Gitnux/Report 2026

Marketing Communications Industry Statistics

Email open rates are averaging 21.33% across industries in 2023 and voice search is projected to drive 50% of all queries by 2025, while attention spans have slipped to 8.25 seconds in the 2023 digital era. This page connects the dots between behavior and budget, showing exactly what is winning engagement across campaigns, from UGC and video to omnichannel loyalty and programmatic spend.
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November 10, 2026Updated
Marketing Communications Industry Statistics
Leah KesslerWritten by Leah Kessler·Edited by Thomas Lindqvist·Fact-checked by Astrid Bergmann
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Before any source is gathered, an editor locks the question, what qualifies, and how the piece will be judged.

02Source Research

Search agents collect the source set and pull each data point out with its provenance attached.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 39 days

01 Industry overview

The marketing communications industry at a glance

Marketing communications is a rapidly expanding, increasingly digital industry: global advertising spend is forecast to reach $1.34 trillion in 2026, up 11.9% year on year.

$1.34T[79]
Global ad spend, 2026
11.9%[79]
Global ad-spend growth, 2026
314,500[80]
US PR specialist jobs, 2025
56.1%[73]
Top three platform share, 2025
Market size
Global advertising spend is forecast at $1.34 trillion in 2026. In the United States, advertising, public relations and related services generated $149.87 billion in revenue in 2024.[79][81]
Forecast & CAGR
WPP Media projects the global advertising market will expand at a 6.3% compound annual growth rate over the five years following 2025. WARC forecasts advertising growth of 9.1% in 2026 and 7.9% in 2027 in its December 2025 outlook, while its October 2026 update puts 2026 growth at 11.9%.[24][73][79]
Market share & regions
China is forecast to account for $200.1 billion, or 16.8% of global advertising spend, in 2025. In the UK, advertising investment reached £12.3 billion in the second quarter of 2026, with search representing 36.9%, social media 28.3% and television 10.3%.[73]
Segmentation
Content-driven advertising is projected to reach $663.5 billion globally in 2025 and $698.8 billion in 2026. Within the UK market in Q2 2026, search, social media and television were the three largest reported channels, together accounting for 75.5% of advertising investment.[24][73]
Key players & concentration
Alphabet, Amazon and Meta were forecast to capture 56.1% of advertising spend outside China in 2025, equivalent to $556.6 billion, with their combined share projected to rise to 58.0% in 2026. The concentration reflects the growing importance of search, retail media, social platforms and first-party data.[73]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Growth in 2026 is being supported by corporate AI investment and major events including the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and US midterm elections. Key challenges include consumer cost-of-living pressure, geopolitical uncertainty, privacy constraints and the increasing concentration of incremental ad spending among major technology platforms.[79][73]
Consumer behavior & competition
Advertising competition is shifting toward high-intent digital environments: global search advertising is forecast to reach $265.5 billion in 2026, while US digital advertising reached $200 billion during the August 2025–July 2026 period. In the UK, search and social media together represented 65.2% of Q2 2026 ad spend.[82][73]
M&A
Omnicom completed its acquisition of Interpublic Group on November 26, 2025. The all-stock transaction gave legacy Omnicom shareholders approximately 60.6% of the combined company and legacy IPG shareholders approximately 39.4%, creating the industry’s largest marketing and sales group.[25]
Regulation
The UK Competition and Markets Authority cleared Omnicom’s proposed acquisition of Interpublic at phase one on August 6, 2025, after investigating the transaction in the communications sector. Regulatory scrutiny remains an important constraint on consolidation among large agency groups.[83]
Latest news
WARC reported on October 28, 2026 that UK advertising investment rose 11.0% year on year to £12.3 billion in Q2 2026. Separately, OpenAI said in August 2026 that its advertising business had reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, highlighting the emergence of AI assistants as a new marketing-communications channel.[73][84]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Marketing Communications Industry

The leading companies in the marketing communications industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 9, 2026 · Next review December 9, 2026

Verdict

Publicis Groupe leads Gitnux's 2026 marketing communications ranking with an Overall score of 9.7, with operations delivering communications, media, data, commerce and creative services in 100+ countries. BlueFocus is the highest-ranked digital advertising and intelligent marketing provider at 9.1, with focus on intelligent marketing and digital advertising across Chinese and international segments.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in advertising & Media Services

    Publicis Groupe

    FR

    Ranked #1 · 9.7 · Advertising & Media Services

    Why we picked it: Its global advertising, media, data and communications footprint spans more than 100 countries.

    See in ranking ↓Visit publicisgroupe.com ↗

  2. Leader in intelligent Digital Advertising

    BlueFocus

    CN

    Ranked #2 · 9.1 · Intelligent Digital Advertising

    Why we picked it: Its marketing-communications scope targets intelligent marketing and digital advertising for China and beyond.

