Adland CEOs Observe Client Caution, Too Few “Modern” Indies, Industry’s “Morbid Fascination With Predicting Demise”

A cost-of-living crisis, political instability, and the rapid escalation of artificial intelligence’s capability: 2025 was always going to be turbulent.

But as CEOs from around the world look back on the first half of the year, they observe it has been downright volatile -- and marketers have responded unevenly, while expecting a greater return on investment.

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Client Demands Rising, “And Rightly So”

CEOs across the regions agree marketers are demanding a clearer return on investment.

​DDB Group AUNZ CEO Priya Patel described 2025 as a “challenging market” characterised by tight budgets, a sharper focus on marketing ROI, and “no shortage of pitches.”

“Most clients are looking for partners who understand their business, can work smoothly across different disciplines, and deliver measurable outcomes,” she said.

“They want fresh thinking that respects the market specifics without overcomplicating things. At the same time, the bar for commercial accountability is higher than ever. With tighter budgets and increased scrutiny, clients expect clear proof of value – not just big ideas.

“That means pitches need to show not only creative excellence but also a clear pathway to business impact, whether through performance, brand growth, or innovation.”

This is true the world over. While India is a market still ripe with potential, Leo India CEO Amitesh Rao agreed with his peers in other markets that “clients need ever-improving ROI across the entire marketing funnel.”

Marketers are on the hunt for partners that can help them navigate transformation, according to OLIVER. Amina leads the UK business to build brands’ in-house teams and explained increased budgetary pressures have led to “sharper, more focused briefing” and an openness to transforming the marketing function.

“We’ve seen deeper client relationships as our clients need long lasting partners to help them deliver.”

Chris at Cheil -- which began as Samsung’s in-house agency and now works for other clients while remaining owned by Samsung -- was on the same page, arguing clients want their agencies to be “less supplier, more partner in transformation.” Their expectations have climbed, “and rightly so”, and they’re not willing to compromise.

“Speed without compromise. Strategy that drives outcomes. Creative that earns attention and proves its worth. This isn’t about budget cuts, it’s about accountability. The fluff is gone,” said Chris.

That shouldn’t cause fear within agencies, he argued, because “the beauty of that pressure is it raises the bar for everyone” and it means the market is primed for strategic work that is “commercially credible and creatively ambitious.”

​Donnalyn Smith, the global boss of experience agency Momentum Worldwide, agreed clients are “asking smarter questions, pushing for provable value, and demanding that creativity and technology serve a bigger purpose”. From a pitch perspective, she observed many Q2 RFPs “included generative workflows as table stakes”, which wasn’t the case even six months ago.

“We’re seeing compressed timelines, condensed scopes and a new business cycle that rewards agility over polish,” Donnalyn said.

“The pitch isn’t dead—but it’s different. We’re winning work in weeks, not months, and the agencies that can’t show up with clear thinking and executable systems from day one are getting left behind.”

While her business expected clients to pull back this year, “instead, what we saw was more nuanced: brands aren’t hesitating, they’re recalibrating.”

Fellow experience agency CEO, Jonathan Emmins at Amplify, noted that while marketing budget growth has slowed in the UK, brand experience is still on the rise. The first half was significant for the business; it was acquired by Common Interest, and “saw an uplift in brand experience investment".