Business Growth

Content and inspiration to enable agencies to thrive and prosper in the longterm

Helping IPA members drive profitable growth is at the core of the Commercial Leadership Group's purpose. Our ambition is to help agencies grow in the long term. To be profitable and sustainable.

"We know growth must be sustainable but recognise it cannot be delivered at any cost. How do we create successful businesses, which are built on sustainable relationships with our clients, which provide our talent with secure and rewarding careers, whilst also playing a leading and proactive role in environmental and social governance? We believe embracing these multiple challenges is integral to future commercial success. We continue to address the big themes that we believe will change our industry and the commercials of our agencies over the next few years."

Chris Byron, COO at OMD UK

Working with the IPA Commercial Leadership Group

What we recognise as advertising and the advertising industry has changed shape hugely in recent years - with no sign of abating. We're presented with a clear choice - lament the changes and try to justify our existence, or reinvent ourselves. The IPA Commercial Leadership Group, is, of course, choosing the latter option.

Chris Byron leads the IPA Group comprising a number of IPA agency heads, in looking at how agencies can transform themselves. Some of the areas they're looking at include; what the advertising business can learn from others; what it sells and what its relationship with technology is.

The findings shape Group meetings, outputs, content and of course are at the forefront of our flagship IPA event the Business Growth Conference. The only event of its kind in our industry to focus purely on growth, the conference hosts some of the biggest names in our industry who reveal their new drivers for growth, how agencies like theirs will be appointed going forwards and how we’ll all have to change to deliver the “new” value.

Resources

Our ambition is to help agencies grow in the long term. To be profitable and sustainable. We are here to help with bespoke networks, courses, publications, events and more.

Highlights of the 2023 Business Growth Conference

What does the future hold for our industry and the economy? Is AI a threat or an opportunity? What opportunities for growth has the uncertainty of recent years created?

Catch up with all IPA Business Growth Conference recordings

The IPA Business Growth Conference is the industry flagship event that solely focuses on growth. We have five years' worth of conference sessions available for you to watch.

Driving Growth resources for Account Handlers

Account handlers create opportunities for agencies to wow clients and for brands to become famous. We've created a content hub with support and resources for this growth-driving key position in each agency.

Gaining the competitive edge

The report, based on a study of both quantitative and qualitative interviews with senior marcomms leaders, shows that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is fast becoming central to day-to-day decision-making.

The Future of Brand and Agency Relationships

This IPA report looks at the consumer and industry forces that will shape the future of marketing and reveals the agency business models we can expect to see in the next decade.

The Price of Success

The report defines the challenges, competitors, complexity and commercial reality facing businesses and how using a wide range of pricing models can drive agency growth.

Pricing for Success

Agencies should expand their thinking when it comes to pricing their services and products. This paper shows how to build effective commercial relationships with clients by expanding the ideas in "The Price of Success".

Pitch Positive Pledge

The cross-industry pledge aims to tackle systemic pitching behaviour to drive better outcomes across the industry for its people, the planet and profit. Sign the pledge to show your support.

Partnering for Growth

This report seeks to understand the characteristics and contexts that can create long-term, mutually sustainable client/agency relationships.

Resources for Agencies

Best practice tips for agencies on planning and performing the perfect pitch, including prospecting, completing an RFI and choosing the right pitch team.

Shift Happens

What the evolution of in-housing means for agencies in the entirety of the marketing ecosystem, including the role of the technology giants.

Learning to Drive Growth

The IPA Continuous Professional Development (CPD) learning programme has been designed to help you drive growth from within your agency. Courses and events particularly aimed at helping delegates focus on business growth include: