Despite headlines full of restructures and AI panic, independent agency owners are reporting that business is picking up - and the numbers partly back that up.

The skills clients consistently say they want from their agency (proactive strategic thinking, genuine understanding of their business, reliable delivery that proves value) are commercial skills in everything but name.

A lack of proactivity in agency account managers is consistently ranked as the top unmet client expectation in client-agency research, but the cause is structural, not personal.

Faster delivery does not mean cheaper delivery, and assuming it does is costing agencies money.

This article explains why ghosting happens between creative agency projects, and what to do differently.

The next eight weeks are the most important for getting in front of clients before things get quieter in the summer.

I've had a wide range of AI conversations with agency owners this month - and the split has been striking. 

I see a pattern with strong account managers who are good at account growth.

I recently recorded a conversation with Jon Gwillim and Kate Eversole from PharmaBrands. They spend their lives embedded in pharma and healthcare marketing – running events, upskilling teams, speaking to agencies and their clients every single week.

Future proof your career with AI for Account Managers training

What AI can do is help account managers think more strategically - and act more proactively.

AI is making agencies more efficient but most importantly it has the potential to free up account managers to spend more time deepening client relationships.

"Confidence" as a metric of success is overlooked and often deemed 'too woolly' to include as a specific KPI. But it's a multiplier to accelerate the retention and growth of the agency's client relationships.