There’s an old story about a New York City adman who wrote a catchy slogan for the Muscatine Steam Laundry: “We keep you clean in Muscatine.” The boss liked it so much he gave his copywriter a raise.
But the money didn’t matter; the young employee quit soon afterward. His name? F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Okay, so that was in 1919, and Fitzgerald was destined for greatness anyway. And yet this story is still relevant. The Great Gatsby author left his agency gig because he felt creatively stifled and didn’t see a future. It’s malaise that endures a century later, according to a survey conducted by NewtonX on behalf of ADWEEK.
The data shows that while there’s still much job satisfaction to be had in the marketing field, it’s mostly on the brand side, not with an ad agency.
Consider two core stats: 53% of brand marketers told us that they plan to stay in their current posts for the next 12 months, while 54% of agency executives see themselves striking out on their own within the next two years. Does that mean they plan to pull a Fitzgerald and dump the ad business? No. But it does suggest they’d rather not be on the contract side of it.
“A lot of agency leaders describe their culture as burnout as a strategy,” said NewtonX vice president of partnerships Daniel Sills. “Agencies are built on headcount leverage and billable hours, and a lot of volatility drivers like pricing pressure and budget cuts are forcing them into a do-more-with-less environment.”
Got those agency blues
Considering the recent volatility of the agency world of late, it’s no surprise that so many of its constituents are eyeing the exit. The funereal air on Madison Avenue is coming from mergers like Omnicom and IPG in December and curtailments like WPP’s February announcement of £400 million ($538M) in budget cuts.
And this at a time when brands have already hit the brakes on ad spending. Gartner data shows that 2024 marketing budgets fell to 7.7% of company revenues (from a high of 11% in 2020) and stayed there through 2025.
“As budgets get tighter, agency life has devolved into a high-pressure fulfillment center where technology is treating talent as a line item expense to be optimized or cut,” observed Dustin York, who teaches communications at Maryville University and whose long CV includes stints in the brand and agency worlds. “Brand-side folks typically value job stability more than agency, and it’s showing true now more than ever.”
