Ep 152 – Michael Perry, Tavern – Why Relationships — Not Design — Actually Grow Your Agency

Featuring: Michael Perry, Tavern In episode 152, I sit down with Mike Perry, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Tavern, a Brooklyn-based creative shop building brands in food, beverage, hospitality, and sports. We get into the philosophy that drives everything Tavern does — what Mike calls "modern heritage," the practice of mining a brand's past for its real equity and modernizing it for today's consumer without falling into retro, nostalgia, or flash-in-the-pan rebrands. He shares why he's writing a how-to book on it, how Tavern embeds with clients like a fractional chief creative officer, and the story behind HyperBlast, the high-octane drink brand he's launching as his own client. For agency owners, this one is a clinic on real niching — Mike argues expertise isn't your portfolio, it's whether you actually care about the category your clients live in. We also land on the thing he wishes he'd leaned into earlier: this is a relationship business, full stop, and the deepest relationships make the best work. Key Bytes • Real niching isn't about your portfolio — it's whether you genuinely care about the category your clients live in. • Modern heritage means mining a brand's past for its equity and modernizing it for today, not slapping a retro filter on it. • Timelessness is impossible to fully achieve and fragile to keep, which is exactly why brand guardianship matters. • The founder who launched the agency to design should still be moving pixels — leadership and hands-on craft aren't mutually exclusive. • Being your own client removes the convincing, the stakeholders, and the sell — every answer is just yes. • Internal practice work stops being a luxury when you funnel it into real brand-building that levels up the whole team. • The biggest fallacy of Mike's career: that "nobody's drinking" — the numbers tell a very different story. • This is a relationship business — the deepest, longest client relationships are the ones that produce the best work. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and introducing Mike Perry and Tavern 00:47 Failing fast: the agencies Mike tried to start too early 02:06 Big agency vs. small agency and the 40-person sweet spot 03:46 Tavern's trajectory and the client roster 06:27 Why deep category expertise is really empathy 09:01 Staying hands-on as a founder and CCO 12:54 What "modern heritage" actually means 16:59 Writing the book and killing the gatekeeping 23:22 Launching HyperBlast and becoming his own client 32:16 The freedom and discipline of self-client work 35:51 Rapid fire and closing thoughts Mike Perry is founder and chief creative officer of Tavern, a Brooklyn-based global creative agency crafting timeless brands across food, beverage, hospitality, and beyond. With more than 15 years at the forefront of brand building, Mike’s earned a reputation as a certified creative powerhouse. His career includes leadership roles at top global studios such as Stranger & Stranger, Design Bridge, JKR, and Quaker City Mercantile, as well as media giants NBC Sports and TikTok. He is the creative mind behind some of the industry’s most recognizable rebrands for clients including Burger King, Budweiser, and Diageo. Driven by Tavern’s Modern Heritage philosophy, Mike blends legacy and innovation to create dynamic brands that flex with the lightning-fast pace of culture. In a world of trend-chasing, Tavern focuses on what lasts: commercially powerful, future-ready brands and ambitious experiences that resonate at every touchpoint. Tavern is behind the rebrand and restaurant design that reignited the American steakhouse Sizzler, as well as the custom-built bar for Beam Suntory’s Old Overholt. Other collaborators include Chick-fil-A, Old Grand-Dad, and New York City FC. Contact Mike at their agency website or @tavern.agency on the socials.