Points of View From PRCA Matchmaker NewBizFest25 Glasgow

Glasgow you great. Great fun, great people, and great food (GaGa Kitchen)!

Enjoyed speaking to many Scottish agencies and learn more about the market up there. 

Some seriously strong agencies that shouldn’t be overlooked just because they’re not in London.

Thanks to the PRCA for inviting me to speak about Agency Growth in 2026 and Pitching Smarter, Winning Bigger.

Here are some of the best nuggets I picked up from the other speakers:

Sarah Waddington CBE CDir ChartPR Mark Clark Angela Hughes Tina Fegent (FCIPS) Thom Watt Tomos Rhys Edwards Elaine Gilhooley Simon Rhind-Tutt Stuart Bruce

If you look and sound like the market, you’ll be rated at market price – and treated as a commodity.

If you’re truly differentiated, you can charge more – not whatever you like, but 5–10% more.

A focused proposition should make it easy to build a new business prospect list.

Client referrals should account for around 30% of new business revenue – yet most agencies lack a referral strategy.

Find the ‘caterpillar clients’ before they turn into butterflies – often a good product that’s about to become a brand.

Send people books – they’ll remember you forever.

To move away from being a commoditised industry, we need to evolve into one that provides professional advisory services.

Comms and PR Directors increasingly need quantifiable data to prove ROI to the C-suite.

57% of marketing budgets are going on short-term activities. Clients are becoming more junior and less strategic – focusing on short-term TikTok-style campaigns rather than long-term behaviour change programmes.

AI will reshape agency remuneration models – shifting from time-based to output- and outcome-based pricing.

Clients are loving independent agencies right now – they’re tired of being a small fish in a big pond.

When sending speculative emails or examples of work, include a ballpark cost – it’s more likely to grab attention.

Bring the people who will actually do the work to pitches. Account Execs are the CEOs of the future. Clients want to meet the delivery team, and agencies should be training and showcasing them.

LinkedIn content has to exist. Agencies rarely win work directly from it, but they can lose it by having poor-quality or inconsistent branded content when being considered.

Personal relationships and email remain the best ways to get client attention. LinkedIn helps – but only if the content stands out. It’s also invaluable for intelligence gathering and impresses clients when agencies demonstrate homework before a pitch.

It’s 20x easier to win new business from existing clients – and it’s the biggest compliment you can receive.

You have to earn the right to be a ‘partner’.

Clients have little time to deeply understand your agency – so invite them in.

Marketing Directors spend just 5–7% of their weekly time with agencies – not much time to make an impact, so make it count.

63% of clients feel their agencies don’t check in on their objectives.

If a client goes through a restructure, there’s a high likelihood their agency will be reviewed within six months.

85% of marketers use AI, but only 5% feel competent using it.

Value means different things – understand it through your clients’ eyes.

Client satisfaction is transactional. Agencies should also measure commitment, which is relational – best captured as Intention × Opinion.

Clients increasingly want subject matter experts – like lawyers – not just generalists.

Proactivity is a double-edged sword: the more you do, the more clients expect.

Clients want leveraged learning – insights from other clients and industry best practice.

Make your clients feel valued – but also special.

Set up Client Advisory Boards (e.g. CEO, CD) to share issues and foster dialogue.

As clients reduce spend on training, agencies should invite them to join their own training sessions.

Remember: your clients are other people’s new business targets – always be on guard.