for that and helping them break down, um, not everyone is a big-picture thinker.Um, and so when we pass off a big idea, you know, training on how to break that down and execute it, uh, that’s something that I struggle with, is letting other people come back with that execution plan because I am such a doer.And so, yeah, that’s been a challenge, uh, just to, to see things, um, to completion from a leadership perspective without being the one to get in there and do the nitty-gritty.Yeah.Well, I know when you moved over to Nashville and launched the office, uh, you know, it was, um, you know, Speak Creative.And I know recently you rebranded to just Speak.And maybe just talk a little bit about, like, why you guys went through that process and, you know, what you’re seeing today, what the clients thought of it, if anything at all.Uh-I think, uh, you know, we started as a web shop.We started in branding and really specific creative work, and 2012, 2013, started taking on digital marketing.Now digital marketing is just marketing, right?Mm-hmm.And so we’ve offered different services that have grown our agency to the point where we are end to end.Uh, we are helping with technological solutions and third-party platforms and getting into, um, systems integration, and that is so much more than just a creative shop.And so a lot of clients called us Speak anyway.That’s been our nomenclature- Okayfor quite some time.Uh, so making the, the change to Speak and kind of, um, naming ourselves the agency with heart, that aligns with values we’ve held for a long time, uh, just made sense.Wow.Talk a little bit about that, the, uh, agency with heart.Yeah.So we have always said we wanna work with heart.We wanna serve clients.We wanna treat others well.Um, those have been values.They’re posted in our office.They’re, um, on our website.It’s some of the first conversations we have.They go in our proposals for clients.Um, I guess something, going back to your question about what’s kept me at Speak, is I have really found that our culture is people forward, uh, people first, and we are doing things because we want to do good.And, um, you know, whether that’s working with clients that are also doing good in their industry or treating each other well, uh, working with heart means a lot, and it’s really what’s kept me around.Um, we’re people over pride, and that’s a really important part of our culture.Yeah.And I know in the early days, uh, like every agency, you work with anybody that comes- Yeahuh, to you that needs business.And I know over the last, you know, little bit, you’ve narrowed your focus down to the verticals you talked a little bit about.Uh, you know, when did youI’m sure you were there when all this started to happen, of like let’s narrow the focus down.What was, what was the thought behind that, and what was the process of identifying who you were gonna start going after?You know, it was a natural progression in working with cultural institutions, the museum space, the zoo, aquarium space.Non-profits are kind of right there.Yeah.Uh, that was natural progression through word of mouth.Uh, we’ll still work with small businesses, especially in our local markets, Nashville, Memphis.We have- Mm-hmma lot of clients that are a small to medium sized business, but what we try to look for is ambition in that brand, uh, you know, true marketing growth goals, true performance metrics that we can go after.Um, you probably know this, but small businesses, marketing’s often the first line item cut.Mm-hmm.And that’s a really hard spot to be to grow and evolve.And so, um, when we’re working with small businesses, we want ambitious brands that are able to, uh, kind of see past, uh, their own profit line and see what marketing growth can do for their brand.Uh, and that’s really natural in that cultural institution space.They’re always looking to raise more money, um, reach more people, and sell more tickets, you know?And so it’s been a pretty natural progression for us.Yeah.You’re, um, you’re so right on even marketing has evolved from like the clicks and the visits to really now it’s the attribution of- Mmhey, we spent X and we generated Y and- Yeahnew clients for the, um, you know, for the small business, which is the lifeblood of, um, any small business.Yeah, absolutely.And sometimes it’s really easy, um, to say like, “I don’t know if the campaign’s working.Stop it.”And, and that doesn’t make great work for anyone, you know, on our end, um, or a client’s end, and so we love working with brands that understand that, wanna test, want to kind of push new boundaries.Um, keeps things exciting.Yeah.Well, I also read something that, uh, you once posted a message, uh, about, a direct message to CEOs about not distracting their own marketing teams.You know, what was the, um, you know, what was the biggest mistake you were seeing at the time that CEOs were making that made you take that stance?Yeah, and I would say, you know, that was probably, I was manager level.Now I’m overseeing managers and probably my own worst enemy in that space.I have to remind myself to get out of the way.Um, we have to trust the people that we hire to do a job, to have a skill set, and to hone in on that skill set.Um, we are constantly fostering continuing education, pouring resources into our team so that they can really lead out in their own respective, um, and, you know, having