Agency Death Watch: Why I’m Not Panicking (Much)

“Agencies as we know them will be dead 10 years from now.” That’s Viktoria Renner from Ozmoze, and it…sucks. I mean I get it, I do, but as the owner of a marketing agency it…sucks.

I mean, I’ve heard this song before. In my 25 years in marketing (20 of those in B2B, if we’re counting and if we are, let’s stop), I’ve watched agencies get declared dead more times than a soap opera villain. Remember when “everyone’s going in-house”? Or when martech was going to automate us all into oblivion? Yet here we are, still breathing, still charging for outcomes instead of hours, still explaining why brand awareness can’t be measured solely in MQLs.

But here’s the thing that IS keeping me up at night…this time feels different.

The “Oh Shit” Moment

As the founder of Red Branch Media, I’ve got a front-row seat to every industry shift. We’ve pivoted through SEO gold rushes, content marketing mania, the ABM explosion, and now we’re neck-deep in the AI revolution where 54% of B2B marketers are increasing their martech spending just to keep up.

Each time we adapted, we found new ways to deliver value. But AI is (whether we like it or not) fundamentally rewiring how work gets done. And if I’m being brutally transparent (which, let’s face it, is literally one of RBM’s values), some of what we do could/is/should/will absolutely be replaced by a well-trained model and someone who knows how to prompt it properly.

The billable hour? We killed that years ago with our membership model. Those 47-slide pitch decks we used to create? Please. A decent AI can whip up strategy frameworks faster than you can say “synergistic solutions.” The question isn’t whether AI will disrupt agencies, it’s whether we’re smart enough to disrupt ourselves first. And let’s be honest, we’re not GREAT at stepping out of comfort zones (I have this whole other theory about that, but that’s for another time.)

Agency Owner Tip: Start transitioning 20% of your current retainer clients to outcome-based pricing models this quarter. Use the current performance data you already have to create baseline metrics, then price against improvements. It’s less scary than a full pivot and gives you data on what works.

The Art of Attraction (Or Why Marketing Is Still Very Human)

Here’s what 200+ client relationships and two decades in B2B have taught me: The work that gets replaced is the work that probably should have been automated years ago. The endless template customization, the formulaic campaign builds, the “let me create 15 variations of this email subject line” busywork that made us all question our career choices.

What doesn’t get replaced? The fundamental truth that marketing is about attraction. And I mean real attraction—the kind where sometimes you’re trying to seduce an entire procurement committee, and it can take months of slow burn before anything catches fire. It’s that delicate dance where you’re luring someone in to take a look, then a closer one, then giving them some details while acting nonchalant enough that they think they want you instead of the other way around.

This is exactly why it feels natural to want to amplify everything: our voice, our strategy, our articles, our social presence, our email campaigns, our web presence, our slide decks, our events, our webinars, our books. But here’s the trap: when you start producing 20 blog posts a week instead of one, you’ve raised the productivity bar on yourself. The expectation becomes volume, not value. And attraction doesn’t work at volume; it works through genuine connection.

AI can write copy (hell 91% of us are using content marketing and my AI blows my skirt up with flattery daily). But it can’t yet master that delicate dance of committee-level attraction. It can’t read the CFO’s body language when they’re pretending budget isn’t an issue while the CHRO is nodding along because they desperately need the solution but can’t admit it.

B2B Marketer Tip: Since email still generates leads for 66% of B2B teams, audit your last 10 email campaigns. Identify which had the highest engagement, then create a simple checklist of what made it work (subject line style, opening hook, call-to-action placement). Use that as your human baseline before any AI enhancement. And the one with the highest engagement? I bet it wasn’t the most “professional” one, it was probably the one that felt most human. Double down on that voice.

What Actually Survives the Apocalypse

The ability to understand that your HR tech client’s biggest competitor isn’t another HRIS—it’s the status quo and a procurement team that thinks all software is the same? Still human territory. The strategic insight that comes from pattern recognition across hundreds of campaigns? The moment when you realize your client’s messaging is completely wrong because you actually understand their buyers’ pain points (not just their personas)? That’s the stuff that survives.

And frankly, I don’t think AI has the kind of insights that humans do. I almost welcome the occasional dishonesty of these platforms because it forces me to go through line by line and ensure that the ideas I input are actually the ideas coming out. It’s like training someone new who messes up constantly…you end up finding new ways to do things faster, better, or you realize you were doing something out of habit that needed changing anyway.

Agency Owner Tip: Create a detailed AI usage policy document this month. Include specific guidelines for fact-checking, client confidentiality, and quality control. Share it with clients to demonstrate your responsible AI practices—it’ll differentiate you from agencies winging it.

The New Agency Math

If agencies are dying (and tbh, some should), what comes next looks nothing like what we have now. With 46% of B2B marketers growing their content spend and 61% prioritizing short-form video, the future agency is probably smaller, definitely more specialized, and absolutely more strategic.

We’re talking about networks of experts who can plug into AI tools like they’re additional team members. Strategy-first organizations that use automation to eliminate the grunt work so humans can focus on the high-value thinking. Companies that understand that while 62% say LinkedIn delivers leads at twice the rate of other platforms, it’s not about being everywhere—it’s about being strategic everywhere you are.

The shift toward integrated omnichannel experiences with more focus on owned media isn’t just trendy…it’s survival. When you own the platform, you control the conversation.

