Last year, the World Federation of Advertisers surveyed more than 70 multinational companies representing $50 billion in advertising spending. Only 11% of respondents agreed that their current agency model would meet their future needs and 24% said it was not fit for purpose.

So, to paraphrase Jerry Maguire, is now the time for clients to ask agencies to “Show me the model?” » The one who reinvents their commercial structures with a view to a new type of relationship?

“Wait,” I hear you say, “there are two problems with this question. ” I agree. Let’s start with the most obvious. Clients don’t wait for agencies to solve their own problems. Rather, customers vote with their memories and form their own opinions about what a compelling future will look like. Last week, Richard Robinson and the new Ingenuity+ team released a report titled Redefining Pitch: A New Era in Agency-Brand Relationships. The study concluded that 98% of senior marketers plan to pitch within the next year. Even more telling, they observed that “the increase in the number of planned pitches signals a demand for…agencies to respond more quickly to meet brands’ expectations.”

The second problem with the “Show me the model” question is more fundamental. For decades, the overwhelming majority of agencies, regardless of their discipline, have been built on a broadly similar business model. One that combines People x Rates x Hours in order to generate costs. Look at most big agency setups and you will always see this pattern. And while there will be ancillary structures surrounding it – such as KPI soft incentives, pay-for-results, and volume discounts – the underlying structure will be the same. And to some extent, one could very well argue that it still works. The client and agency agree on the scope of work, with the implicit understanding that the more complex the task and the greater the number of deliverables, the more time it will take. More people x more rates x more hours.

So, if everything works, why change? Many have tried, of course, by arguing that selling time is not a fair representation of the business-building value that best-in-class creativity can provide. Value-based pricing and production (among other things) remain good causes for an industry that must continue to defend its importance to UK PLC.

But I would argue that agencies need to consider much bigger changes. Last month, I wrote in this column that “AI is the answer.” What is the question? This same AI upheaval will call into question the very foundations of agency-client relationships. The future (for those finalizing their annual plans for 2025) cannot be about more people doing more things for more hours. Technology will perform many of these functions in the near future. Not exclusively, of course. The power of original thought to surprise, separate and seduce remains distinctly human. However, what comes next – the production, deployment and delivery of marketing materials – will inevitably be forever changed by technology and by AI in particular.

For many, this change will be a daunting prospect. What does this mean for agencies still selling time? What does this mean for their talent? This demands a response. Of course yes. And here’s the problem: “Show me the model” isn’t really a question clients should ask agencies. This is actually a question that agencies need to ask themselves. If we don’t define it for ourselves, our future will be defined for us. Change is the only constant. It’s high time to get ahead.