a manager that sees something in a news article and all of a sudden is like, “Why aren’t we doing XYZ,” when there’s a big, long strategy that’s been thought out, it’s just not productive.It takes away resources.It takes away, um, a lot of the- the in place KPIs and work that’s being done, and those pivots can cause a lot of disjoint, uh, both in the team and the culture, but also just the progress that you’re able to make.And so, um, I think it’s important to trust who you hire, trust the plan, and then let the plan play out without, you know, jumping around.We are, we have shiny ball syndrome sometimes, where it’s like, “Let’s try that.What about this?”Um, and it’s not fully vetted or, you know, integrated into the other part of the strategy, and I think we can get our, in our own way if we can’t avoid that.Yeah.Shiny ball, that’s great.We use the squirrel.Yeah.It’s like- Exactly.there it goes, so- Yephere’s a new idea, and man, it’s- you’re so right.I worked with so many agency owners that, I mean, they- they do get in their team’s way a lot of times, and I have over the years as well.So it’s a great stance to take.And why- why did you think you needed to be the one to ma- Was there something that happened to you personally that you said, “I need to get this message out to CEOs to understand this”?Uh, no, not me personally.I will say that, uh, probably at the time there was some clients that were doing that.You know, we work with- Mmmarketing teams as our client contact.But they get that, um, what we affectionately call the swoop and poop all the time from their executives, and so helping navigate, uh, our own kind of client contacts, mid-level marketers, helping them navigate through that is important as just thought leadership from the agency’s perspective.Yeah.Well, let’s talk about clients being clienty.What, uh, you know, now that you’re in charge of the agency services, like what is, what does a client relationship look like to you at Speak, you know, that really like thrives and works?Yeah, sure.we always like to say that we wanna be down the hall from you.Uh, although, you know, we’re doing- Mm-hmmthis Zoom thing, we work with clients across the country, so lots of phone call, email, we wanna be as accessible as if we’re on your team and down the hall.Um, and that means there’s a 2way street.That’s really important for us, that we can, uh, ask for feedback, get it in a timely manner, but also have the relationship to where we can come back to you and say, “We disagree,” um, or, “We agree.Let’s get it going today.”Uh- By building that trust with our clients, we’re able to just feel a little bit tighter, so the relationship piece is really important to us.Um, of course, great personalities.We wish everyone had one, uh, but we like to, to build trust, build relationships on the client side so that they can trust us when we bring them a new strategy or, uh, you know, wanna test something a little out of the norm.Yeah.Well, you know, before the show, you actually talked a little bit about, uh, you know, Speak being a Memphis-based agency- Yeahthat launched a Nashville office, but you also have, uh, people that work across, around the country that are remote that help support the clients as well.Maybe educate the, you know, audience ’cause a lot of us either have one agency or maybe we have multiple offices.Like, what, what works in that model, and maybe what are things that you guys continue to work on so that it works better?Yeah.So we’re a fully distributed team.We have creative, uh, designers, developers in both offices and remote.We have sales people in both offices.We’re fully distributed, so we don’t have separate teams for our Nashville clients or Memphis clients.A good portion of our client base is actually across the country.Okay.Um, so we’re not working solely in the 2 cities, and that helps.Mm-hmm.Um, we were pioneers of Zoom, I’d like to say.You know, COVID happened, and we were already doing it, um, where we were helping clients get on Zoom for the first time for years and years.We were helping people get online and put their shops up online.But it’s just always been part of us, um, to find the best talent and hone that in.So a lot of really high collaboration, but we had to, you know, build that foundation where Zoom is normal and feels like there’s water cooler chat in the midst.Our Slack channels are crazy, you know-just because we’re, we’re trying to keep that team culture up, which is hard to do across 3 kind of silos.Mm-hmm.Um, it’s just been baked into the culture for so long.It’s all I know.Yeah.Well, you know, you’ve been called a natural-born leader by a lot of people that have worked with you.I’ve heard that along the way.Like, what’s a piece of leadership that you find yourself giving most often, a leadership lesson?I would say in order to teach anything or to lead, you have to know how people respond.Um, you have to know how they learn.You have to know how they listen, and you really have to pivot your way for it to make sense for them.So, you know, if I love a call and could just run through a bullet point list in a notebook, uh, I can’t expect everyone to take that information in the first time.I need to maybe put it on slides so they can take it in that way.Or maybe we need repeat.So it’s, it’s teaching how people can learn that I think is really powerful in leadership.Um, I’ve had