What even is an agency anymore?

I’m not a fan of the sentiment I’ve expressed in that opening sentence.

Clearly, what’s coming next is a definition of an agency anchored around what I consider normal.

The definition that supports what agencies were like for the 20 year period I was working at or running them.

And then I’m going to say that everything has changed aka it’s not like the good old days.

Here it comes.

There was a time where agencies could be described by a specific operating model.

Whether they were huge operations with thousands of people or small two or three-person studios, they worked in the same way, went through the same stages of growth, and you could capture it all.

Now you have multiple models.

There’s still that classic set up but you now have to add

The solo-operated agency using AI and automation to scale with no intention of adding headcount.

The insanely narrow agency who solves not just a specific problem but a specific part of a problem better than anyone else.

The SaaS hybrid agency creating recurring revenue and layering software.

The movable definition is nothing new. My ‘normal’ definition would have been new-fangled to the ad agencies that came before.

An agency is a business empowered to act and make decisions for others. And that means all the definitions are valid.

This requires us to broaden the tactics we consider.

  • No longer just scaling through headcount; now also freelancers and automation
  • No longer just project-based revenue tracking; now also SaaS-based growth metrics
  • No longer just hourly billing; now also fixed, value-based retainers
  • No longer marketing through agency-led branding and content; now also founder-profile-led campaigns, more personality and building in the open
  • No longer starting with referrals and who you know; now using outreach and volume of connections from the start.

The tactics aren’t new, but the combinationsare, and staying on top of what is now considered essential for an agency to thrive is 😬.

The winners will be the ones that take the best of everything.

The established agency that can bring automations in and go faster and farther on the back of their already stellar reputation, relationships and client management.

The challenger agency that can quickly learn the fundamental drivers of account management and how to move away from that automated delivery toward becoming a strategic partner where the money gets big.

There’s a time and place for every tactic.

Some things clearly get misused, but nothing is in itself a mistake; it’s just about when to use what.

The goal is to understand how everything works. The moment you dismiss something different you’ve limited yourself.

Because we’ve all got something to learn.