What does it actually take to market to diverse audiences with depth, respect, and relevance?

In this episode of the Small But Mighty Agency Podcast, I sit down with Marissa Nance, founder of Native Tongue Communications, to talk about what too many agencies still get wrong when trying to reach diverse audiences.

Marissa shares why broad multicultural marketing often falls short and why she prefers the term micro cultural marketing instead. We explore what it means to understand people beyond surface-level demographics and why empathy, research, and cultural nuance matter more than ever.

We also talk about the pressure agencies are facing right now as DEAI becomes more politicized, AI reshapes the marketing landscape, and brands risk losing the human insight that makes their work resonate.

In this conversation, we unpack:

• Why “micro cultural” is a more useful lens than “multicultural”
• Why culture goes deeper than race, ethnicity, or gender
• How empathy leads to stronger marketing
• Where AI can support the work and where human judgment still matters
• What agencies can do to market with more intention and integrity

If you want to create marketing that resonates more deeply and reflects a better understanding of the people you serve, this episode is worth a listen.

Show Notes:

-Website: nativetonguecommunications.com

-Instagram: marissa.nance

-LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marissanance

Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.

Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep149

Is AI quietly making your agency more replaceable?

Or is it revealing where your real value actually lives?

Right now, content can be generated in seconds. Blog posts. Emails. Website copy. Entire strategies drafted with a prompt.

Which raises an uncomfortable question for agency owners:

If the machine can produce the words… what are clients really paying us for?

In this episode of the Small But Mighty Agency Podcast, we pull back the curtain on what AI actually looks like inside a working content agency serving technical clients.

My guest, Victoria Cowan, founder of Wordplay Creative, built her business on thoughtful, human-centered storytelling. When AI hit the marketing world she felt what many writers felt: fear.

Not hype. Not instant adoption. Fear.

Instead of ignoring it or blindly embracing it she integrated it intentionally.

In this conversation, we unpack what’s really happening behind the scenes:

• Where AI genuinely speeds up workflow and where it creates more work
• Why most AI-generated content sounds the same
• The growing importance of editorial discernment
• How tone of voice is becoming a serious competitive advantage
• What agencies need to consider around transparency and IP
• Why strategic thought partnership is becoming more valuable than execution

As more agencies use the same tools, sameness becomes the default.

If you’re navigating how to use AI without becoming commoditized, this episode will help you think more clearly about where your real leverage lives.

Let’s dive in.

Show Notes:

-Website: https://www.wordplaycreative.ca/

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriajunecowan/

Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.

Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep148

Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

Your agency is working.
But the way you’re making decisions may no longer match where you actually want to go.

From the outside, everything looks steady but inside, something feels heavier than it should.

That heaviness often shows up when the business keeps operating in a way that made sense in the past, even though your perspective has started to shift.

You see your work differently now, and the way the agency runs hasn’t fully caught up.

Maybe you’re clearer about the clients who energize you.
Clearer about the work that strengthens the business instead of just sustaining it.
Clearer about what feels aligned and what quietly drains you.

But clarity doesn’t automatically reshape a business.

There’s often a stretch where your thinking evolves, but the business is still running on old patterns.

Most owners move through this alone, feeling the friction but not yet knowing what to adjust.

This episode continues the Small But Mighty series by exploring that in-between space—the gap between insight and intentional redesign.

Inside, we explore:

• Why your agency can feel heavy even when it’s successful
• The hidden gap between knowing what you want and running the business that way
• How old decision patterns keep you operating from an earlier version of your agency
• What actually shifts when you start choosing work that aligns with the direction you want to grow

If your agency looks successful but feels heavier to lead than it once did, this episode will help you understand the source of that heaviness and what’s actually ready to shift.

Want More Context?
This episode is part of a series exploring what happens when your agency grows but the way you build it needs to evolve.

Part 1 (Podcast): Two $1M Agencies. Very Different Realities
Part 2 (Blog): Why the Agency Growth Model Worked And Why It Doesn’t Now
Part 3 (Podcast): Some Agencies Make Growth Feel Easier. Here’s Why
Part 4 (Blog): You Outgrew Your Business

Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.

Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep147

Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis