After a Year of Turmoil, the Future of Agencies May Well Be Bright

Those that expertly change and adapt can make significant gains

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Where We Were

When 2020 started, several problems were bubbling under the surface for agencies: bloated organizations, brands moving away from the agency-of-record model, in-housing, consultancies, consolidation of publishing and a lack of diversity.

Agencies sensed their relevance was dwindling, and they started to make changes—not necessarily very quickly, but there were signs of forward motion.

Then the rest of 2020 happened.

When the pandemic hit in the spring, the mission for agencies became survival. Many people lost their jobs—Forrester predicts the number will top 50,000 people by the end of this year—and slight revenue declines became major victories.

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This story first appeared in the Jan. 18, 2021, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.