According to an article published in AdAge, the agency landscape is about to get flooded with mergers and acquisitions.

Just recently, Omnicom bought Flywheel Digital, and Globant now owns a majority in Gut, to name a few.

Madison Alley’s Michael Seidler is convinced this is just the beginning of a more significant trend in the agency industry. And he is not alone – AdAge spoke to 21 executives who agree with his prediction.

But what does that mean for agency owners around the world who are looking to sell? Andrew Essex said agencies specializing in ad tech, influencer marketing, design, performance marketing, and AI are in demand.

Additionally, Marla Kaplowitz said that “high-level data and tech skills especially related to AI and specifically, generative AI, as well as influencer marketing” are particularly interesting.

If your agency falls into that category, it’s useful to know how much you could ask for it – a tool like the Agency Valuations Calculator will calculate your approximate market value.
However, for some, selling is just not an option, and they might go in the opposite direction and merge with or even acquire a different agency. And surprisingly, it’s not always the big players that acquire independent agencies.

One of those people is Todd Neinkirk from Four Kitchens, an agency specializing in website building. Speaking on the Agency Mastery podcast, he said that while it may seem impossible initially, growing an agency through an acquisition was the right thing to do. Todd took a risk and bought the agency from his then-partner. It was a bold move, but it paid off quickly as the business became profitable soon after.

There is no magic formula, argues Todd, but the combination of leadership changes, improved marketing, and finding the right niche was crucial for the agency to get back on track.

In fact, the success of this acquisition made Todd approach an agency in Costa Rica with a proposal to acquire them, which helped with developer turnover, a significant problem for small to medium agencies.

The market will certainly look interesting in 2024: Some agencies will benefit from being guided by a larger organization and gain access to new markets, challenges and clients. On the other hand, merging with an another agency or acquiring is a an increasingly realistic possibility for medium sized agencies.

It looks like an established playbook – if you’re a large multinational company, you will hire a large multinational agency. But in recent years, this trend has been questioned somewhat as indie agencies are stealing the spotlight and scoring high with big clients.

One example is studio Bien, a design agency of 10 people that’s been around since 2016 and is working with international clients like Volotea and Rimac Automobili.

Luka Perić, their co-founder, admits that there is a certain degree of safety when choosing a well-known name, but argues that hiring an indie agency will result in a tailor-made approach: “The benefit we can offer is having a whole team on the client’s disposal and approaching every client and project based on their specific needs. Working with a smaller agency means you get to be the priority, no matter the scope of your project, or your budget. We’re always ready to push the extra mile if needed, and we like to view ourselves as honest partners, not just as designers nodding heads and ticking the boxes.”

Sounds like a more personal relationship than usual? That’s the benefit, adds Luka: “Our team doesn’t have a problem asking questions, expressing an opinion when we feel something isn’t just right, or admitting when we enter uncharted waters – we’re ready to learn and adapt on the go.”

But how to do you attract those clients to begin with? Not surprisingly, one would have to be patient as the market is very competitive, but it takes a great team to build a lasting relationship with the client, and that will attract more clients in the long run. “There’s a lot you can do to improve your visibility, but in the end, word of mouth is the most powerful advertisement”, says Luka.

Being highly specialized also helps, so be sure to carve our your niche: “Everybody knows that Rimac makes the fastest production electric car, but if you want to travel across the Namib desert you will probably choose a Toyota Land Cruiser”, adds Luka.
“In digital product design, you can specialize in building marketing websites, creating complex design systems like we did for Volotea, e-commerce websites, or maybe branding and strategy for digital products. All those niches have smaller sub-domains in which your team can show its full potential if you combine them cleverly.”

So once you’ve established your niche, Luka is convinced that clients will find you: “If you are known for having a high standard for aesthetics and animations and your focus is on building marketing websites for the EV industry – after some time it becomes your signature and clients will start to notice.

To sum up, the experience is rewarding for your development as a business as well: “It’s not uncommon for big companies to work with multiple vendors, and you must be open to interdisciplinary collaboration. Whether you’re in charge of the whole process, or you work on the concept and someone else is implementing it, it’s always a great opportunity to gain experience and learn from and connect with great people from different industries.”

Apple evangelists often hail the company as the innovator that changed digital products forever. Still, its critics will quickly point out that Apple takes existing products and tweaks them to perfection.

The story feels familiar with the Vision Pro mixed reality headset – similar products are available at the moment, but they’re hardly household items. And the whole VR adoption wasn’t helped by the launch of Metaverse, which was quickly ridiculed for its cartoonish graphics and legless avatars.

So does the Apple Vision Pro have a chance? We asked Jerko Škorić, COO of Delta Reality, a fast-growing agency specializing in mixed and virtual reality. With clients like Samsung, Microsoft, and Disney, Delta Reality knows a thing or two about what is real in virtual reality.

While Jerko argues that Meta is still the market leader, he admits that this is a far cry from the mass adoption achieved by the smartphone fifteen years ago.

“The problem lies in the fact that the technical leap for consumer-ready headsets is scientifically and financially intense. Many companies have failed or given up on research and development. New chips, screens, batteries, computer vision – the entire hardware development process takes a long time, and too long to meet investor expectations”, says Jerko.

