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Podcast | Episode 579
The Unfiltered Truth About Marketing Agencies: Why Most Are Terrible And How to Find the Few Worth Hiring
Do you ever feel like hiring a marketing agency is more hassle than help? You’re not alone—agencies are a hot topic in the ECF community, and not always in a good way. In this episode, I sit down with Kevin Simonson, longtime agency founder and ad expert, to talk candidly about what makes agencies so tricky, how to spot the good ones, and what eCommerce owners can do to get the most out of these relationships.
Listen in as we discuss Kevin’s wild background (you won’t believe the stories behind his “Two Truths and a Lie”), his experience scaling top-tier DTC brands like Vuori, and his honest thoughts on how agency fee structures should work. We also cover how to vet an agency, why most are bad, how to set expectations, and how AI is radically transforming the paid ad game behind the scenes.
You’ll learn:
- Kevin’s unconventional career path and early agency days. (5:55)
- How Vuori scaled to $5.5B+ valuation—and the marketing strategy behind it. (12:30)
- Why most brands struggle with agencies and how to avoid common pitfalls. (19:20)
- How to structure agency fees for win-win outcomes. (26:40)
- Kevin’s top tips for finding and vetting the right ad agency. (29:20)
- When to keep media buying in-house and when to bring in outside help. (35:10)
- Why fractional media buyers might be better than agencies for small brands—and how to find them. (36:30)
- The growing role of AI and machine learning in optimizing ad creative and targeting. (35:55)
- The importance of setting up the correct technical foundation. (44:30)
- Why GA4 + BigQuery is a must-have setup for serious data analysis. (58:40)
- What business owners can learn from history and Rockefeller’s approach to wealth. (59:55)
- How Kevin thinks about community, technical insight, and staying curious. (1:07:05)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
(With your host Andrew Youderian of eCommerceFuel.com and Kevin Simonson of adMixt)
What Was Mentioned
- Kevin Simonson: Website | LinkedIn
- ECF Technical Guide for Facebook/Meta ads
- HYPE10
- Opascope
- Foxwell Founders
- Vuori
- Hampton
- MarketerHire
- TagHero
- Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford and Jonathan David
- The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King by Rich Cohen
- Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow
- eCommerceFuel Forum
Ideas Worth Sharing:
"Most agencies are bad. I know that sounds very harsh, but it's frankly easy to prove, because I looked at the IRS code that you have to file when you classify yourself as an agency.” - Kevin Simonson Tweet this “Show me the incentive. I'll show you the outcome.” - Kevin Simonson Tweet this "Incrementality is the word of the year in my world, which is a good thing.” - Kevin Simonson Tweet this
Post by Andrew Youderian
Founder and Chief Instigator, eComFuel
Andrew quit an early finance job to sell CB radios online — an admittedly unorthodox career path. It set him on a course to found and sell multiple businesses, host a decade-running podcast, lecture at Harvard Business School and create eComFuel, the leading community for 7- and 8-figure online business owners. Andrew is fascinated with branding, AI, building community, investing and growing meaningful businesses that don't require sacrificing what truly matters.
