What we do

How big is the UK marketing, advertising, creative and media agency sector? How many agencies are there? In which fields do they specialise? How has it developed? Where is the growth? What is it worth?

The major challenge for the agency sector, whether it is agency owners, investors, industry bodies or those servicing the sector, has long been a lack of accurate data and insight. At Agency by Agency we have worked in the sector for years and know all too well what this can mean when it comes to making informed decisions relating to our business.

How we do it

Working together with the sector, we have developed our offer to put the right tools in your hand to make decisions for your business. Our reporting, analysis and insight bring together industry knowledge and expertise with exclusive sector data, collected and curated in partnership with The Data City.

Agency data. The power of insight.

Our products

  • Subscribe

    Annual subscription for full access to our comprehensive reporting and Data Shots.

    • Data Shots offer benchmarking data for agency categories based on services offered
    • Agency by Agency Industry Report explores trends across the agency sector
    • Special reports and articles on topics including investment funding, women in the agency sector, city and regional spotlights, recruitment, specialisms and more
  • Bespoke research

    With commissioned reports and research, we can help you answer the specific questions.

    • For agency owners, investors, industry bodies and B2B offering services to the sector
    • Reports and research tailored to your needs and for your exclusive use
    • M&A target identification - save days of manual research and find opportunities in any niche of the sector

Frequently asked questions

What can your data be used for?

Our subscription service provides at a glance data organised by agency type and size in a series of Data Shots. These give agency owners and management teams easy access to benchmarking data that can be used to assess agency performance, set budgets and inform strategy.

Our bespoke research service is used by a diverse range of organisations for M&A targeting, due diligence, benchmarking, policy development and B2B marketing.

What will subscribers have access to?

Agency by Agency subscribers have access to our Agency by Agency Industry Report and our exclusive Data Shots, an overview of different categories based on agency services, for example, agencies offering UX services, PR, Video Production, Performance Marketing etc. Later in 2025 we will also release data based on the type of clients agencies work with. For example, agencies who work in the tourism sector, automotive, fashion and so on.

Our Data Shots offer the most powerful benchmarking data the sector has ever seen, whether you are interested in the number of agencies offering specific services, average turnover or headcount, estimated growth and investment funding, GVA and more. Our Data Shots are regularly updated to make sure you are making decisions with the most accurate information.

Subscribers also have access to our full library of articles and reports exploring sector trends. Does the size of an agency determine performance? What type of agencies are recruiting? Where is the growth in the sector? Which agency types are attracting the most investment?

Can we commission you to do research?

While subscribers have access to the main data points to benchmark performance and insight across the different categories of agency services and the sector as a whole, our bespoke research allows agency owners, investors and those offering services to the industry the opportunity for insight and comparison even in truly niche parts of the sector.

Who are the high growth agencies? Who should be on my shortlist for acquisition? Who are our latest new competitors? What clients are they working with and how are they differentiating themselves from us? Are my competitor agencies growing or shrinking in size? Who are the agencies working in a specific sub-sector and/or location?

We are already available for bespoke research - please contact Tom and let us know how we can help. (Tom.Salmon@AgencybyAgency.com).

How do you get your data?

Working together with our data partners at The Data City, we build our insight on highly sophisticated data mapping tools. Using The Data City’s industry-leading AI platform, we have developed a new and sophisticated way of classifying the UK’s marketing, advertising, creative and media agency sector, recognising the diversity of the industry.

This was done by moving beyond the existing company classifications to create a new taxonomy via training The Data City AI to identify and classify agencies in different categories based on what they do and who they do it for.

The Data City platform pulls together data from a variety of sources to offer in-depth financial information, company records, investment data, growth measures and more. Working together with their partners, The Data City collects and collates data from Companies House, Creditsafe, Dealroom.co, Lightcast, Innovate UK, 360 Giving and more.

When combined with our proprietary classification taxonomy, this allows us to provide Agency by Agency subscribers and research clients a scope and depth of information that was never previously available to agencies, investors, brands, publishers or industry bodies.

How do you categorise different types of agency?

On launch, our Data Shots will be based on categories of agency based on the services they offer. We trained The Data City’s machine learning to recognise and categorise agencies according to how they describe their business and services on their website. Throughout 2025, we will roll out new Data Shots based on an agency’s target market.

This approach means that as the sector evolves and new services emerge, our categories will keep pace with the changes, ensuring our data is always at the cutting edge of industry developments.

These categories also inform our wide range of reports and articles, exclusive for our subscribers. It allows our Agency by Agency Industry Report to explore sector trends and developments, and allows for analysis of the industry in a variety of different ways. As well as continually updating our data, our team will analyse the categories themselves, making sure they remain fit for purpose as the industry changes and develops.

How up-to-date is your data?

The Data City data is updated every month. We combine the data with our other sources, process it and only publish it after a series of manual checks.

All our reports and articles are published using data from the most recent update. All published material will be clearly dated so that subscribers know from when the data comes. Our Data Shot lists are continually being refined, with Data Shots on the website published every three months.

How do you overcome the limitations of available data, in particular from Companies House?

To address the limitations of Companies House data, particularly for smaller agencies that submit micro-accounts and limited financial details, we use available information such as employee data to estimate turnover and growth values. Smaller agencies often report their employee numbers even when comprehensive financial data is unavailable. This helps us fill the gaps and provide a comprehensive picture of the sector.

How can I find out more?

Sign up to our newsletter for updates ahead of launch in March 2025 and early adopter benefits.

We are already available for commissioned work and bespoke research. Please contact us to see how we can help by emailing Tom Salmon (Tom.Salmon@AgencybyAgency.com).