The good times have returned to the B2B agency sector in the last 12 months, with an average increase in gross income of a whopping 27 per cent, according to B2B Marketing’s annual Agencies Benchmarking Report. This impressive figure is just three per cent off the all time high of 30 per cent recorded in 2007 – the height of the credit crunch – when only 40 agencies responded. This year, our League Table runs to an unprecedented top 60 of agencies – it almost reached a top 70, but we fell just a few short – demonstrating the confidence, dynamism and vibrancy of the B2B sector.
Storming in to seize the top spot in this year’s League Table is Ogilvy, with a UK gross income of £38 million (although this falls to only £18 million when the figures reflect B2B revenue). This is Ogilvy’s first appearance in the B2B Agencies League Table, and is one of many new names this year.
It seizes top spot from Bray Leino, despite that agency achieving a commendable 11 per cent year-on-year increase in gross income, with the result that it holds onto second place from the challenge of Amaze. Other noteable changes in the top 10 this year include Mason Zimbler which stormed from 15th to fifth spot, partly on the back of changes in how it is structured within the Harte Hanks group. In the global agencies table, Bristol-based Mason Zimbler goes one better, hitting fourth spot, due in part to impressive performances from its US-based subsidiary.
New kids on the block
Ogilvy is just one of an unprecedented flood of new or re-entries to this year’s league table, which also includes Freestyle Interactive, Twogether, Torch B2B, Nice Agency, Something Big, Corporate Innovations, Foundry Communications, Fifth Ring, BergHind Joseph and Bite.
The arrival of so many agencies that did not feature 12 months ago inevitably means many of those listed in 2012 slip down the rankings not on account of poor performance, but because other names have slipped in ahead of them. This is an unfortunate consequence to what is otherwise great news for the agency community in particular, and the B2B marketing industry as a whole.
Agencies keep the brakes on hiring
Increase in average agency headcount has conspicuously failed to keep pace with the increase in income, with the former figure at 20 per cent for UK-only agencies and the latter at 10 per cent. This shows a surprising fall, year-on-year from 2012, when agencies grew by an average of 16 per cent, even amidst a more downbeat economic backdrop.
This clearly demonstrates that agencies are being very pragmatic about investing in resources, striving where possible to leverage spare capacity or find more efficient ways of working rather than strengthening employee numbers. The challenge will be for them to maintain standards of customer service at the same time.
As a consequence of this, agencies became more profitable per person employed over the last 12 months, according to the survey results, with average income per employee rising from just under £85,000 per year to just under £95,000 – a jump of almost £10,000. For the top 10 agencies listed, the figure for average gross income per employee jumps by around 50 per cent to £148,000, suggesting that success breeds success, and the biggest agencies can charge the highest fees.
Ironically, the same figure is at its lowest for the top 10 fastest growing agencies, where it falls to just under £80,000.
Agencies bet on content
Content marketing was the service that gained most ground in the last 12 months among B2B agencies, with the number of agencies providing it as a service rising from 75 per cent to 90 per cent. It is now the fourth most popular service provided by B2B agencies, only bettered by web design/management, planning/strategy and general design/production. The most popular service, website design management, grew in agency popularity by 10 per cent, meaning it is now offered by 100 per cent of B2B agencies – confirming once and for all that digital is now the mainstream.
Other marketing services to have increased in popularity among agencies in 2012-13 were video and mobile, both of which were the focus of considerable hype and interest, but until this year lagged behind some of the more established channels. Surprisingly, direct mail saw an increase in popularity, putting it broadly in line with social media in terms of agencies’ favourite disciplines.
By contrast, popularity of social media services declined by almost 10 per cent, with less than 80 per cent of agencies offering this as a service. The trough of disillusionment may be looming for this much-hyped marketing channel.
The top 60 B2B agencies are as follows:
B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report 2013
Full League Table data plus more analysis and indepth agency profiles can be found in this report, which is an invaluable to tool for clients seeking to find and evaluate new agencies to work with. The B2B Agencies Benchmarking Report is free to Premium Members of B2B Marketing, otherwise it can be purchased online and in hardcopy format.
