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