Strategic Partnerships, AI-in-Action, and the Regional vs. National Agency Debate: an Interview with Brian McHale

Guest: Brian McHale, CEO & Owner, Brandience (Cincinnati, OH)

Host: Jonathan Gaby

Runtime: ~70 minutes

Episode Snapshot:

Agency veteran Brian McHale breaks down what real strategic partnership looks like between brands and agencies, why misaligned expectations tank relationships, and how his team at Brandience uses human-centered generative AI to shave hours off workflows without replacing people. We also dig into life after third-party cookies, how to think about AEO (AI Experience/Answer Engine Optimization) alongside SEO, and when a regional agency can beat a big national firm (and when it can’t).

Top Takeaways

• Alignment > everything: Most client–agency blowups start with fuzzy goals. Define business objectives, success metrics, and who’s doing strategy vs. execution up front.

• Be what you are (and say what you aren’t): Credibility comes from owning your strengths—and partnering out what you don’t do.

• Human-centered AI wins: Use AI to remove drudgery and speed research, but keep humans for nuance, judgment, and brand voice.

• Privacy-first measurement: With cookies fading, double down on first-party data, store visits/footfall attribution, and relationship-led marketing.

• SEO isn’t dead; AEO is additive: Structure content for answer engines—author bios, credentials, fresh stats, citations, and strong FAQs.

• 00:11 – Cold open: what Marketing Distilled is about

• 02:13 – Brian’s background & Brandience overview

• 05:55 – When agency–client relationships go sideways (expectations!)

• 08:17 – What a strategic partnership actually looks like

• 10:11 – Building trust & credibility (values, being honest about gaps)

• 15:21 – Brandience core competencies (digital, traditional, creative, brand)

• 17:09 – Life after cookies: attribution, first-party data, privacy stance

• 24:32 – Sponsor: Asana Partners (via JonathanGaby.com/Asana)

• 26:17 – AI in action: internal roll-out, process mapping, responsible use

• 29:09 – Case: 11 AI agents cut prospect research from 45 → 10 minutes

• 33:32 – Why humans still matter: editing, nuance, tone

• 37:23 – From SEO to AEO: winning answer engines (bios, stats, FAQs)

• 48:24 – Sponsor: WP Engine (via JonathanGaby.com/WPEngine)

• 50:02 – Regional vs. national agencies: speed, flexibility, and fit

• 54:24 – Franchise/local marketing done right (Tropical Smoothie openings)

• 62:30 – Lightning Round

• 67:12 – Final advice: become a better writer to become a better AI prompter/editor

• 68:36 – Where to find Brian (LinkedIn)

• 69:57 – Outro & how to connect with the show

About the Guest, Brian McHale

Brian McHale is the CEO/Owner of Brandience, an award-winning, retail-minded advertising agency. Former President/Partner at Empower Media Marketing; recognized by Ad Age (Media Maven) and Cincinnati Business Courier 40 Under 40. He serves on multiple nonprofit and business boards and is a graduate of Miami University (OH). Mantra: Measure what matters, communicate wisely, embrace imperfection, sprint when needed, prepare for what’s next.

About Brandience

A retail-minded agency blending bold creativity + data insights. Early adopters of human-centered generative AI with a formal policy and ongoing training. Core sectors: restaurants, franchise, healthcare, retail. Services span brand strategy, creative, digital and traditional media, and social.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices