The 4As hosted another fascinating effort last week in Austin as part of their 2026 Management Practitioners Forum (MPF) for Independent Agencies: they programmed an afternoon of speed dating for agencies and search consultants. Mercer Island Group’s Barry O’Neil and Steve Boehler met with thirty-four fine agencies in quick 15-minute sessions.
The 4A’s Management Practitioners Forum is an event that brings together leaders of independent agencies to discuss key challenges related to driving a modern marketing agency. We were once again delighted to participate. And we learned a lot by spending an afternoon with these 34 agencies.
What did we learn?
1. Many indies are seizing the middle market moment.
The largest Holding Company agencies are distracted by mergers and acquisitions and focused on the largest global clients. The middle market has been underserved by the giants, and indies are focused on meeting their special needs.
2. Creative opportunities are back.
Overall, the creative review space has been soft for a few years, with periods of reasonable activity mixed in with other periods of very few opportunities. Not 2026! Review flow has increased significantly. The middle market is leading the way and many of the indies we spoke with have seen more opportunities in 2026 than in the past few years.
3. The indies are a special community.
What a special group of people! Charming, thoughtful and interesting leaders. They know they compete with one another yet are clearly part of a broader community.
4. Many struggle to describe their agencies.
The struggle starts with “what kind of agency are you?” Are you a media agency, PR agency, full service advertising agency, shopper marketing agency, communciations and PR firm, etc.?
Many were clear about what they were, using accepted industry language. Many others struggled or used unusual, non-industry norm language to define what type of agency they were.
5. Most agencies had trouble declaring what makes them special in a compelling way.
We heard a great deal about their people, their capabilities, ownership structure and clients. We only occasionally heard what a client may need or care about or why an agency could stand out in ways that are meaningful to clients.
A strong positioning distinguishes your agency for prospects. Maybe less obviously, it also helps search consultants like MIG pitch your agency to clients.
Job #1 for a search consultant in a review is assembling the right mix of agencies for clients to choose from. Seeing the mix, clients understandably want to know the “why’s” behind MIG’s recommendations, so when we present our initial list it’s often on us to do a bit of selling of each agency. We have done the research and can show how each agency meets the client’s needs. And our recommendation is made easier when we can lead with an agency’s own words. The right positioning and points of differentiation help us quickly make the case for an agency’s inclusion and, in the best cases, give the client a mnemonic device to remember throughout the process.
At the 4As speed dating event, meeting with so many agencies in a day we were struck by the experience, talent and personable leadership each group showed up with and had waiting back at HQ. Based on our conversations and some optimism, we feel any one of them could show well in a search given the right capabilities match. The rub is, that’s also true of dozens of agencies we didn’t meet with in person but have known or discovered over the years. With so many agencies, positioning becomes extra important. Some agencies do this extraordinarily well:
Tombras: Data + Creativity for Business results
Edelman: Earning Trust Through Communications
Zenith: The ROI Agency
New Engen: Genuine. Impact.
Most agencies don’t do this very well. That’s why one of the first questions we ask agencies is “What sets you apart?” acknowledging that so much of what agencies “of a type” do is the same. The answers give us a headline if/when we recommend them for the right opportunity.
Barry O’Neil, a director at Mercer Island Group, has been helping marketers and their agencies succeed for over twenty years. Barry has helped hundreds of marketers with agency reviews, agency negotiation and client-agency 360s. He has a special gift for strategic insight development and pitch strategy and has helped numerous agencies win some of their largest pitches. Barry’s clients have included companies like Brooks Running, Elevance Health, tonies, Ulta Beauty, UScellular and WOW!, and he has counseled agencies like DEPT, New Engen, Lerma, Think Shift and others.
Steve Boehler, founder, and partner at Mercer Island Group has led consulting teams on behalf of clients as diverse as Ulta Beauty, Microsoft, Nintendo, Kaiser Permanente, Holland America Line, Stop & Shop, Qualcomm, Brooks Running, and numerous others. He founded MIG after serving as a division president in a Fortune 100 when he was only 32. Earlier in his career, Steve Boehler cut his teeth with a decade in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble, leading brands like Tide, Pringles, and Jif.
Mercer Island Group helps marketers and agencies succeed. Company leadership is as much at home with marketers and their C-Suites as in an agency’s boardroom. With marketers, Mercer Island Group is a top 5 agency search consultancy covering all types of agency relationships (creative, media, web, PR, experiential) and assists marketers with marketing organization structure, workflow and critical skill development (briefing, creative evaluation & feedback, etc.). The company also supports leading and aspiring agencies with positioning, pitch and strategy training and pitch support.