    See in ranking ↓Visit bluefocus.com ↗

  3. Leader in data & Marketing Transformation

    Stagwell

    US

    Ranked #3 · 8.7 · Data & Marketing Transformation

    Why we picked it: Its portfolio covers digital marketing, media, communications and transformation plus marketing cloud businesses.

    See in ranking ↓Visit stagwellglobal.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the marketing communications industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Publicis Groupe

Advertising & Media Services · FR

9.7
2

BlueFocus

Intelligent Digital Advertising · CN

9.1
3

Stagwell

Data & Marketing Transformation · US

8.7
4

Havas

PR & Public Affairs Services · NL

8.6
5

WPP

Creative & Communications Services · GB

8.6
6

INNOCEAN

Advertising & Media Services · KR

8.1
7

Serviceplan Group

Creative & Communications Services · DE

8.0
8

Next 15 Group

PR & Public Affairs Services · GB

7.9
9

Edelman

PR & Public Affairs Services · US

7.6
10

S4 Capital

Data & Marketing Transformation · GB

7.5

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 9, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Leah Kessler. (2026, February 13). Top 10 companies in the marketing communications industry. In Marketing Communications Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-communications-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest marketing communications companies

WPP leads with $17.2B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

WPP$17.2B
Publicis Groupe$15.7B
BlueFocus$10.1B
Havas$3.1B
Stagwell$2.9B
INNOCEAN$1.6B
source-verifiedsec.gov · publicis-groupe.publispeak.com · prnewswire.com · havas.com · innocean.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI adoption is widespread and operational: 98.4% of marketing and advertising professionals use generative or agentic AI in 2026.

AI in the marketing communications industry

  • 74% of U.S. marketing agencies use generative AI to summarize documents and communications in 2026.[1]
  • 33.2% of marketers report significant efficiency gains from AI in 2026, up from 13.5% in 2024, globally.[2]
  • 50% of U.S. marketing agencies use agentic AI for marketing execution in 2026.[1]
  • 90% of U.S. marketing agencies use generative AI in 2026.[1]
  • 9% of brands had no current plans to use generative AI for marketing in 2024, globally.[3]
  • 98.4% of marketing and advertising professionals use generative or agentic AI in their work in 2026, globally.[2]

Automation in the marketing communications industry

  • 13.1% of marketing activities used AI and machine learning in Fall 2024, globally.[4]
  • 6.3% was the reported increase in customer satisfaction attributed to AI in Fall 2024, globally.[4]
  • 6.6% was the reported improvement in sales productivity attributed to AI in Fall 2024, globally.[4]
  • 8.9% was the reported reduction in marketing overhead costs attributed to AI in Fall 2024, globally.[4]
  • Marketers expected AI and machine learning to be used for 34.5% of marketing activities within three years in Fall 2024, globally.[4]
  • Generative AI use for marketing activities rose 59% between Spring and Fall 2024, globally.[4]

Digital Transformation in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among U.S. advertising organizations, 87% relied on manual budget pacing in 2026, highlighting continued scope for advertising-workflow automation.[5]
  • Across 15 countries, 77% of organizations used generative AI for marketing content creation in 2025.[6]
  • Across 15 countries, 72% of organizations were using generative AI extensively or to a limited extent in their marketing departments in 2025.[6]
  • Across 15 countries, 75% of organizations used generative AI for search-engine optimization in 2025.[6]
  • Among German digital-industry companies, 76% expected marketing automation to become more important in the future in 2025.[7]
  • 30% of agencies, brands and publishers had fully integrated AI across the media campaign lifecycle in the advertising industry in 2025.[8]

Technology Adoption in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • 63% of multinational brand owners were already using generative AI in marketing in 2024, most commonly for content creation, ideation and task automation.[3]
  • 83% of advertising executives said their companies had deployed AI in the creative process in 2026, up from 60% in 2024.[8]
  • 77% of marketers reported using AI in 2024, up from 57% in 2023, based on Digiday+ Research surveys.[9]
  • 96% of major brands used AI in marketing in 2026, including 80% using it for content creation and 54% for media buying or optimization.[3]

Cloud Computing in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • 85% of EU enterprises using cloud computing used it to host email systems in 2025.[10]
  • 72% of EU enterprises using cloud computing used it for office software in 2025, while another 72% used it for file storage.[10]
  • 85% of large EU businesses used paid cloud computing services in 2025, compared with 52% of small and medium-sized enterprises.[10]
  • 52.74% of EU enterprises used paid cloud computing services in 2025.[10]

Big Data in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • 60% of enterprises in Denmark performed data analytics internally or externally in 2025, the highest share among EU countries.[10]
  • 25% of enterprises in Poland performed data analytics internally or externally in 2025, the lowest share among the EU countries reported.[10]
  • 33% of EU enterprises used data analytics performed by their own employees in 2025.[10]
  • 40% of EU enterprises performed data analytics internally or through another organization in 2025.[10]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Measurement tooling and governance are central to execution, with 71% of global respondents reporting a data-governance program in 2024.