some amazing leaders along the way.I’ve had some not so amazing leaders along the way, but when I look back at what I wanna pick from those great leaders, they were always willing to kinda meet me where I was and empower me to do more on my own.Um, I’ve had a lot of leaders that brought me with them along the way versus just, like, push me to the side and let me run.Yeah.If that makes sense.Mm-hmm.Um, so I think it’s important to give opportunities to trust your people and to let them know that they’re trusted to make decisions.I think that’s a really important part of leadership.Well, it’s a great lesson, and I think, you know, what I took away from that is you have to know your people- Yeahbefore you can actually lead them, and you lead them the way they wanna be led.That’s much more succinct than- Well, I mean, you-what I said, but yeah.But, but you- Absolutelyyou parse that out, and I mean, that’s a great lesson for a lot of people because they try to lead everybody the exact same way every day- Yeahand it just doesn’t work.Yeah.Even, you know, working with teams in the South versus someone who lives in Pennsylvania, like, your tone of voice can, can really- Hmmhave different meaning.So that’s been interesting working with clients across the country.Same thing, uh, when we work with people in the Northeast, I try not to say y’all and all y’all and, you know?Mm-hmm.Just be clearer.Um, there’s little things like that that can have big impact that we’re not even aware of.Yeah.Well, now that you’ve moved from the Gulf Coast up to Nashville, and you’ve spent 12 years, you know, leading the Nashville office, uh, part of it, what have you seen from the Nashville perspective from when you got here to maybe today in the marketing space?Oh my gosh.Well, it’s just growth.Like, that’s the only word.I think Nashville is all about growing and opportunity and new opportunity.They’re not afraid to innovate or reach out.Specifically for businesses here in Nashville, you know, they’re fine to work over Zoom with a different agency, so our competition is, um, vast in- Mm.Nashville.You know?It’s, it’s fragmented.People just want growth.Um, working with the Memphis market, they’re very much, we love Memphis.They’re gritty, and they want to have that hometown feel.So you know, they wanna work with Memphis agencies.There’s just a lot of nuance between the 2 locations, but man, growth and Nashville, I think those 2 words are parallel at this point.Yeah.They sure are.And I guess, you know, uh, maybe that collaboration, like where, you know, do you guys collaborate with other agencies, like to, or do you execute everything pretty much in-house?Have you reached out to other agencies to do different services, and if so, like maybe who, how, what traits have you found to be some of your best agency partners?Yeah.We do.We collaborate- Okaywith a lot of agencies.There’s a lot of, uh, creative shops that maybe don’t do development or the technical piece.Um, so we’ll collaborate with them, whether it’s just coding out a website or doing some of the development work to get their ticketing platform looking right.Um, we have collaborated on video projects with other agencies, you know, that have more, more setup, uh, bigger setup, bigger scale projects.We’ll look for other people.Uh, press releases and PR, you know, having the contacts is really important, so we’ve worked with some other agencies there.We’re not afraid to work with agencies.Again, we’re just people-focused.Mm-hmm.So those relationships are highly relational, you know?There’s a lot of collaboration.Um, we want open and honest and quick feedback between 2 agencies.Um, and, and boundaries, I think it’s important to just know, like, I’m not overstepping on your toes.You’re not overstepping on mine- Mm-hmmbecause we’re both here for one reason.It’s the client’s goal.Yeah.Boy, you’re so right, and those agency partnerships can really thrive- Yeahif both people, you know, both agencies do, you know, act in that way that you’ve described, so.Yep.You know, you gotta be partner first.Uh, well, what, like as you’ve been there for the 12 years, like what legacy or maybe you still trying to like leave within the, um, agency?Yeah, good question.Um, I would say, I would, I, I was drawn to the agency because of the culture, the people, you know, having an agency which you kind of tend to think like Mad Men, cutthroat, you know, long hours.Um, we’ve just always been really balanced, and I think the way I can leave a legacy is just to foster the balance and, and continue to drive it.W- every time someone new comes into the agency, you know, the dynamic can change.Um, so being there for 12 years, I find it to be really important to keep the good where it needs to be.Mm-hmm.You know, I’ve never missed a T-ball game.I’ve never missed a choir concert.Um, I just have balance and family, and I wanna make sure that I’m providing that for the next generation.That’s great.What, um, you know, we talked a little bit about, I was gonna ask you about AI at the beginning, and it’s every, it’s on every agency owner’s- Absolutelyuh, mind right now.Yeah.How are you all seeing AI be effective in your business today?Yeah.It’s really interesting.You know, we work with a lot of conservation-based organizations, and they’re pretty anti-AI, you know?Mm.They’re concerned about the resourcing and, um, the environmental