At the 2025 Predictions event run by The Drum in February, Tony Walford was asked what he thought the year would bring for the agency landscape. His response was two things: further consolidation and this will be the “year of the indie”.
Whilst we will see various agencies come together (not just Omnicom/IPG, but think Bauer/Channel Advisor and even Intermission/Earnest), we will also see indie agencies coming into their own, supplemented by a plethora of start-ups. And here’s why.
The Omnicom/IPG combination will undoubtedly result in significant job losses as the combined company looks to increase profitability through cost-cutting.
The saying “You can’t cut your way to growth” is very pertinent here…improving profitability through rationalization is all that’s being talked about, with seemingly no focus on growing revenues. WPP is shedding staff following its dismal 2024 results and, only this week, announced further consolidation within GroupM as it pulls its four agencies that operate under that banner into one. This is on top of some high-profile departures, including Ajaz Ahmed, founder of AKQA and veteran of 30 years, who recently broke cover on his new Indie startup, Studio.One.
As a result, there are a lot of senior players within these groups considering their options even before the axe falls, and many will already be planning their next move – either joining an independent or starting one with a bunch of like-minded talent.
Whilst restrictive covenants will prevent many stealing key clients and soliciting fellow staff for a period, client CMOs and brand marketers follow the talent, and it won’t take long for these agencies to thrive – look at Adam&Eve and Uncommon as prior examples of indies that became superstars. Indeed, Richard Brim (CCO) and Martin Beverley (CSO), recently left Adam&Eve/DDB (now seen as a mature agency, given it’s been 13 years since Omnicom bought it), to set up an Indie.
But it won’t just be the senior talent on the move. Smart mid-tier and even juniors who understand the incoming impact of AI and can see a way of harnessing this into a differentiated offer will be interested in doing something novel.
