Approximately 400 agency owners and leaders, many from California, will attend for two days of networking, learning, and sharing,
There are over 100,000 small to mid-sized agencies with one to 300 full-time employees in the U.S, alone and for decades, there was no conference that spoke to their unique challenges.
“That’s why we created the Build A Better Agency Summit, a conference designed specifically for privately held agencies where the owner is still actively involved in the business day to day,” says conference organizer Drew McLellan, CEO/partner of Agency Management Institute. “We seem to be onto something because since our inaugural conference in 2021, our event has sold out on both the sponsor and attendee side each year.”
Approximately 90% of attendees are agency owners. The other 10% are department heads, c-suite level executives, and other agency leaders. Almost all attendees are decision makers, with the power to make purchases and create partnerships on behalf of their shop. Over 70% of attendees are repeat attendees from the previous year and 40% haven’t missed a single BABA Summit,
“As a veteran agency owner, the BABA Summit is the one professional development investment I make annually that is totally for me and my own enrichment,” says Traci Stuart, president and CEO of the San Francisco-based agency, Blattel Communications. “I’ve connected with my tribe at BABA, and I am thoroughly looking forward to reconnecting and recharging at the BABA Summit.”
Since 1999, Agency Management Institute has been dedicated to helping agency owners across the globe grow, scale, and evolve their agency. Our “Build a Better Agency” podcast is in the top 5% of all podcasts on iTunes and we serve thousands of agencies every year.
“Our agency has been part of the Agency Management Institute (AMI) community for over a decade,” says Stephen Woessner, president of Wisconsin-based Predictive ROI. “Immersing ourselves in AMI’s educational opportunities like the Summit has been a critical ingredient to Predictive becoming the profitable agency it is today.”
(For full transparency, I first learned of the event in 2022 when I covered it for another publication. Now as a book ghostwriter with many agency clients, I became a sponsor.)
“As to demographics, 95% of the agencies represented are based in North America but we will also have a handful of agency owners from Europe, Australia, The Caribbean, South America and Asia who are part of the AMI ecosystem,” says McLellan.
The average size of the agencies represented is 20-35 (full time equivalent) FTEs and most have been in business for more than 10 years.
“This is the only event I’ve found that’s truly dedicated to helping small- to mid-sized agencies succeed,” says Susan Baier, owner of Audience Audit in Chandler, Arizona. “No other conference even comes close — including the biggest ones.”
Some of our attendees will be smaller shops with 10 or so team members and our larger agencies will have over 100 FTEs. Our largest agency in 2024 had 300+ employees.
• There’s a wide-range of agency types among our attendees: traditional full-service, PR, digital, media planning and buying, social media, content, SEO/PPC, web dev, and others.
• About AMI:
Event Facts
We look for sponsors who are focusing on serving the small to mid-sized agency market and who understand both the opportunities and obstacles they face. We believe in personal connections and helpfulness and our attendees embrace sponsors who show up in that spirit. We’ve built the AMI brand around trust and a genuine commitment to helping our clients succeed. The good news is the equity we’ve built with them transfers to our sponsors as well. When you come to connect and invest the energy in sharing what you’ve learned, our attendees will welcome you and be eager to learn more.
We love it when our sponsors are on-site and fully participate in the conference. Attend the sessions, hang out for all the meals, and connect with our attendees! You’ll find them to be welcoming, curious, and inclusive. The more you engage with the AMI community, the more they’ll engage with you.
This is one of the reasons why we won’t provide attendee lists at any sponsor level. No one wants to get a cold email from a sponsor they didn’t meet or interact with at the conference. But you’re welcome to offer giveaways at your booth (if your sponsorship includes one) or gather contact info by actually connecting with people onsite. We think you’ll be surprised at how receptive the attendees are to hear about your work, services, or products.
Relationships are born and built upon at the BABA Summit. Sponsors who attend with that goal will leave with much more than they expected. Who is a great sponsor fit for the Summit? The BABA Summit is a no aggressive sales event. We want our community to get to know you and your company. Throughout the event, we encourage them to come talk to you, reach out, and learn more. We recognize that your sponsorship dollars are marketing dollars and you’re there to hang out with your clients, meet prospects, and increase your opportunities. We want all of those outcomes for you too!
But aggressive sales (approaching people with sales materials, bugging people during meals, pitching your business, etc.) don’t work in our community. We actually get complaints when it happens. And those sponsors are not invited back. But when you take the time to actually get to know them, learn about their agency, and share your expertise to help them get better at their job – they’ll lean into what you do and want to know more.
It’s why we include a BABA Summit ticket with every sponsorship. We WANT you with us, as part of the community. We WANT you to get connected with our agency owners and leaders. We WANT you to increase sales (many of our sponsors cite our event/community as their #1 sales driver). We just want you to do it in a respectful, authentic, and community approved way.
If our expectations line up with the way you like to sell – then the Build A Better Agency Summit is going to be fertile ground for you and we can’t wait for you to be a part of it all! How to grow your business at the BABA Summit When Drew told us about his initial plans for a conference focused on small and mid-sized agencies, we were pretty much in and have been there every year. As a sponsor, we were given consistent opportunities to interact with ad agencies (our prospects) in a meaningful way every year and we’re coming back for sure in 2025!
