The Agency Commercial Health Benchmark
A benchmarking survey exploring how agencies are navigating pricing, profitability, forecasting, delivery pressure and changing client expectations.
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I’ve had versions of the same conversation with agency founders, MDs and operators again and again over the last few years.
The work is often good. The clients are often good. But commercially, things feel harder than they used to.
Margins are tighter. Scope creep is more common. Procurement pressure has increased. Teams are delivering more, across more channels, with less visibility and less breathing room than before.
At the same time, many agencies are still operating on models built for a very different market.
So I wanted to build a clearer picture of how agencies are actually operating commercially today — where pressure is showing up, what healthier operating models look like and how agency businesses are evolving behind the scenes.
The benchmark explores areas including pricing, profitability, forecasting, client relationships, over-service, operational systems and sustainable growth across creative agencies, studios and production businesses.
The survey takes around 5–10 minutes to complete and all responses will remain confidential.
Participants can also opt in to receive future benchmark findings, insights and commercial tools as the project develops.
Start the survey
A few of the questions explored
How predictable does agency revenue really feel right now?
Are agencies pricing properly for the true cost of delivery?
Where are businesses most commonly losing margin?
How have client expectations changed?
What operational habits separate healthier businesses from reactive ones?
What happens next?
Once enough responses have been collected, I’ll share key patterns, observations and findings from the benchmark.
Over time, I’d like this to become an ongoing snapshot of how agencies and creative businesses are really operating commercially — beyond the surface-level growth narrative.