Agency Owner Tip: Map out which of your current services could be productized. That monthly competitive analysis? Turn it into a standardized dashboard product. Those strategy frameworks? Package them as workshops. Scale your expertise, not just your time.

The Human Factor in an AI World

At Red Branch, BEEN testing this model. We use AI for research, content ideation, and initial drafts. But the strategic positioning, the market analysis, the “here’s why your competitors are all wrong about this trend” insights? That’s still very much human territory. That’s still about understanding the art of attraction in B2B buying cycles.

Here’s what the data isn’t telling you: while everyone’s rushing toward AI-powered personalization and automation, buyers are craving authenticity, transparency, and brands that demonstrate real social values. That’s a contradiction AND an opportunity.

If agencies are dying (and honestly, some should), what comes next looks nothing like what we have now. With 46% of B2B marketers growing their content spend and 61% prioritizing short-form video, the future agency is probably smaller, definitely more specialized, and absolutely more strategic.

Being the anti-agency agency, a lot of what makes us different also prepared us for this AI moment. We’ve been using AI extensively for months, have a definitive and well-delineated policy born from some serious mistakes we learned through experience, and now we can help our clients avoid those same pitfalls.

The shift toward integrated omnichannel experiences with more focus on owned media isn’t just trendy—it’s survival. When you own the platform, you control the conversation. But more importantly, you control the pace of attraction.

Agency Owner Tip: Map out which of your current services could be productized into scalable offerings. Take that monthly competitive analysis you do manually—create a standardized template, use AI to gather initial data, then add human analysis for insights. Package it as a standalone product priced at 40% of what you’d charge for custom work.

The Human Factor in an AI World

At Red Branch, we’re already testing this hybrid model. We use AI for research, content ideation, and initial drafts. But the strategic positioning, the market analysis, the “here’s why your competitors are all wrong about this trend” insights? That’s still very much human territory.

Here’s what the data isn’t telling you: while everyone’s rushing toward AI-powered personalization and automation, buyers are craving authenticity, transparency, and brands that demonstrate real social values. That’s not a contradiction AND an opportunity.

B2B Marketer Tip: For every AI-generated piece of content you publish, create one piece of “behind the scenes” content showing your process. Record a 2-minute video explaining your thinking, or write a brief “human note” at the end of AI-assisted articles. Your audience wants to see both your efficiency and your humanity. (Maren, heal thyself)

The Partnership Imperative

The convergence of brand and demand strategies isn’t making our jobs harder, it’s making them more interesting. Digital-first buyers need both trust-building and solution-fit evaluation simultaneously, which means we get to be both storytellers and strategists.

But this requires a fundamental shift in how agencies and clients work together. The agencies thriving in 2025 will be the ones solving business problems, not just checking marketing boxes.

B2B Marketer Tip: Transform your agency relationships by scheduling monthly “business health” calls with your agency partners. Create a shared document analyzing your entire business model, not just marketing metrics. Use AI tools to research your industry trends, competitive positioning, and market opportunities you didn’t have time to explore before. Your agency should be analyzing your customer lifetime value, churn patterns, and pricing strategy, not just your click-through rates.

For Those Taking Their Time

Here’s what I want to say to everyone who’s taking their time, testing, trying to understand this AI shift instead of going for the big bucks and easy money: you’re doing it right. The agencies and marketers rushing to slap “AI-powered” on everything without understanding the implications are setting themselves up for spectacular failures.

The future belongs to those who are thoughtful about integration, who understand that AI is a tool for amplification, not replacement. Who recognize that the fundamental psychology of B2B attraction hasn’t changed, even if the methods for scaling it have.

This measured approach isn’t just smart, it’s essential. Because when the AI hype settles (and it will), the businesses still standing will be the ones that used this technology to enhance human insight, not replace it.

Agency Owner Tip: Start a weekly 30-minute “AI learning session” with your team. Each week, have someone test a new AI tool for a specific use case and report back on what worked, what didn’t, and what they learned. Document everything—you’re building institutional knowledge that will become invaluable.

The Uncomfortable Truth

The agencies that perish will be those clinging to outdated models because change is scary. They will try to be everything to everyone instead of mastering the fundamentals of attraction and conversion. They will hide behind jargon instead of delivering the measurable pipeline contribution that CFOs are demanding.

But here’s my confession: I’m not entirely sure what the perfect new model looks like yet. And anyone who claims they do is probably delusional or dangerous.

What I do know is that with performance-driven marketing dominating and higher scrutiny on ROI, sitting still isn’t an option. We’re experimenting with new approaches, testing AI-assisted workflows, and having very honest conversations with clients about what value actually looks like when 91% of us are maintaining or growing investment in audio content and branded experiences.

Agency Owner Tip: Create a “test budget” equal to 10% of your monthly revenue. Use it exclusively for experimenting with new service offerings, tools, or pricing models. Treat it like R&D, not overhead.

Why I’m Cautiously Optimistic

Twenty-five years in marketing has taught me that the only constant is change, and the only sin is refusing to adapt. The agencies that survive will be the ones that embrace AI-driven data insights and real-time optimization while never forgetting that, at its core, marketing is still about human attraction and connection.

Will some agencies die? Absolutely. Should they? Probs

But if you are willing to evolve, willing to let go of the “everything everywhere all at once” mentality and embrace the art of strategic attraction amplified by intelligent automation… the future looks pretty damn promising (well that’s a bit rosy for right now, but I’m just talking marketing here.)

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Originally posted on my LinkedIn if you want to join the conversation