Lee McKnight Jr. Vice President Sales-RSW/US
The BABA Summit is the cornerstone of our professional development program here at Predictive. BABA is the only event where we can soak up the smarts from experts in so many key areas for running a profitable agency. And because we serve agencies — sponsoring BABA is also a great investment. Within 60-days of BABA ‘24 — we generated an 860% ROI from our sponsorship fee. Stephen Woessner, CEO of Predictive ROI
The Build A Better Agency Summit was an incredible experience to get in front of agencies. Not only was the summit a great opportunity to meet and mingle with agency owners and executives but we, as a sponsor, saw that the discussions being had greatly encouraged them to reach out to those that could help accelerate their growth. So we got to be in front of our ideal customer/audience and that audience was primed for us to show how we can be a growth accelerant in their agency life. We’ll be the presenting sponsor for our fifth year in 2025 and beyond! Brian Gerstner, President of White Label IQ
Sponsoring the Build a Better Agency Summit is the best money I spend all year. This is the only event I’ve found that’s truly dedicated to helping small- to mid-sized agencies succeed. No other conference even comes close — including the biggest ones. If you want to truly connect with agency leaders and are willing to be generous and helpful during the event and after, this is the show for you.” Susan Baier, Owner of Audience Audit
In my experience there are no other conferences that attract such a high quality of agency owners and leaders as the BABA Summit has done for the past 4 years. I always learn something new and end up with lots of great new relationships as a result of our sponsorship. Doug Kauffman, Owner of Kauffman CPA Quite literally…[the BABA Summit] was the best event I’ve ever attended. Attendees were engaging, friendly, asked questions, chatted, and it was zero stress. The environment created is unlike any event that I’ve attended in some time. I was so very impressed! Jeff Robertson, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Dynamics 360 Hear from some of our 2024 sponsors We invite you to be a part of the Build a Better Agency Summit through one or more of these sponsorship opportunities. Presenting Sponsor $32,000 SOLD (2) available
Benefits:s
• 6-foot table with (2) chairs in pre-function space where key networking functions take place
• First choice of main stage promotional time
• (3) passes to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Collateral placement of a sponsor-branded item during one of the conference main stage sessions
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on any conference materials (program, signage)
• Appear as a guest on the “Build a Better Agency” podcast at least one month prior to the event
• Guest blog post on the AMI website (appearing within one month before or after the event)
Supporting Sponsor $14,000
Benefits:
• 6-foot table with (2) chairs in pre-function space where key networking functions take place
• Main stage promotional time
• (2) passes to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Collateral placement of a sponsor-branded item during one of the conference main stage sessions
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on any conference materials (program, signage)
• Guest blog post on the AMI website (appearing at within a month of the event)
Breakout
Sponsor $11,000- $9,350
Benefits:
• 6-foot table with (2) chairs in pre-function space where key networking functions take place
• Host of a breakout room on day one (two sessions) or day two (one session)
• Serve as breakout moderator (welcome attendees, introduce speaker, facilitate Q&A)
• Pop-up banner in breakout room (at sponsor’s expense)
• Opportunity to provide branded collateral in breakout session room
• (2) passes to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday & Wednesday
• Branding on the conference website and app (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference materials (program, signage)
(Tuesday – 2 available)
(Wednesday – 1 available)
Member Day Sponsor $13,500
Benefits:
• Member Day stage promotional time
• (1) pass to attend Member Day, Member Day dinner and main conference (Tuesday and Wednesday)
• Exclusive branding on event signage
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Member Day Dinner Sponsor $16,000
Benefits:
• Audience shout out during the event (welcome and toast)
• (1) pass to attend Member Day, Member Day dinner and main conference (Tuesday and Wednesday)
• Branded napkins
• Exclusive branding at the dinner and on event signage
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Networking Event Sponsor $16,000
Benefits:
• Opportunity to welcome & toast attendees
• Opportunity to name the networking event’s signature drink
• (2) passes to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Branded napkins
• Exclusive branding at the reception and on event signage
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
SOLD SOLD SOLD
Closing Session Toast Sponsor $8,500
Benefits:
• Opportunity to thank and toast attendees during the Summit’s closing session
• (2) passes to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Branded napkins
• Opportunity to name the closing session’s signature drink
• Exclusive branding at the reception and on event signage
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Room Drop Sponsor $8,500
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the mainconference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• One item delivered to each attendee’s room on the first night of the conference Note:
Room drop item & relevant shipping cost to hotel are at sponsor’s cost
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Mobile App Sponsor $8,000
(1) available (1) available (1) available
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Branding on mobile app
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on any conference materials (program, signage)
SOLD SOLD
Notebook Giveaway Sponsor $6,500
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Notebooks given to all attendees branded with your logo and tuck in materials
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Exclusive Lanyard Sponsor $5,250
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Exclusive co-branding on all conference lanyards
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Charging Station Sponsor $4,750
SOLD (1) available
SOLD
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Exclusive branding at a charging station at the conference
• Minimum of 3 charging stations throughout event space
• Opportunity to put collateral at your designated station
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Water Bottle Sponsor $5,000
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Your logo on the water bottle given to each attendee
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on any conference materials (program, signage)
Hotel Key Cards Sponsor $7,000
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Exclusive branding on key cards for all attendees within the room block
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Lunch Sponsor $6,000
(2) available
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Opportunity to have a novelty giveaway item (at sponsor cost) at lunch
• Exclusive branding at the lunch and on event signage
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
Breakfast Sponsor $5,000
(2) available
Benefits:
• (1) pass to attend the main conference sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday
• Opportunity to have a novelty giveaway item (at sponsor cost) at breakfast
• Exclusive branding at the breakfast and on event signage
• Branding on the conference website (logo with hyperlink)
• Branding on conference signage
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