How to Unlock Major Agency Savings with the R&D Tax Credit

Most agencies view R&D as something for “Big Pharma” or “Silicon Valley”. In reality, the modern agency is a tech powerhouse. If you are building proprietary data platforms, bespoke client integrations, or workflows, you are sitting on a significant source of Found Money.

The Competitive Advantage: This isn’t a “deduction” it is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax liability that you are missing out on.

• • The “Double Agent” Strategy: Learn from industry veterans who have sat in your seat and know exactly where the “technical discovery” is hidden in your SOWs.
  • Immediate Liquidity: Based on 2026 benchmarks, a $500k investment in qualified talent (Developers, Creative Technologists, Data Engineers) can yield ~$105k back in your pocket.
  • Permanent & Retroactive: This is a permanent fixture of the tax code that can be carried forward for 20 years or captured for previous years’ work.

 
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Featured Speaker:

Brett Colbert, Founder and CEO, Colbert Consulting Group

Brett Colbert is the industry’s “secret weapon”, a double agent who has spent 20+ years navigating the high stakes intersection of creative ambition and commercial performance. Having sat at the head of the table for both the world’s largest spenders and its most iconic creative and media shops, Brett doesn’t just manage agency partnerships; he engineers them to scale.

For the CEO: Brett acts as a strategic bridge, aligning high-level creative vision with the fiscal discipline required to protect margins. As the former Chief Procurement Officer at a global Holdco where he oversaw 80+ agencies,helping them grow smarter and scale faster by treating marketing not as an expense to be cut, but as an investment to be optimized.

For the CFO: Brett is a specialist in non-dilutive capital recovery. He has spearheaded complex tax credit initiatives including R&D Tax Credits and ERC specifically tailored for the agency model. By identifying the technical R&D inherent in modern digital, tech, and production workflows, Brett helps agencies reclaim significant cash flow that typically stays on the table.

The Track Record:

• • • The Big Boys: Spearheaded global marketing sourcing for F100s and stood up the first marketing sourcing organization for a global entertainment company.
    • The Indies: Within the last decade, he has pivoted to “playing Robin Hood,” taking the high-level strategies used by
    • HoldCos and empowering independent agencies to compete and scale.

Whether he’s in the boardroom with the CEO or at the bar with the CMO and CFO, Brett’s focus remains the same: ensuring the “house is in order” so that great work can be funded by even greater commercial health.

A resident of Sag Harbor, NY, Brett balances his professional life as a devoted cook, boxer, and curator of the perfect ’80s and ’90s Hip-Hop playlists alongside his wife and two Chihuahuas, Rocco and Mike.