But unlike Meta, Apple has a huge advantage there: “The Vision Pro is different because it’s rumored to be in secret development for the past ten years. We know that Apple is vertically integrated in hardware and software development, and that’s why, in our opinion, they currently have the best device on the market. Apple is also an experience-first company, which works in their favor in this regard.”

“There is a use case for Vision Pro in an agency environment,” says Jerko, but adds that the steep pricing could make it more suitable for a corporate setting rather than mass-market consumer adoption.

“One key use within agencies could be to augment multitasking capabilities. Given the nature of agency work, where employees often juggle multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, a device like Vision Pro could be helpful. Its integration with the existing Apple ecosystem would allow seamless access to a multitude of apps and services simultaneously, facilitating productivity by creating virtual additional screens”, says Jerko.

In practice, project or account managers, who typically manage multiple projects or accounts at once, could leverage Vision Pro’s features to easily switch between tasks, view multiple datasets concurrently, and keep track of various communication threads more efficiently.

But should agencies go out and spend thousands of dollars on the set? Not so fast, says Jerko: “The most substantial benefit of Vision Pro in an agency setting would likely be realized by those already heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem.”

But if you’re already using Apple products at your agency, it may be helpful to look into it: “It’s clear that Apple is emphasizing the integration with their current ecosystem as a major selling point. This is a testament to the potential of Vision Pro to serve as a powerful tool in the professional sphere”, concludes Jerko.

While we’ve witnessed a surge in female leadership and somewhat improved working conditions in the last few years, the question remains – is it only anecdotal, or does it reflect a broader change for the better in the industry?

We spoke with Tara Attfield-Tomes, the founder of EAST VILLAGE., an award-winning agency from Birmingham, UK. She’s also an expert on personal and employer branding and is passionate about workplace inclusion and female entrepreneurship.

While there have been some positive shifts, Tara says we’re nowhere near Barbie land. Organizations’ interest in diversity, equity, and inclusion has started to move the dial regarding job specs, roles and responsibilities, and more flexible working arrangements, even though the COVID-19 pandemic forced some of these changes.

Still, she argues that while agencies are built on agile principles and have to listen to trends to stay in business, they still are the worst offenders because they’re built on the so-called hustle culture and make it harder for women to advance if they choose to focus on having a family and are not ready to work overtime.

“The biggest challenge is how we get more agencies to rip up the rule book. The collaboration and willingness to share experiences is something that is incredible in agency land, but it does mean that every organizational structure and set of processes becomes a carbon copy of a successful agency that has gone before”, says Tara. This only exacerbates old problems, such as roles that don’t take into account caring responsibilities, salary increases that aren’t in line with their male counterparts and the organizational tasks still being expected of women.

To tackle this issue, a number of things can be done: “Founders, Boards, and leadership teams need to look at what their employees might need from the business. Would flexible hours allow for a quicker school drop-off and better (and less stressful) journey into work? Would better childcare based near the office, rather than home, make parental responsibilities less of a juggle?”

“Life is about choices, and I truly believe that no one should have that choice taken away because they want to have a family too”, says Tara.

While it’s a challenge to balance the books when someone is on maternity or paternity leave, it’s the responsibility as employers to find a way to do that – “I employed every single one of my team, because they bring something fantastic to the business, and I want them to feel like the business is there – ready and waiting – when and should they want to return. Without pressure or feeling like they can’t have the ambition they had before.”

As an example, Tara points out the case of a teammate who had three children while employed by her agency. The person in question returned on reduced hours to better suit her new lifestyle and needs, and she still received a promotion each time she came back. “We adapted her roles to suit, and she worked hard. That’s how it should be!”

But in the end, it all comes down to the individual: “Don’t let your employer push you one way or the other, but also don’t let society tell you what you should or shouldn’t want from life. I know plenty of women who are incredibly ambitious and successful, and also brilliant mothers. It’s hard, yes, but life’s hard. Don’t assume you can’t follow your dreams or that your choices are being taken away because some other woman on Instagram told you they were.”

“Do it. Plain and simple.” says Tara, adding: “Starting your own agency is both scary and exciting. It’s an empowering journey and one that I wish more women would take. The beauty of starting your own agency is that you can shape it around your own values: you don’t have to follow the status quo, you have the power to build a business that’s different – one that speaks to more people like you.”

And leave your expectations and fears at the door: “I do think that we over-complicate entrepreneurship sometimes – not every entrepreneur looks the same, and no one’s journey is like the next. Not everyone needs to be an ‘overnight success’ nor the next unicorn.”

The real beauty is that, your business can reflect who you really are, argues Tara: “Are you a mother who wants to run an agency to fit around parental duties? There will be hundreds – thousands – of women just like you too. Shape your operations – and your client base – around how you like to work. It will be a refreshing change! Do you want to specifically focus on clients who speak to you as a woman? Go for it! Your passion for what they do will shine through more than another agency, so why not take the leap?”

And you might be that spark that will trigger a wider change: “The world is changing. It’s not perfect, but business has to adapt, and I can’t think of a better way than to get more women to the top by running their own agencies”, Tara concludes.