On this week's episode of Own It, we’re talking to Alison Monk from Eden Collective. Her resume is a Who’s Who of the advertising and media business. Edelman, Mercury, Price Waterhouse Cooper, Grey, Conde Naste, Merkle. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to get her on the show … she has such a deep and wide set of experiences to share with us.
Alison and I talked about her journey to ownership, her vast experiences and influencers and, of course, what she thinks needs to happen to get more women in the position of agency ownership.
Get out your notebooks. There’s a lot to learn here today.
Thanks for listening to this episode of OWN IT with Alison Monk from Eden Collective.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Alison Monk describes how she never fit into a recognized role of what men found comfortable in a woman, often being perceived as "too aggressive" or "too intense." She learned that it's important to be authentic and not contort oneself to fit expectations, as trying to do so can backfire.
Alison shares that she has never felt more secure than as an agency owner. The perceived security of a large corporate job is often an illusion, as layoffs and changing leadership can quickly eliminate positions. Owning her own business, despite initial risks, provided more control over her destiny and stability, including maintaining health insurance even if she lost a client.
Alison emphasizes the importance of building a strong network and actively mentoring and elevating other women without expecting a quid pro quo. She found that her dedication to helping others over 25-30 years eventually came back to her in the form of clients and support when starting her own business.
Alison identified a significant gap in the advertising industry: the lack of strategic and analytical application for smaller, disruptor brands that were too small for holding companies. Instead of fitting into an existing model, she created a new type of agency focused solely on strategy and analytics, charging a flat fee to avoid media spend bias.
Alison recounts how men, despite her proven success, offered her patronizing advice to return to corporate roles, framing her agency as a "cute little consultancy." She recognized these offers as attempts to diminish her ownership and control, reinforcing her decision to remain an independent owner.
