The Price Isn't Right explores the growing disconnect between the value agencies deliver and the prices they ask for. Commissioned by the IPA and written by Creative Salon, it unpacks why commercial reform is overdue and so often elusive. This report offers a clear-eyed look at agency pricing practices, industry pressures, and the need for honest negotiation. It’s a call for change: more intention, more openness, and a renewed focus on value.
Five years after the publication of the IPA report The Price of Success, the industry remains largely stuck in traditional time-and-resource (FTE-based) pricing models. Despite widespread recognition among agencies and intermediaries that these models are outdated and misaligned with the sophistication of modern agency services, meaningful change has been minimal.
This paper provides a sharp analysis of the barriers to innovation and proposes a roadmap for reform, urging agencies to modernise FTE frameworks, embrace flexible portfolio-based pricing, invest in client education, and build shared infrastructure to support innovation. By aligning pricing with value, agencies can unlock growth, strengthen client relationships, and future-proof their commercial strategies.