Optimizing Creative Agency Procurement in a Transformed Landscape

Shifts Affecting Creative Agency Procurement and Management

Creative agency procurement and management are undergoing significant shifts as creative assets are produced, distributed, and valued in new ways. AI and automation have accelerated the creative process, reduced manual effort, and reshaped the broader supply chain. The impact on the creative ecosystem is profound: 

• Tech platforms such as Meta and Google now offer AI-driven self-serve tools that enable brands to create assets in-house, shifting scope away from agencies

• Creative output is increasingly moment-led and disposable, resulting in shorter campaign lifecycles

• Agencies face sustained pressure to invest in new technology and skills as tools become core to the service offering

• Rising expectations around speed and automation risk diminishing the elements that drive true creative distinctiveness

• Growing channel fragmentation requires creative teams to produce more assets, in more formats, for more platforms than ever

• Agencies are experiencing talent strain, including an average 8% headcount reduction in 2025 (Source: The Drum) 

• Continuous upskilling demands are contributing to burnout across creative departments

In this context, creative procurement must evolve. With execution now the baseline, effective procurement strategies should prioritize strategic thinking, systems-level creativity, cultural fluency, and the human expertise that elevates ideas beyond functional output. 

Do’s and Don’ts for Creative Agency Procurement

1. Buy strategic creativity, not just assets

• Do: Prioritize agencies that connect creativity to measurable business outcomes and cultural relevance. Assess their ability to link ideas to growth, retention, and brand strength. Buying thinking – not just deliverables – ensures each campaign is grounded in insight, intent, and long-term value. 

• Don’t: Over-index on deliverables or engagement metrics when assessing creative quality. True creativity builds meaning, distinctiveness, and enduring brand equity – not just clicks, impressions, or content volume. 

2. Buy according to your specific needs

• Do: Seek agencies with strong consumer and cultural insight capabilities. Evaluate how they gather insights, integrate feedback across markets or business units, and measure the performance of work to scale what works. 

• Don’t: Procure creative services without first diagnosing your brand’s strategic needs. A clear articulation of priorities ensures agencies build ideas aligned to business ambition rather than output for output’s sake. 

3. Choose partners who embrace AI, but stay fundamentally human

• Do: Reward creative effectiveness, particularly as AI introduces efficiencies across production. Ensure ideas are not only produced faster or cheaper but demonstrably drive business impact. 

• Don’t: Allow efficiency goals to overshadow creative KPIs. While AI can accelerate production, over-optimising for speed or cost risks eroding brand distinctiveness and long-term equity. Efficiency should enhance creativity, not replace it. 

4. Buy creative services that enable modularity and ecosystem-level planning

• Do: Evaluate the agency’s ability to design flexible content ecosystems. Strong modularity allows ideas to scale across channels while remaining consistent and relevant. Remember: modularity only works when the foundational idea is strong. 

• Don’t: Work with agencies that operate in silos or lack integration across strategy, creative, and media. Fragmentation undermines both efficiency and effectiveness. 

Buying better creativity starts with recognizing that true value comes from strategic thinking, human insight, and ecosystem-ready ways of working – supported, not replaced, by technology.