Holistic Growth for Brands, Agencies & Me

By Annie Ip, Marketing Lead at Brands and Agencies

After 20+ years in B2B marketing including 18 inside global tech companies, I’ve seen this industry go through countless shifts. But 2025 feels especially intense.

This never stops: Budgets are tight. Teams are stretched. Technology’s moving faster than most can keep up with. And through it all, marketers are still expected to deliver results, stay relevant, and keep evolving.

At Brands and Agencies, I speak to both sides: marketers and agencies. And what I’m seeing is a growing appetite for clarity, confidence and collaboration. Not just more output. Not just more tools.

Here’s what I believe is really going on and what many marketers like me are hoping to find in agency partners.

What’s really challenging marketers right now

1. Do even more with a lot less

Let's be honest, marketers have always had to do more with less. But boom! We've unlocked a new level: Do even more...with A LOT less...

In Q1 2025, 25% of UK advertisers cut budgets. The first major drop in four years.

But expectations haven’t fallen with the budgets. Marketers are still being asked to drive growth, prove performance, and stay visible across more channels than ever.

For many, this means turning to agencies not just for execution, but for sharper thinking, prioritisation and practical support that makes the most of limited resources.

2. Measuring success is harder than it used to be

One question I’ve often asked myself throughout my career, and still do is:
“How do we know it’s working?”

And today, that’s harder to answer.

With fragmented journeys, loss of cookies, privacy shifts, and disconnected martech, we’re often working with partial data. Attribution models don’t tell the full story. And turning metrics into business insight is more complex than it should be.

No wonder over 60% of marketers say they feel under-skilled in demonstrating marketing effectiveness. This isn’t about competence, it’s about the pace of change.

Agencies that help connect activity to business value without overwhelming teams with reports can have real impact.

3. AI is powerful but also overwhelming

This is something you can’t ignore: AI is reshaping how we work. But that doesn’t mean we’ve all figured it out.

While 67% of UK companies plan to use AI in marketing, only 18% of marketers feel confident using it.

There’s excitement, yes—but for me, at least, also confusion. There are tools everywhere but knowing which ones to pick, how to mix them, and how to actually make them useful? That’s the tricky part. For most marketers, AI isn’t plug-and-play. It’s trial and error, learning as we go.

The opportunity for agencies? Guide us. Help us test safely. Help us integrate it meaningfully without hype, and without turning everything upside down.

I want a marketing buddy. Not just an agency

If I were choosing an agency partner right now, here’s what I’d be looking for, and I know I’m not alone.

Strategy thinking over just delivery
It’s not just about filling a production gap, it’s about having a partner who sees the bigger picture and helps shape the right approach.

Integrated capability
We don’t have time to brief five different suppliers. Agencies that bring creative, digital, PR and performance together (even loosely) are easier to trust and scale with.

AI support, not AI spin
We’re not looking for buzzwords. We want help breaking down the tools, understanding the use cases, and building smart processes.

Clear, meaningful reporting
Give us visibility on what matters. Help us tie work to business goals and speak confidently to senior stakeholders, without 20-page decks.

Real understanding of our space
Sector knowledge, audience insight, and awareness of market dynamics go a long way. It’s hard to fake it.

Final thoughts

If you’re a marketer, you’ve probably felt it too. The pace, the pressure, the constant pivoting.

And if you’re on the agency side, you’re seeing the same thing – clients looking for deeper partnership, faster answers, and better alignment.

What makes the difference isn’t just capability. It’s connection, communication, understanding. It’s working in a way that reflects where marketing is headed, not where it’s been.

And maybe that’s the one constant in all this change:
Marketing still works best when people work well together.

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About the Author
Annie Ip is a B2B marketer with over 20 years of experience, including 18 years at Tech company like NTT Data, eBay and Meta. She now leads marketing at Brands and Agencies, a community-led space helping brands and agencies find better ways to do great work together

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