Business intelligence in the marketing communications industry

  • 30% of communications leaders said they were very much relying on data and analytics in the previous year.[11]
  • 79% of marketing agencies saved at least five hours per week with artificial intelligence in 2026.[12]
  • 42% of communications leaders said they were very much relying on data and analytics in 2024.[11]

Data analytics in the marketing communications industry

  • 50% of global marketers had sales-lift tools available to evaluate holistic return on investment in 2024.[13]
  • 56% of global marketers had marketing-mix-modeling tools available to evaluate holistic return on investment in 2024.[13]
  • 64% of global marketers had media-metrics tools available to evaluate holistic return on investment in 2024.[13]
  • 68% of Asia-Pacific marketers had marketing-mix-modeling tools available to evaluate holistic return on investment in 2024.[13]
  • 26% of global marketers had attribution tools available to evaluate holistic return on investment in 2024.[13]
  • 51% of global marketers had brand-lift tools available to evaluate holistic return on investment in 2024.[13]

Data Quality in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • 30% of CMOs identify improving data quality as the biggest lever for improving marketing performance across surveyed marketing organizations in 2025.[14]
  • 31% of CMOs say data completeness is the biggest data-quality problem affecting their marketing organizations across the surveyed markets in 2025.[14]
  • 73% of marketers say at least 10% of their lead data is inaccurate or outdated, based on a survey of more than 200 marketing operations and demand-generation professionals.[15]
  • 45% of CMOs estimate that the marketing data their teams use for decisions is incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated; the survey covered marketers across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in 2025.[14]
  • 67% of marketing professionals report that poor data quality disrupts lead handoffs between marketing and sales.[15]

Data Governance in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • 45% of respondents identify regulatory compliance as a goal of their data-governance program in 2024, in a global survey of data and analytics professionals.[16]
  • 71% of global respondents report that their organization has a data-governance program in 2024, up from 60% in 2023.[16]
  • 92% of marketing decision-makers report investing in automated data-governance platforms, according to a survey of more than 200 marketing operations and demand-generation professionals.[15]
  • 49% of advertising and data decision-makers at U.S. brands, agencies, and publishers are creating or planning dedicated teams or departments in response to privacy and data-governance requirements in 2024.[8]
  • 14% of organizations in the Dutch marketing sector report using data governance in 2024, down from 16% in 2022.[17]
  • 58% of organizations with data-governance programs report improved data quality in 2024, based on a global survey of data and analytics professionals.[16]

KPIs in the marketing communications industry

  • 71% of B2B marketers used email engagement as a content-performance metric in 2024.[18]
  • 71% of B2B marketers used website traffic as a content-performance metric in 2024.[18]
  • 65% of B2B marketers used social-media analytics as a content-performance metric in 2024.[18]
  • 73% of B2B marketers used conversions as a content-performance metric in 2024.[18]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Growth depends on service mix and client retention, with 34% of marketing agency clients signing up for three services in 2026.

Growth in the marketing communications industry

  • 5.2% organic growth was recorded by Publicis Groupe in the United States in 2025.[19]
  • 30% net margins were averaged in 2025 by digital agencies that reduced their service offerings, according to Promethean Research.[20]
  • 5.6% organic growth was reported by Publicis Groupe for 2025.[19]
  • 4.2% reported revenue growth was recorded by Publicis Groupe in 2025 after currency effects and acquisitions.[19]
  • 5.4% organic growth was reported by Dentsu Group in April–June 2025.[21]

Differentiation in the marketing communications industry

  • 81% of marketing agency leaders agreed that strong client relationships were the biggest factor in retaining accounts.[22]
  • 89% of marketing agency leaders named paid advertising as a core service for 2025.[12]
  • 34% of marketing agency clients signed up for three services from their agency in 2026.[12]
  • 38% of marketing agency clients signed up for two services from their agency in 2026.[12]

Mergers and acquisitions in the marketing communications industry

  • €321 million was Publicis Groupe’s positive net revenue contribution from acquisitions in 2025.[23]
  • Publicis Groupe acquired Adopt in 2025 to expand sports and culture marketing capabilities.[23]
  • €13.965 billion was Publicis Groupe’s net revenue in 2024, the comparison base for its 2025 acquisition-adjusted growth.[23]
  • €212 million of amortization of acquisition-related intangibles was recorded by Publicis Groupe in 2025.[23]
  • €14.547 billion was Publicis Groupe’s net revenue in 2025 after acquisitions and disposals.[23]
  • Publicis Groupe acquired Atomic 212° in 2025 to strengthen integrated marketing transformation capabilities in Australia.[23]

Strategic partnerships in the marketing communications industry

  • WPP described world-class partnerships as one of the three foundations of its global marketing platform strategy in 2025.[24]
  • WPP’s global integrated agencies generated £11,956 million of reported revenue in 2025 through integrated client relationships.[25]
  • Publicis Groupe reported €14.547 billion of 2025 net revenue while expanding its integrated media, data and creativity model.[19]
  • Nielsen and WPP Media agreed in 2025 to integrate audience insights into WPP Open’s Open Media Studio platform.[26]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce planning runs alongside AI efficiency claims, with 75.0% of marketing and advertising professionals saying AI made them more efficient in 2026.

