A Look at How Agency Compensation Has Changed

Gone are the days when agencies could milk marketers for all their worth. Marketers are demanding more of their agencies, as the ANA's newest Trends in Agency Compensation survey shows. In its 16th year, the survey tracked its members' use of compensation methods. Fee-based compensation continues to rise unabated, representing fully 81 percent of comp agreements in 2013 (the practice becomes more prevalent among bigger advertisers). The use of risk-reward structures, where agencies risk a downside if they underperform, has risen sharply over the past three years.