Why Commercial Resilience is the New Agency Mandate
If the past few years tested the agency model, the next few will define what replaces it.
Agencies are now operating inside five overlapping forces.
Together, they form what we have coined the Age of More – a structural shift in how agencies grow, win and retain business.
These forces make up Commercial Resilience – the systems in place that reshape and strengthen pitches, pricing, teams and technology decisions across the market:
1. Pitching is the front line of survival against competition
Organic growth is harder to secure, and client rosters turn over faster than ever. Even as UK marketing budgets show modest growth, every pitch brief now carries higher stakes and tighter margins. The agencies winning consistently treat pitching as a professional discipline, not a scramble. They train teams to perform under pressure, invest in narrative craft and automate the heavy lifting so senior talent can focus on ideas and chemistry. The pitch isn’t the final result of the process – it is the process.
2. Commercial pressure is redefining value
Client needs are moving away from time-based fees and towards outcomes, impact and partnership. That shift challenges the economic agencies were built. Models that rewarded volume now need to reward effectiveness, proof and shared ambition. The agencies that adapt will design commercial frameworks that connect creativity, data and technology directly to business results. Those that don’t will be forced to compete on cost rather than value – a race few win.
3. Being a challenger now requires real distinctiveness
In the Age of More, being “different” isn’t enough. Agencies need to be known for something clear, specific and credible. That distinctiveness fuels challenger behaviour – confidence, speed and a willingness to challenge convention. It’s why independent and specialist agencies now appear on almost every major pitch list (1 in 3 major pitches).
Holding companies and larger networks are being pushed to rediscover an “entrepreneurial edge” because their traditional advantage – scale – is being neutralised by “inventory media” models that, while profitable, often lack the transparency and strategic agility that modern clients demand.
Growth comes from clarity, not scale alone.
4. Creativity is under pressure – but more valuable than ever
When efficiency and margin pressure rise, creativity is often the first casualty. That’s a mistake. Strong creative work remains the biggest multiplier of growth, winning pitches, retaining clients and energising teams. Creativity today isn’t just the output; it’s the story, the theatre and the confidence agencies bring into every interaction. Agencies that protect creativity under pressure build momentum and resilience.
5. Computation is the hidden advantage inside agencies
AI and technology are transforming client work, but the bigger opportunity sits inside the agency itself. Teams that embed automation across prospecting, pricing and pitch preparation are gaining speed, precision and headroom for better thinking. When foundational work gets faster, strategy and ideas get stronger. In a market where services look increasingly similar, operational speed and intelligence become true differentiators.
The agencies that understand the Age of More – and design for it – will be set to win long-term.
Ultimately, Commercial Resilience isn’t a passive state you reach, but rather a mandate for how you operate, now more than ever.
The agencies that will dominate 2026 are those that stop “fighting fires” and start designing their internal infrastructure to progress through unpredictability. You can’t wait for market buoyancy to return to save your margins; you have to engineer your own growth by mastering the five forces of the Age of More.
If you’re looking to change the way you approach this, contact us to learn how we can help.