Hiring in the marketing communications industry

  • Almost 60% of marketing-agency leaders planned to expand their teams in 2024, globally.[12]
  • U.S. advertising-agency employment increased by 5,100 people year over year by August 2024.[27]
  • 24,963 people were employed by IPA member agencies on September 1, 2025, across the United Kingdom.[28]
  • 23% of agency leaders reported difficulty hiring in the year covered by the 2025 Agency Core Research Report, globally.[29]
  • 238,400 people were employed by U.S. advertising agencies in August 2024.[27]

Employee retention in the marketing communications industry

  • 35.2 years was the average age of employees in IPA member agencies in 2024, across the United Kingdom.[28]
  • 34.6 years was the average age of employees in IPA member agencies in 2023, across the United Kingdom.[28]
  • 47% of agency leaders reported losing staff during the year covered by the 2025 Agency Core Research Report, globally.[29]
  • 14.3% fewer employees worked in creative and other non-media IPA agencies in 2025 than in 2024, across the United Kingdom.[28]
  • 22.8% of agency senior leaders identified talent retention as a top challenge in 2025, globally.[27]

Remote Work in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across marketing organizations, 37.8% reported working from home all the time in Fall 2024, according to a U.S. CMO survey.[30]
  • Across management, marketing and sales respondents, 20% reported working fully remotely in the State of Sales and Marketing Report.[31]
  • Across marketing organizations, 55.6% reported working from home some of the time in Fall 2024, according to a U.S. CMO survey.[30]
  • Among U.S. marketing, advertising and public-relations office job postings, 12.2% were advertised as remote in 2024.[32]

Hybrid Work in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across management, marketing and sales respondents, 57% said their employer offered a hybrid work option to at least some employees.[31]
  • Among marketers, 68.7% said in 2024 that their current balance of office and home-working days was appropriate.[33]
  • Across advertising professionals, 74% reported working in hybrid situations in the 2024 Myers Report survey of 3,462 respondents.[34]
  • Across advertising professionals, 64% preferred hybrid work over fully remote or fully on-site work in the 2024 Myers Report survey.[34]

Upskilling in the marketing communications industry

  • 75.0% of marketing and advertising professionals said AI made them moderately to significantly more efficient in 2026, globally.[2]
  • 33.2% of marketing and advertising professionals reported significant AI efficiency gains in 2026, globally.[2]

Employee Engagement in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across the global workforce, 21% of employees were engaged in 2024, according to Gallup’s worldwide workplace measure.[35]
  • Across organizations with highly activated communications strategies, 40% reported increased employee engagement in Gallagher’s 2026 global survey.[36]
  • Across organizations with low-activation communications strategies, 23% reported increased employee engagement in Gallagher’s 2026 global survey.[36]
  • Across organizations surveyed globally, 32% reported an increase in employee engagement from their previous survey in Gallagher’s 2026 Employee Communications Report.[36]

DEI in the marketing communications industry

  • 39% of C-suite roles in IPA creative and other non-media agencies were held by women in 2024, across the United Kingdom.[28]
  • 19.7% was the gender pay gap reported by IPA member agencies in 2024, favoring male employees, across the United Kingdom.[28]
  • 30.8% of marketers were from ethnically diverse backgrounds in 2023, across ANA member companies and selected boards in the United States.[37]
  • 67.2% of marketers were women in 2023, across the ANA board-of-directors and selected member-company diversity benchmark in the United States.[37]
  • 69.5% of marketers were women in 2023, across ANA overall membership in the United States.[37]

Change Management in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among marketers, 87% were concerned in 2023 that technology, including generative AI, could replace jobs in their industry.[38]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Client reporting and delivery speed shape retention, with 44% of agencies reporting clients expected faster turnaround times than one year earlier in 2026.

