The Drum publishes results of its 2015 Independent Agencies Census, giving insights into the UK's independent agency sector
The Drum has published the results of its second annual Independent Agencies Census, an insightful overview of the independent marketing agency landscape.
The research, conducted in partnership with the Recommended Agency Register and sponsored by Graph, showcases the success of independent agencies in a sector dominated by large networks.
Agencies are ranked on three metrics to provide three measures of success – financial performance, client satisfaction and peer recommendations. Additionally, the report highlights those with the best average rankings across all three, earning them ‘elite’ status.
Agencies are ranked against those of a similar staff size in order to provide valuable comparisons. The 254 agencies that appear in the census are divided into groups of 1-25 staff, 26-50 staff, 51-99 staff and 100+ staff – with media agencies ranked in a section of their own.
Of the 254 agencies analysed for the census, 83 per cent showed positive turnover growth in the last financial year, suggesting the independent agency sector is in a healthy state.
Agencies had an average turnover of £5.9m, and the average turnover growth was just under £894k.
Oliver ranked in first place in the 100+ staff size group financial table, with turnover growth in excess of £12m in the most recent financial year. AnalogFolk was placed first in the financial agencies for agencies with 51-99 staff, and Fold7 topped the financial table for the 26-50 group. The Agency and Media Reach Advertising, meanwhile, took joint first place for agencies with 1-25 staff. Essence was ranked number one for financial performance in the media agencies table, and also achieved elite status. The number one elite agencies for the other groups, after a strong performance in all three tables, were: Home (100+), Bulletproof (51-99), Rawnet (26-50) and The Agency (1-25).
The Drum Independent Agencies Census supplement is published with the latest issue of The Drum magazine (13 May), while a comprehensive report, containing all tables and detailing all findings and analysis, as well as profiling all 254 agencies analysed in the research, is also available. Both can be purchased on The Drum Store.
You can view the elite polls and the financial polls online at the Independent Agencies Census website.