#487 - David Anderson - Off Madison Avenue

David Anderson helped found Off Madison Avenue, an advertising agency, nearly 27 years ago. He is a strategic leader with a passion for driving growth, solving complex problems, and inspiring teams to achieve excellence. David is this week's guest on The Next 100 Days Podcast.Summary of the PodcastKey TakeawaysLaunching the podcast Graham and Kevin prepare to record an episode of their "Next 100 Days" podcast, noting they don't do much pre-planning and just let the conversation flow. They welcome David Anderson, founder of the advertising agency "Off Madison Avenue", to be their guest.Origins of Off Madison Avenue David shares the story of how he and his business partner started Off Madison Avenue after he was unexpectedly fired from his previous agency job. They decided to strike out on their own and build the type of agency they wanted, focusing on providing high-quality work at more affordable prices than New York-based agencies.Transforming challenger brands  David explains Off Madison Avenue's approach of working with "challenger brands" - companies that are hungry, think differently, and want to disrupt their industries. The agency aims to help these brands transform and become market leaders.Successful campaigns and brand experiences Graham and David discuss some of Off Madison Avenue's successful campaigns, including a viral social media effort featuring Barbie dolls for the Arizona Office of Tourism. They emphasize the importance of creating memorable brand experiences for customers.Navigating risk and brand evolution The group explores the balance between taking risks to transform a brand versus making missteps that can backfire. David cautions that brands need to deeply understand their customers to determine the appropriate level of risk, and not just try to be "politically correct".Advice for building a brand David provides advice for small business owners and entrepreneurs on building their brands, emphasizing the importance of constantly evolving their team and leadership, hiring the right "who's" (not just relying on loyalty), and positioning the business for long-term 10x growth rather than just 2x.The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-HostsGraham Arrowsmith Graham founded Finely Fettled ten years ago to help business owners and marketers market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, where he introduces AI Agents that you can talk to, that increase engagement, dwell time, leads and conversions. Now, Graham is offering a Generative Engine Optimisation Website Auditor that gets you ready to be found by LLM search. Try searching for suppliers of UK High Net Worth data in the UK on ChatGPT!Kevin Appleby Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com