Customer experience in the marketing communications industry

  • 97% of agency leaders said accurate reporting was important for client retention in 2026.[12]
  • 1 in 3 agency clients preferred receiving results through one-to-one meetings in 2026.[12]
  • 84% of agency clients wanted clear visuals in reporting in 2026.[12]
  • 48% of clients identified delivery issues as the main reason for ending an agency partnership in 2024.[39]
  • 44% of agencies reported that clients expected faster turnaround times than one year earlier in 2026.[12]

Customer retention in the marketing communications industry

  • 43% of marketing agencies reported average client lifetimes of two to five years in 2026.[12]
  • 57% of agencies reported typical client lifespans of 12–24 months in 2026.[40]
  • 80% of agency leaders identified strong relationships as the leading client-retention factor in 2026.[12]
  • 3% of agencies said their typical client relationships lasted at least 36 months in 2026.[40]
  • 19% of marketing agencies reported retaining clients for more than five years in 2026.[12]

Customer acquisition in the marketing communications industry

  • 33% of marketing agencies cited outbound outreach as a source of new business in 2026.[12]
  • 66% of agencies reported paid search as a strong driver of new business in 2026.[40]
  • 72% of marketing agencies cited word of mouth as a source of new business in 2026.[12]
  • 41% of agencies identified referrals as a top source of new clients in 2026.[40]
  • 38% of marketing agencies cited SEO and content marketing as a source of new business in 2026.[12]

Customer loyalty in the marketing communications industry

  • 7 out of 10 was the average client NPS score for agencies in 2025.[39]
  • 72% of clients said they were unlikely to switch agencies within six months in 2025.[39]
  • 83% of clients said they would hire their agency again if they changed roles or companies in 2025.[39]
  • 70% of agency leaders rated client reporting as extremely important for retention in 2025.[12]
  • 48% of client-side marketers said they would recommend their primary agency to a friend or colleague in 2024.[41]

Lead generation in the marketing communications industry

  • 50% of agencies identified organic social as a strong new-business channel in 2026.[40]
  • 26% of marketing agencies cited digital advertising as a source of new business in 2026.[12]
  • 56% of agencies reported that more than 40% of new revenue came from existing-client upsells and expansions in 2026.[12]
  • 68% of agencies prioritized AI for personalization in 2026.[40]
  • 60% of agencies prioritized AI for lead scoring or qualification in 2026.[40]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Budgets and service demand align with AI usage and creator activity, with $37 billion in U.S. creator advertising spend projected for 2025.

Marketing in the marketing communications industry

  • 43% of clients sought direct marketing, email or CRM services from agencies in 2024.[41]
  • 45% of clients sought content creation or video services from agencies in 2024.[41]
  • 37% of clients sought market-research services from agencies in 2024.[41]
  • 41% of clients sought web or mobile design and development services from agencies in 2024.[41]
  • 51% of clients sought branding and identity services from agencies in 2024.[41]

Digital marketing in the marketing communications industry

  • 79% of agencies saved at least five hours per week using AI in 2026.[12]
  • 58% of agencies increased human oversight of AI in 2026.[12]
  • 38% of agencies used agentic AI for workflow automation in 2026.[12]
  • 42% of agencies used AI primarily for reporting and performance summaries in 2026.[12]
  • 52% of marketing agencies offered SEO as a core service in 2026.[12]

Branding in the marketing communications industry

  • 65% of SoDA agencies primarily served the United States market in 2026.[42]
  • 49% of SoDA respondents identified as digital agencies in 2026.[42]
  • 26% of SoDA agencies primarily served Europe in 2026.[42]
  • 19% of SoDA agencies identified as brand or creative agencies in 2026.[42]
  • 48% of clients sought branding or identity services from agencies in 2023.[41]

Social media in the marketing communications industry

  • 34% of digital PR professionals used Instagram as part of their work in 2025.[43]
  • 56% of PR professionals identified LinkedIn as their most valuable social platform in 2025.[44]
  • 11% of PR professionals identified X as their most valuable social platform in 2025.[44]
  • 53% of digital PR professionals used LinkedIn as part of their work in 2025.[43]
  • 16% of PR professionals identified Instagram as their most valuable social platform in 2025.[44]

Influencer Marketing in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • 74% of surveyed brands, agencies and creators reported year-over-year creator-marketing budget increases in the 2025 survey covering nine countries.[45]
  • 54% of multinational marketers expected influencer-marketing budgets to increase over the following 12 months in 2025, with average projected growth of 23%.[3]
  • 58% of global marketers reported dedicated and growing budgets for creator or influencer partnerships in Nielsen’s 2026 survey.[46]
  • Six in 10 multinational brands had dedicated influencer-marketing budgets globally in 2025, up from 37% in 2019.[3]
  • $37 billion in U.S. creator advertising spend is projected for 2025, growing four times faster than the broader media industry.[8]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operational automation shows up in time and reporting use cases, with 42% of agencies citing reporting and performance summaries as greatest-value AI use in 2026.

