As VP of Business Development at Godfrey in Pennsylvania, USA, John Albert leads the independent B2B agency’s new business strategy and execution, successfully combining strong leadership and strong business sense to help companies develop and implement actionable strategies related to their competitive advantage and value proposition. 

Josh is one of the first members of the Worldwide Partners (WPI) Next Gen Council, which was formed in 2022 with a group of ten representatives of WPI Shareholder agencies from Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America and North America, with a goal of helping to guide the future of our network. 

We asked Josh ten questions to learn more about his background, what excites him about the advertising industry and what independence means to him.  

WPI >> Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

Josh >> Middletown, PA 

WPI >> How did you end up in the advertising industry?

Josh >> I found my way into the advertising industry through a new business role. My background in business management, strategy and sales sounded like a perfect match for the variety of challenges new business people face when pursuing and pitching prospective clients. 

WPI >> What excites you about the advertising industry? What pisses you off?

Josh >> The opportunity to use creative thinking; both strategy and creative, to solve business challenges. Conversely, not having the ability to have business conversations and clients putting agencies into a box when it comes to their value can be a real challenge to overcome. 

WPI >> What was your first job and what did it teach you?

Josh >> Sweeping hair at a barber shop when I was 13. Aside from having a fresh cut all the time it taught me discipline and responsibility. It also taught me to be humble.

WPI >> What is a book, movie, TV show or podcast that you find inspiring?

Josh >> Win Without Pitching by Blair Enns is the most inspiring work that I came across early in my new business career. I took everything to heart and worked hard to put it into practice. From agency positioning, sales processes and our own marketing program. To this day, I still believe the entire advertising industry would be in a better place if agency leaders took his work seriously and put it into practice. 

WPI >> What is one of the favorite projects you have worked on at your agency?

Josh >> An industry campaign we developed when we lost a large client in the automation and control space. We developed a fully integrated campaign with some really unique assets. One of them we dubbed "the big book" which was a way to capture decades of experience we had and provide it to prospects as a valuable way to create engagement. Within a couple months of launching the campaign we were pitching the  biggest company in the space. We lost the pitch but ultimately won work with a couple companies in the same category. 

WPI >> What is the biggest takeaway you have learned since being elected to the WPI Next Gen Council?

Josh >> I would say that camaraderie and collaboration can truly happen across borders between independent agencies. The Next Gen Council has made that more tangible for me. We are individuals working towards a single challenge that impacts the entire network. 

WPI >> What does independence mean to you?

Josh >> Independence provides agency leaders with the ability to truly act in the best interest of our teams and clients. We can balance those things without needing to worry about investors or being misguided by leaders who aren't active in the business.

WPI >> What would you be doing if you weren’t in advertising? 

Josh >> I would say something with my hands, maybe in the trades. Or potentially in business law in some way. I have a wide range of skills and enjoy a variety of work. I think that's why the advertising industry is so unique. I get the opportunity to engage in so many different challenges.

This article is an installment in a series where Worldwide Partners speaks with members of our Next Gen Council. Check back for more interviews with our council members.