This year’s B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report lists the industry’s top 75 marcomms agencies and uncovers the truth behind the agency/client relationship. Danielle Howe takes a closer look at the league table and the report’s main research findings
The definitive ranking of the B2B industry’s marketing agencies is back, and it contains some surprising results. In this year’s B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report – our most comprehensive look at the sector to date – we reveal the industry’s top 75 agencies. Encouragingly, our findings also show B2B marketing is in good shape, with agencies large and small presenting impressive growth over the past year. On average, B2B agencies’ general income has risen by 14 per cent, with average gross income at £4.8 million compared to £3.9 million last year.
This year we’ve also gathered together data from the last 10 years, and produced a snapshot of the industry’s progression in that time. While growth was significantly stunted in 2010 as a result of the economic crisis, average growth since 2011 has been steady, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
To view the top 75 B2B agencies league table, click here.
The top B2B agencies
This year, two of the top five agencies in our list have reported very impressive growth figures. Amaze – this year’s number one agency – and OLIVER – at number two – have knocked last year’s list-topper Bray Leino down to third place, having grown by 102 per cent and 86 per cent respectively. Amaze has grown since its acquisition by St Ives Group in 2013, while OLIVER’s growth has been fuelled by acquisitions, such as its recent takeover of digital agency Dare. They are the only agencies in the top 10 to also feature in this year’s list of fastest growers, and have reported the highest gross income figures we have ever seen in the production of this report, with Amaze’s revenue at £39.1m and OLIVER’s at £32.2m.
It has also been a good year for April Six, who recently won our ‘Marcomms agency of the year’ award and has jumped 11 places up to 17th in this year’s table, having grown by 43 per cent. Another notable jump has been made by Velocity, which gained 20 places since last year, rising from 51 to 31 in this year’s table.
New B2B agencies on the scene
This year’s league table also features a number of new agencies, some of whom have shown significant growth over the past 12 months. Perhaps the most notable among these is Impression, 74th on the list, which has grown by 625 per cent since last year and tops our list of the industry’s fastest growers. Having started from very small beginnings in 2012, it has experienced rapid expansion, requiring a move to a bigger office earlier
this year.
Another B2B Award-winner, Digital Radish, also makes an appearance at 71, having grown by 323 per cent since its inception in 2014. New agency Gasp is also worth mentioning, having grown 205 per cent in the past year and appearing at 68 in the league table. Other new agencies to make an appearance in the list for the first time include Impact, bcsAgency, DesignUK and Clever Little Design, among a number of others.
What can we learn from the fastest-growing B2B agencies?
This year, the top 10 fastest-growing agencies experienced a spectacular average growth of 170 per cent. So, what can we learn from these agencies?
It’s worth noting the fastest-growing agencies are a lot more profitable than average, with net profitability at 25 per cent, compared to the general average of 14 per cent. This makes sense, as high profitability means more cash can be invested into high growth; but there are a couple of other factors worth noting among these agencies that are expanding rapidly.
The average number of employees at high-growth agencies is high – 119, compared to the average of 59 – indicating that growth has been accelerated by a high number of employees. However, it’s worth noting that productivity is relatively low, with the average gross income per employee at £63,378 compared to the average among agencies in the rest of the list, which is £85,528. This does seem to be a strategy that works well, though, as the top 10 fastest-growing agencies experienced a 27 per cent year-on-year growth of gross income per employee (compared to the average of two per cent).
How has the B2B agency/client relationship changed?
Finally, our examination of agencies’ biggest challenges this year produced some surprising findings. Contrary to what might be expected, ‘badly organised or time-wasting pitches’ were only perceived as a main challenge by three per cent of agencies, while ‘pressure on clients’ budgets’ came out as the biggest challenge at 35 per cent.
These findings perhaps also reflect the changing nature of the agency/client relationship. This year, we asked agencies about their thoughts on the subject; they told us their relationships with clients are becoming more strategic and collaborative than ever before – perhaps a necessary way of working around tight budgets. One agency commented: “We find ourselves working more and more as part of their team rather than as a supplier”, while another said: “Agencies are becoming a more integrated part of client organisations – an extension of the marketing department.”
The B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report, produced in partnership with Circle Research, is available now to premium members. It contains benchmarking research on the agency sector, expert best practice advice and further details on some of the agencies featured.