The Media Leader Podcast
A year ago, the Alliance of Independent Agencies and the Land of Independents collaborated to launch an initiative to share knowledge and support independent media agencies.
Enter the Alliance of Media Independents (AMI), which has served as a single route to the indie media agency market for suppliers and media owners.
The AMI has spent the last year expanding, now with over 30 members whose combined billings rival those of the global holding groups.
Martin Woolley and Paul Phelps are co-founders and chairs of the AMI. Woolley also works as executive chair of indie media outfit What’s Possible Group, which owns agency The Specialist Works, and Phelps is CEO of AMS Media Group.
The duo sat down with host Jack Benjamin to discuss how and why the alliance was founded, the benefits it has delivered to members, their plans for expansion, and why indies might be the beneficiaries of a consolidating agency landscape.
As Woolley points out, a few years ago, there were “never indie-only pitch lists”. Now? “Half the pitches in our business are indie-only. So something’s changed.”
Listen now by hitting the play button or use the appropriate entry point into Spotify, Apple or Google Podcasts:
Highlights
3:20: Why and how was the AMI created?
13:10: Benefits of the Alliance: Media owner interest, incremental growth, resource sharing.
23:00: Competing with holdcos: Loss of trust amid trading deals, lack of transparency.
29:02: Could clients leave agencies in favour of self-serve platforms?
35:20: Why 2026 will be the year of indies.
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