Ep. 131 Scott Ensign of Butler/Till: The Blueprint for Trust-Driven, Future-Ready Agencies

Scott Ensign, Chief Strategy Officer at Butler/Till, shares how a fully employee-owned agency drives innovation, transparency, and growth.

From building trust in digital advertising to leveraging AI and agentic media, Scott breaks down how agencies can stay ahead while delivering real value to clients.



Takeaways


Butler/Till is 100 percent employee-owned, aligning incentives across teams and clients

Innovation in media requires breaking traditional planning cycles

AI should focus on building trust, not just efficiency

Transparency is a core differentiator in agency-client relationships

Innovation funds help test new strategies without risking core budgets




Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Scott Ensign and Butler/Till

00:50 Career journey and why Scott stayed for 7 years

02:30 How employee ownership works at Butler/Till

04:20 What a Chief Strategy Officer actually does

06:10 Scott’s path through digital media and strategy

08:20 The future of digital advertising and AI

11:40 Transparency in partnerships and data

13:50 The Innovation Fund and why it matters

17:50 Real-world AI and agentic media testing

20:00 Closing thoughts and industry outlook


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