impact, and so we’re treading lightly in that regard because we don’t wanna cross any boundaries for those types of clients.But for our agency, where we have seen some benefit is in the process piece and the, um, efficiency piece, the admin piece.We’ve seen a lot of work there in just helping us put together timelines and forecasting.Um, so there’s definitely a place for it.Um, there’s just such an interesting conversation on where it intersects with, um, art and creativeness that, you know, we’re still wading through.Um, can it, can it post to social for you?Can it create all of those words I used to spend hours writing?Mm-hmm.Um, we are s- we’re testing, but we’re not fully confident in it yet, you know?Yeah.To that capacity, but yeah, it’s interesting to be in the agency spot because our job is to, uh, our job is to talk about it and give it as an option, but we are seeing some pushback from those who are really conscious of it.Yeah.And so we’re d- we’re finding our way through, just like, I think, probably every agency is.Man, that is very interesting, though.I never thought about that from a conservative, you know, or conservation client- Yeahperspective of how they might view AI, so.I, um, in one of our discoveries for a, a botanical garden, uh, we do this, you know, have a laundry list of discovery activities, but one of them is like what does AI say about you?And I kind of position it as, you know, this is, this is the internet summed up, you know, who they think your brand is, who your audiences are, true or false.Um, so it’s a really quick activity, but man, I introduced it one time, and they all kind of went quiet.And their leader was like, “We have an anti-AI, AI policy.We actually refuse to use AI, and we’d like to not continue.”Uh, you know, and it was like Of course YeahI, we understand.Let’s pivot.I’m so sorry.Uh, but yeah, just having to, to figure it out along with the rest of the world, but maybe from a leadership place, so means a little quicker on our end.Yeah.Well, what are you the most excited about with Speak in the next 3 to 5 years?Yeah.I am so excited to, I feel like we are, I guess because of the AI, we’re on the cusp of a major creative shift.Um, websites are due for a big upgrade in some capacity.Um, how we gather information is changing every day, and so I think, you know, in the next 5 to 10 years we’ll look at website design development completely differently.Uh, we already are looking at it differently in terms of like the types of rich content we’re putting on sites and how we can make them faster and quicker and get the information to your fingertips.Um, I saw a website last week that had AI built into it, so you, the very top of the website was like, “What question do you have for us?”Mm-hmm.And it was an AI generated answer of like where they’re located, what services they offer.So really interesting just to see, uh, how we’re gonna advance.Yeah.Well, this has been awesome.Is there anything as we’re starting to wrap up that maybe I didn’t ask you or that you wanna share with the audience?You know, I think that the agency world is ever-changing, but it’s just been so exciting to kind of feel like you have a new job every couple of years, you know?Um, you’re, you’re focused on different things.You’re learning new technology so rapidly, but, um, the kinda common thread is there’s, there is a story to tell, and there’s a person to listen.And so as long as we have that, I think our agency jobs are safe.Mm-hmm.We’ve just gotta continue to evolve as technology does.Yeah.They, um, they really are.I mean, that’s a good point, and I think the more that agencies can band together and do great work collaboratively, like with some of those partnerships, the better off we’re gonna be.Yeah.And you know, the other thing that I’ve seen is just the agencies that are niching down like you all have, you know, are the ones that I believe in the future are gonna thrive even more.And so, you know, it sounds like you all are doing all the right things, and you have.And you know, I appreciate all you’re doing for the Nashville creative community and- Yeahyou know, and, um, you know, it’s been great to have you on the show.Thanks, Jarred.Appreciate all your lessons.Uh, yeah, so thank you.And thank you all for joining us today on another episode of The Spark.Thanks for tuning in.It allows me to continue to do what I love to do, and that’s to interview other agency owners and creatives around the Nashville community, and all the organizations that support creatives.So thanks for tuning in week in and week out.Please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review just so we can get this show out to more people that need to hear these messages.Uh, thank you, and we’ll see you next week on The Spark.And that’s a wrap on this episode of The Spark from Creative Assembly.Thanks for spending time with us and exploring the minds shaping Nashville’s creative future.If you’re walking away more inspired, connected, or energized, that’s exactly the point.A big thank you to our sponsor, Snapshot, and the incredible team behind the scenes who make this show possible.Your support fuels every conversation and keeps collaboration alive.So if you haven’t already, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review.Thanks again for tuning in.Until next time, stay creative, stay curious, and keep that spark.