The Truth About Agency Breakups: What Clients + Agencies Really Think

The 6th annual Setup Marketing Relationship Survey was released late 2024, predicting the behaviors and attitudes of marketers going into 2025. We received over 400 contributions from Brand representatives at companies like The Home Depot, Skechers, Chobani, and UPS, as well as marketers from Agencies like Alloy Marketing, Brunner, Material+, Sensis Agency, and more, providing their thoughts and predictions. 

The Setup Marketing Relationship Survey revealed that 40% of Clients surveyed will switch Agency partners in the next six months. This is consistent with our 2023 survey results where Ad Age concluded that more reviews may be coming. Why are reviews coming and what could make the Agency-Client relationship stronger? 

This blog details why Clients end their relationships with their Agency partners, why Agencies think the partnership ends, and what both parties can do to save resources and help prevent the financially draining, and time-consuming process that is switching agency partners.

If Clients and Agencies partner together, and push businesses forward together, and celebrate accomplishments together, and dig into issues to solve them together, then how are they always so misaligned on what each other need to keep the partnership moving forward together? 

Though that is a rhetorical question, we do hope that reviewing and understanding these survey insights will help to close these gaps in the future. 

Clients End their relationships with marketing Agencies because:

1. Dissatisfaction with delivery

2. Agency did not understand our business

3. Dissatisfaction with strategic approach

4. Dissatisfaction with value

5. Change in my team’s leadership

6. Dissatisfaction with relationship

7. Our team had budget cuts

8. Change in the Agency’s personnel

9. Agency did not challenge us enough

Dissatisfaction with Delivery rose up to 48% this year to be the #1 reason Clients end their Agency partnerships - an increase of 14% from last year. And Clients are feeling even less understood by their Agency partners than last year - moving up 10 percentage points from 2023. Last year, dissatisfaction with Value was #1, and it is still a very big reason Clients end partnerships, as it ties for #2 this year. And dissatisfaction with Strategic Approach has also risen in the ranks this year over last year - going from the 5th most important reason to tying for 2nd. 

We do love seeing that Agencies generally are challenging their Clients enough - with this coming in as the least likely reason for Clients to end relationships for the last 3 years in a row. 

But the Clients don’t always tell the full story here, and we love seeing the Agency perspective as to why they think Clients end the relationship. 

Why Agencies think the relationship ends:

1. Change in client team’s leadership

2. Client budget cuts

3. Change in the agency’s personnel

4. Agency did not challenge Client enough

5. Client dissatisfaction with relationship

6. Client dissatisfaction with strategic approach

7. Client dissatisfaction with delivery

8. Agency did not understand Client's business

Agencies still don’t see that Delivery and Strategic Approach are critical to Clients. Yet we know that dissatisfaction with Delivery is the #1 reason Clients leave - a big disconnect. Agencies believe that changes in their Client’s leadership team and Client budget cuts are the biggest reasons Clients leave. Although money is a factor, a joint study by the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies) and the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) found that Clients would much rather see value than cut costs (90% of Clients prioritize overall value and long-term ROI over cost when engaging with an agency). 

This begs the question as to why the Agencies don’t understand the real reasons Clients are ending the relationship? One reason may be that some Clients would rather tell an Agency they’re fired due to budget cuts or a boss change, because those reasons are easier to communicate and more palatable to an Agency partner versus hearing the cold, hard truth - that they simply are not delivering their services well enough. We believe holding back honest feedback is harmful to everyone involved, and we encourage Clients to speak their truths when ending a relationship.

Ways Clients can better communicate:

Perform a Chemistry check. (Don’t know what that is? Setup can help you conduct one!) This includes visiting the Agency, having multiple calls, and more to make sure you are the right fit before wasting time, energy, and money diving into a partnership that is not quite right.

Communicate challenges or issues as they arise. Never hold anything in. If it feels like there is a disconnect with the account person, set up a call. If the work delivered does not match the work pitched and the contact is unresponsive, speak to the Agency’s executive team. People don’t know what they don’t know, so over-communicating on both sides solves a lot of issues. 

But Clients can’t be the only ones speaking up and initiating communication. Agencies need to articulate to their Clients when there is a problem and also fix issues internally. The 4As talks about how Clients expect data-driven results in their delivery, and that Agencies need to be transparent about performance to achieve better results. 

Agencies list their top challenges as team retention, talent acquisition and scaling for projects. Logically, we can see that if an Agency is struggling to find and keep talent, then they will likely struggle with Delivery, which is validated by the Clients this year. Communication is not only helpful externally, but also with teams. Proper communication leads to retention in all facets. Here are some tips to improve internal communication: Talk the Talk: Mastering Workplace Communication + Collaboration.

Agencies believe that they understand their Clients, and that it’s not one of the main reasons Clients end the relationship. But again, this is a big disconnect since it is the 2nd most common reason for Clients to end a relationship, yet Agencies ranked it as least important. A lesson to be learned here is that communicating needs and wants directly and clearly by both parties could save a relationship. An Agency will continue to operate as if they fully understand the Client unless told otherwise, and if they haven’t asked questions or communicated clearly to ensure alignment, they may be in danger of being replaced. 

So what can help everyone save time, resources, and energy? It’s easier than we all think - communicate!

As we look ahead to the future of Agency-Client partnerships, one thing is clear: fostering trust through transparent communication and aligned delivery is key to long-term success. Agencies can build stronger relationships by embracing data-driven insights, refining internal processes, and proactively addressing Client needs. Meanwhile, Clients should feel empowered to provide honest feedback and articulate their goals clearly. By working together with a shared commitment to openness and alignment, Agencies and Clients can not only save valuable resources but also drive meaningful, impactful results.

This blog is a part of the Setup Marketing Relationship Survey results. If you would like access to the full results and analysis, download them here.