Indies Eat Big Agencies' Lunch (Thanks to AI)

Holding companies may be spending hundreds of millions on grand AI transformations and consolidations, but something more interesting is happening beneath the radar. Independent agencies—lean, founder-led, and relentlessly adaptable—are quietly becoming formidable contenders in the AI era.

Let's explore why independent agencies are captivating brands right now—and how the right tools give them the muscle to transform momentum into durable growth.

The Indie Growth Spurt Nobody Saw Coming

In 2025, agility is currency. According to MNTN Research, small to mid-sized agencies are using tools like Connected TV (CTV) and AI-powered optimization to close the gap with giants—and clients are noticing.

Supporting this trend, MediaPost highlights that the top 30 independent U.S. agencies reported gains in employment—a strong proxy for revenue growth. Adweek also points to consolidation and automation continuing to reshape the landscape in 2025, creating space for independents to rise.

Big Agencies: All Toys, No Play

On one side, holding companies are consolidating their power—and their AI investments. Omnicom's $13.25B acquisition of IPG promises $750M in savings to be plowed into AI infrastructure and advanced tools.

But as they integrate and scale, the risk grows that their tools become more about maintenance than creativity—or worse, buried under layers of approval.

Meanwhile, independents are leveraging off-the-shelf tech, rapid learning, and culture—not balance sheets. It's less about the toy navy and more about who knows how to wield the hammer.

Agility Beats Infrastructure Every Time

Dave Morgan recently called out six reasons he's bullish on independent agencies:

• Closer to clients—even down to C-suite relationships
• Flexibility across budgets—from billion-dollar shops to "just a guy" micro-agencies
• Mission-focused cultures untethered to Wall Street
• Momentum fueled by channels like CTV
• AI adoption as a force multiplier—not hierarchical control

MiQ's Joe Espinosa puts it succinctly: tech and AI have become neutralizers—levelers that empower fast-moving, platform-agnostic independents.

In Australia, indie media agencies now represent over 30–40% of total ad spend, and over 50% of digital ad spending. That's not edge growth—it's mainstream adoption. Brands like Toyota and Honda have migrated to independents for their care factor.

Creativity Still Matters (and Indies Are Proving It)

Indie agency Gigil, for instance, was named one of Asia-Pacific's fastest-growing ad agencies—and leads in creative accolades from Cannes to Clio and beyond.

This isn't just efficiency. It's creativity plus connection—agency excellence made nimble.

Scrappy Isn't a Strategy—Unless You Can Protect It

Growth born from agility is powerful—until it's not scalable. Independents can be too reliant on founder relationships, key stars, or moment-driven wins.

That's the risk: momentum without infrastructure. One departure, one lost pitch—and the narrative shifts.

Where holding companies use AI to build pipelines of tech, independents need to build pipelines of trust. This means capturing and protecting Relational IP—those subtle client signals and relationship insights that keep clients loyal even when teams change.

The Bottom Line

This moment isn't about resisting technology—it's about using it smarter and faster.

In an industry where giants may get slower under their own gravity, independents using tech and relational intelligence are sprinting ahead. And with the right relationship infrastructure, they don't just sprint—they scale, sustain, and win.

Jamila Carrington Smith

Founder & CEO, Centric

Jamila Carrington Smith is the Founder and CEO of Centric. She built Centric to solve a problem she lived firsthand in the agency world: the most valuable thing professional services firms own is their client relationships — and most of them have no system to protect it.