Process optimization in the marketing communications industry

  • 79% of marketing agencies saved at least five hours per week using AI in 2026, with reporting and performance summaries the leading use case at 42%.[12]
  • 33% of agency leaders said employees submitted time-tracking data on time about 90% of the time in 2023.[47]
  • 48% of agencies reported less time per project after process changes in the 2026 COR agency survey.[48]
  • 69% of agency leaders’ time was spent in meetings in the 2023 State of Agency Operations survey.[47]
  • 38% of marketing agencies were already using agentic AI for workflow automation in 2026.[12]

Operational efficiency in the marketing communications industry

  • 52% of agencies struggled to achieve billable-utilization benchmarks above 50% in the 2023 agency-operations survey.[47]
  • Only 11.7% of agencies tracked gaps between sold and delivered work in real time in 2026.[48]
  • 18% of agencies reported that 80% to 100% of team time was spent on billable activities in 2026.[12]
  • Only 18% of agencies always reached their billable-versus-non-billable time targets in 2023.[47]
  • 68% of marketing agencies allocated at least 60% of team time to billable activities in 2026.[12]

Quality management in the marketing communications industry

  • 14.9% of agencies had real-time operational information in 2026.[48]
  • 60.3% of agencies made operational decisions with medium confidence in their data in 2026.[48]
  • 27% of agencies could not measure the time lost to rework in 2026.[48]
  • 73% of agency leaders believed generative AI had changed the SEO process in the 2025 agency benchmark survey.[12]
  • 42% of agencies identified reporting and performance summaries as the AI use case creating the greatest value in 2026.[12]

Supply chain in the marketing communications industry

  • 19% was the average total employee-turnover rate at digital agencies in 2023.[49]
  • 62% of Australian PR agencies used AI for communications in 2025.[50]
  • 62% of Australian PR agencies used AI for content generation in 2025.[50]
  • 52% of Australian PR agencies used AI for speech and language transcription in 2025.[50]
  • 80% of marketing-services companies were leveraging AI for content creation, operational efficiency, personalization or research in 2025.[51]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the marketing and advertising sector (sector benchmark)

  • 45% of marketing respondents outsourced design functions fully or partly in 2024, according to the Marketing Benchmark Survey.[52]
  • 63.1% of marketers outsourced work to an agency or third party during the previous 12 months in the 2025 survey, covering more than 3,500 respondents globally.[33]
  • 67.5% of B2B brands outsourced work to an agency or third party during the previous 12 months in 2025, compared with 60.2% of B2C brands.[33]
  • 93% of companies used third-party resources such as agencies or contractors for content to some degree in 2024, while 57% planned to outsource more than half of content creation.[53]
  • 49% of marketing respondents outsourced digital content production fully or partly in 2024, according to the Marketing Benchmark Survey.[52]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Pricing pressure and margins remain visible, including 63% of agencies reporting unpredictable cash flow in the 2025 U.S. agency survey.

Pricing strategy in the marketing communications industry

  • Value-based-pricing users grew 61% faster than average in the 2024 digital-agency survey.[49]
  • 97% of U.S. marketing, creative and digital agencies planned to raise prices in 2025.[54]
  • 22% of digital agencies raised hourly rates from 2023 to 2024.[49]
  • Only 8.3% of agencies used AI as an argument to defend or raise fees in 2026.[48]
  • Retainer users grew 17% slower than average in the 2024 digital-agency survey.[49]

Cost reduction in the marketing communications industry

  • 68% of PPC professionals at agencies worldwide used AI to automate repetitive tasks in December 2025.[27]
  • 63% of agencies reported unpredictable cash flow in the 2025 U.S. agency survey.[55]
  • 33% of agencies made redundancies in the year covered by the 2025 BenchPress report.[56]
  • 97% of agencies were chasing late payments in the 2025 U.S. agency survey.[55]
  • 57% of U.S. senior agency leaders had slowed or paused entry-level hiring in the Sunup survey.[27]

Profitability in the marketing communications industry

  • 87% of agency leaders held or improved operating margins year over year in 2026.[12]
  • 18% of marketing-services companies reported margins above 20% in 2023.[57]
  • 14% was the average net margin for digital agencies in 2024.[20]
  • 15% was the average net margin for digital agencies in 2023.[49]
  • 10.7% was the average reported operating profit margin for marketing-services companies in 2023.[57]

Financial planning in the marketing communications industry

  • 57% of agencies grew fee income in the year covered by the 2025 BenchPress report.[56]
  • 23% of agencies had more than six months of overheads in cash in the 2025 BenchPress report.[56]
  • 41% of agencies reported higher 2024 revenue than in 2023 in the 2025 agency-owner survey.[58]
  • 24% of agencies reached the target gross-profit benchmark of about 50% in the 2025 BenchPress report.[56]
  • 46% of agencies reported lower 2024 revenue than in 2023 in the 2025 agency-owner survey.[58]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Service packaging continues to matter, with 56% of marketing-agency clients engaging agencies for three or more services in 2026.

