Digiday+ Research digest: Growth ahead, investments in digital and other takeaways from our Media Agency Report

Our full report examines the current and future state of media agencies from the perspective of total client spending and spending by media channel, and delves into the impact of retail media on agencies. You can read the full report here.

In the meantime, we’ve collected some of the biggest takeaways from the report:

Are agencies in store for a period of growth?

The majority of agencies (36%) said clients have increased their media spending in 2024. Less than one-third of agencies said that budgets either remained the same (30% of respondents) or decreased (28% of respondents) respectively this year.

Among respondents who said budgets have increased in 2024, the majority (63%) said budgets have increased by less than 20%. Clients’ conservative budget increases may reflect the negative impact of inflation on consumer spending, however this is in line with other experts’ predictions of slow growth in 2024.

Shelby Saville, chief investment officer of Publicis Media, said the need for flexibility in media buying across client categories remains strong in 2024 and headed into 2025. “I’m very cautiously optimistic that we’re seeing good strong budgets coming for next year,” Saville said. “However, [the client sentiment that] ‘this is the budget, this is what I have, but I’m going to hold onto it for a little bit’ is a real dynamic that’s playing out. Also, ‘how can you [the agency] make this as risk averse as possible for me to be in market and to get the best deals without having to commit dollars, and to make sure I can be flexible.’”

Digital channels will be big winners with agency clients

Agencies selected social media (90% of respondents), retail media (50% of respondents) and streaming video and CTV (45% of respondents) as the top three channels in which they expect to see increased client spending next year.

Within social media, agency clients are shifting spending into short-form video in particular. Short-form video offers the opportunity to reach younger audiences where they are most active. Viewers’ need to watch short-form videos with the sound turned on has also increased clients’ interest in short-form video advertising.

Agency clients are shifting more ad dollars into streaming video and CTV due, in part, to ad inventory price cuts across several platforms. Many streaming platforms have also increased the amount of live sports content they are broadcasting, which appeals to clients who want to reach those massive sports audiences.

Agency clients navigate the retail media landscape

The majority of agencies (63%) said they are currently advising their clients to invest in retail media. Raising consumer awareness of a product or brand is the top reason agencies said they recommend that clients invest in retail media. Forty-eight percent of agencies said this.

The top reason agencies are recommending that clients invest in retail media is to raise consumer awareness of a product or brand. Just under half of agencies (48%) told Digiday that they advise their clients to invest in retail media for this reason.

Lack of budget and too many investment options is the top challenge agencies say they face within retail media — 36% of respondents said this. As retail media has surged in popularity, a plethora of new RMNs have popped up, forcing clients to stretch their budgets in order to balance their platform mix.

“There’s not enough money to go around for this to be sustainable,” said Ethan Goodman, evp of digital commerce at Mars United Commerce. “Once you get past a certain point, the offerings start to blur together and the question becomes, ‘Why don’t I just invest in the [major players, like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Kroger].’”