At PSFK Conference NYC, Danielle Sacks (Fast Company) led a thought-provoking discussion about the rise of the “New Idea Agencies” – companies that are thinking outside of the traditional client-agency model and creating their own products, brands, and intellectual property to launch direct to market. The panel, featuring Robbie Vitrano (Trumpet), Carl Johnson (Anomaly), Bart Haney (fuseproject), and Ben Malbon (BBH Labs), explained how their companies’ unique business models evolved and the struggles (and benefits) of agencies becoming their own clients.
Developing IP rather than just messaging is clearly an attractive idea. Why build brands that, ultimately, you have no stake [...]

We’re looking forward to having Ben Malbon, Managing Partner at BBH Labs, join us at PSFK Conference New York on April 2. On a panel with Bart Haney (fuseproject), Carl Johnson (Anomaly), Robbie Vitrano (Trumpet), and moderator Danielle Sacks (Fast Company), Ben will be discussing the pursuit of intellectual property and how it’s changing the way agencies and new businesses operate.
First, who are you and what do you do?
I am one of a small team of people who run BBH Labs. Labs is an innovation and experimental unit focused on ensuring BBH is as smart as possible when it comes [...]