Product development in the marketing communications industry

  • 70% of creative agencies offered web-development services in 2023.[59]
  • 15% of digital agencies offered video production or animation as a growing service in 2025.[20]
  • 14% of digital agencies offered artificial-intelligence development or implementation services in 2024.[20]
  • 82% of creative agencies offered strategy and consulting services in 2023.[59]
  • 91% of creative agencies offered design and branding services in 2023, making it the most widely provided service in the survey.[59]

Product lifecycle in the marketing communications industry

  • 88% of digital agencies offered both projects and retainers in 2025.[20]
  • 12% of marketing agencies reported average client lifetimes of six months to one year in 2026.[12]
  • 2% of marketing agencies reported average client lifetimes below six months in 2026.[12]
  • 91% of digital agencies offered retainer-based work in 2025.[20]
  • 95% of digital agencies offered project-based work in 2025.[20]

After-sales in the marketing communications industry

  • 69% of marketing-agency leaders identified effective communication as a client-retention factor in 2026.[12]
  • 71% of agencies increased communication and transparency as a client-retention strategy in 2026.[40]
  • 68% of agencies increased reporting efforts as a client-retention strategy in 2026.[40]
  • 80% of marketing-agency leaders identified strong relationships as the top factor in client retention in 2026.[12]
  • 30% of marketing-agency leaders identified clear return on investment and measurable success as a client-retention factor in 2026.[12]

Value proposition in the marketing communications industry

  • 34% of marketing-agency clients engaged agencies for three services in 2026.[12]
  • 56% of marketing agencies reported that more than 40% of new revenue came from existing clients in 2026.[12]
  • Agencies specializing in a specific service mix achieved net margins 30% higher than service generalists in 2023.[49]
  • 56% of marketing-agency clients engaged agencies for three or more services in 2026.[12]
  • Value-based-pricing users grew 61% faster than the average digital agency in 2024.[49]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Sustainability reporting and energy sourcing are measured, including 11.9% of Publicis Groupe activities eligible under the European climate taxonomy in 2024.

Sustainability in the marketing communications industry

  • 75% of communications-sector sustainability reporters aligned with TCFD in 2024, United States Russell 1000 sample.[60]
  • 54% of WPP senior managers were women in 2024, global marketing communications workforce.[61]
  • 93% of WPP’s electricity came from renewable sources in 2024, United Kingdom-based global marketing communications company.[61]
  • 71% of communications-sector sustainability reporters aligned with GRI in 2024, United States Russell 1000 sample.[60]
  • 42% of communications-sector sustainability reporters aligned with SASB in 2024, United States Russell 1000 sample.[60]

ESG in the marketing communications industry

  • 11.9% of Publicis Groupe activities were eligible under the European climate taxonomy in 2024, global marketing communications company.[19]
  • Around 10% of Global Communication Partners respondents said they always collaborate with clients on ESG messaging or campaigns globally.[62]
  • 34% of Spanish public-relations agencies reported carrying out in-house ESG-related actions, Spain.[63]
  • More than 20% of European Global Communication Partners respondents said they always collaborate with clients on ESG messaging or campaigns, Europe.[62]
  • 42% of Spanish communication consultancy firms offered ESG services, especially sustainability, equality and reputation services, Spain.[63]

Ethics in the marketing communications industry

  • 23% of respondents did not know whether their marketing policies were linked to ESG credentials, global marketing survey.[3]
  • 26% of respondents did not know whether their company had signed the Global Alliance for Responsible Media commitments, global marketing survey.[3]
  • 47% of respondents had metrics to assess compliance with responsible marketing frameworks, global marketing survey.[3]
  • 51% of respondents did not know whether their company had signed industry diversity, equity and inclusion commitments, global marketing survey.[3]
  • 37% of global advertising-agency respondents rated their agency’s corporate-responsibility work average, global advertising-industry survey.[64]

CSR in the marketing communications industry

  • 42% of Spanish communication consultancies offered ESG-related services including sustainability, equality and reputation communications.[63]
  • 40% of communications-sector sustainability reporters used accounting firms for external assurance in 2024, United States Russell 1000 sample.[60]
  • 93% of communications-sector sustainability reporters obtained limited external assurance in 2024, United States Russell 1000 sample.[60]
  • 34% of Spanish public-relations agencies reported in-house CSR actions such as foundations, NGO partnerships or ethics codes.[63]
  • 47% of communications-sector sustainability reporters did not specify their external-assurance provider in 2024, United States Russell 1000 sample.[60]

Carbon footprint in the marketing communications industry

  • 95% of Publicis Groupe’s energy from direct sources was renewable in 2024, global marketing communications company.[19]
  • 50% is WPP’s target reduction for Scope 3 emissions, including media buying, by 2030 from a 2019 baseline.[25]
  • 23.1% was Publicis Groupe’s 2024 reduction in carbon emissions per capita compared with its baseline, global workforce.[19]
  • 100% of WPP’s electricity came from renewable sources in 2025, global marketing communications company.[24]
  • 8% was Publicis Groupe’s reduction in carbon emissions in 2024 compared with its baseline, global marketing communications company.[19]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Regional scale is material to planning, with China forecast to account for $200.1 billion, or 16.8% of global advertising spend, in 2025.

