Mehrguth did not name specific competing agencies during the interview. He characterized the broader agency market as one where most firms do not invest in their own advertising despite advising clients to do so, and where the standard growth tactic of increasing headcount capacity leads to burnout and poor retention. These were his characterizations of the competitive landscape and are not confirmed figures about any named competitor.
On the client side, Mehrguth described the dominant go-to-market playbook used by SaaS companies on LinkedIn, including asset downloads and MQL-to-SDR handoffs, as the approach Directive is designed to replace. He did not name a direct agency competitor by name.