Can advertising be cool again? with Andy Berkenfield

In this episode of Pebble Presents, I talk with Andy Berkenfield, CEO of Duncan Channon, about whether advertising can win back its cultural cachet. Andy has spent his whole career on the business side of the industry, so instead of the usual case that independence unlocks braver creative work, he makes a different one: the real story isn’t creative freedom. It’s what happens when business risk and creative risk are the same job, carried by the same people every day. From there, we get into where the industry lost its mojo and why meaning, not attention, may be the way back. Emelia Rallapalli is the founder of Pebble, a brand strategy and marketing research consultancy. With decades of experience in global brand planning, strategy, and research, Pebble has helped shape businesses of all kinds, from ambitious start-ups to global Fortune 100 companies. Originally from New York, Andy Berkenfield spent his second 7 years living in France. After returning to the US, he attended high school in Rye NY, then the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse, where he earned a BS in Advertising. After 5 years in the NY ad scene, having worked at three agencies and making the move to Account Management, he headed to CA to restart his career at FCB where he worked on Taco Bell, ran the Men's side of the Levis business, and led the launch of the Sega Dreamcast in the US. Following that tour, Andrew joined this scrappy little agency called Duncan Channon as the head of client service in 2000 and has never looked back. “While a classically trained Account Guy, my remit at DC has always been to help get the agency to the next level, to grow the business from that little creative boutique into the nationally known, award-winning, world-class, integrated independent agency that it is today.” Welcome to Pebble Presents. - - - - - - - - If you liked this episode of Pebble Presents, please share it with colleagues and friends! Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube to rate/review/subscribe to the show. Want more? Visit PebbleStrategy.com. You can also find us on LinkedIn (  / pebble-strategy  ) and Instagram (  / pebblestrategy  . Thanks for listening and joining the conversation! *References* Duncan Channon website: https://duncanchannon.com/ Duncan Channon on LinkedIn:   / duncanchannon   Andy Berkenfield on LinkedIn:   / andy-berkenfield-69136b1   *Show Notes* 0:48 - Emelia introduces Andy Berkenfield 2:00 - Andy’s path into the advertising business 11:26 - Andy’s career arc over his 25 years with DC 16:23 - The costs and benefits of creative bravery 25:11 - Creative talent retention 38:34 - On the phase-out of apprenticeship in the evolution of our industry 45:12 - Where agencies do their best work 47:46 - The excitement around the gray area of A.I. 50:27 - Hiring for mindspace and perspective, and the value of deep thinking 55:47 - Lightning round 1:02:53 - Emelia wraps up the episode *Episode Credits* Executive Produced & Hosted by Emelia Rallapalli Produced by Stephanie Watanabe Edited and Post Produced by Erin Zimmerman Artwork and design by Liisa Turan-Walters