Globalization in the marketing communications industry

  • $1.19 trillion was forecast for global advertising expenditure in 2025, up 8.9% year on year worldwide.[73]
  • 70.4% of global advertising expenditure came from the ten largest advertising markets in 2025.[73]
  • 35.3% of global advertising expenditure was generated in the United States in 2025, equal to $421.1 billion.[73]

Cultural adaptation in the marketing communications industry

  • 28 European studies in the meta-analysis covered 2,640 participants when measuring persuasion effects of culturally adapted advertising appeals.[74]
  • 49% of marketers spent less than 5% of their marketing budgets on creative adaptation and cross-cultural localization.[75]
  • 32 North American studies in the meta-analysis covered 3,345 participants when measuring persuasion effects of culturally adapted advertising appeals.[74]
  • 116 experimental cases involving 11,175 participants found that culturally adapted advertising appeals were better liked than unadapted appeals, with mean r=.055.[74]
  • 121 experimental cases involving 12,201 participants found that culturally adapted advertising appeals were more persuasive than unadapted appeals, with mean r=.049.[74]

Supplier management in the marketing communications industry

  • WPP’s global integrated agencies generated £8,740 million of revenue less pass-through costs in 2025.[25]
  • WPP reported 2025 revenue of £13,550 million across global integrated agencies, public relations and specialist agencies.[25]
  • WPP’s public relations agencies generated £667 million of revenue less pass-through costs in 2025.[25]
  • WPP’s specialist agencies generated £769 million of revenue less pass-through costs in 2025.[25]
  • WPP reported 2025 revenue less pass-through costs of £10,176 million across its three marketing communications segments.[25]

Stakeholder management in the marketing communications industry

  • 48% of public relations professionals ranked media relations among their leading work priorities in 2026.[76]
  • 49% of public relations professionals identified insufficient resources as their company’s top communications challenge in 2024.[77]
  • 46% of public relations professionals identified obtaining journalist responses as a leading communications challenge in 2024.[77]
  • 20% of public relations professionals identified evaluating new technologies, tools, channels and media as a leading communications challenge in 2024.[77]
  • 32% of public relations professionals ranked strategic planning among their leading work priorities in 2026.[76]

Distribution channels in the marketing communications industry

  • $185 billion was estimated for global online banner advertising revenue in 2025.[78]
  • $41.8 billion was estimated for global out-of-home advertising revenue in 2025.[78]
  • $39.3 billion was estimated for global influencer advertising revenue in 2025.[78]
  • $86.6 billion was estimated for global direct-messaging advertising revenue in 2025.[78]
  • $354 billion was estimated for global television and video advertising revenue in 2025.[78]

Key questions about the Marketing Communications Industry

What is the size of the marketing-communications market in 2026?
Global advertising spend is forecast to reach $1.34 trillion in 2026. The United States generated $149.87 billion in revenue in 2024 for advertising, public relations and related services.
How fast is the market growing in 2026?
Global advertising spend growth is 11.9% in 2026. WARC puts 2026 advertising growth at 11.9% in its October 2026 update.
Which companies lead the marketing communications industry?
Publicis Groupe leads Gitnux's 2026 marketing communications ranking with an Overall score of 9.7, with operations delivering communications, media, data, commerce and creative services in 100+ countries. BlueFocus is the highest-ranked digital advertising and intelligent marketing provider at 9.1, with focus on intelligent marketing and digital advertising across Chinese and international segments.
What technology shifts are most visible in 2026 operations?
Generative AI and agentic AI adoption is high: 90% of U.S. marketing agencies use generative AI in 2026, and 50% use agentic AI for marketing execution in 2026. Marketers also reported 33.2% significant efficiency gains from AI in 2026, up from 13.5% in 2024.
How concentrated is ad spending on major platforms?
Alphabet, Amazon and Meta were forecast to capture 56.1% of advertising spend outside China in 2025, equivalent to $556.6 billion. Their combined share is projected to rise to 58.0% in 2026.
What is the main data-governance constraint affecting marketing teams?
Data quality is a primary constraint: 73% of marketers say at least 10% of their lead data is inaccurate or outdated. In 2025, 31% of CMOs identified data completeness as the biggest data-quality problem.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Leah Kessler. (2026, February 13). Marketing Communications Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-communications-industry-statistics
MLA
Leah Kessler. "Marketing Communications Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/marketing-communications-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Leah Kessler. 2026. "Marketing Communications Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-communications-industry-statistics.

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