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Overview
9 out of 10 agency clients say their agency helps them succeed. 4 out of 10 also plan to shrink that relationship within a year. Brian Gerstner has the research to explain how both are true, and it’s less dire than it sounds.
Gerstner co-founded Agency Core, which surveyed 579 agency leaders and 400 clients in 2026 on how AI is changing agency work. He and I talk through why agencies are landing in different camps: some have built real authority and charge more for it, some are still figuring out where AI fits, and plenty have room to move from routine deliverables toward strategy work.
This one’s for agency owners and marketing consultants feeling the ground shift under AI. They cover niching down without shrinking your whole business, why pricing power still exists for the right positioning, and the marketing leadership gap AI has exposed.
Guest Bio
Brian Gerstner is co-founder of Agency Core, an independent research initiative studying how agencies are adapting their business models in the AI era. He’s also president of White Label IQ, a 90-person team that works exclusively with agencies on outsourced production and development work. Gerstner has spent more than 20 years in the agency business and built Agency Core to surface the attitudes and behaviors driving agency success, in addition to the tactics.
Key Takeaways
- Only 13 to 16% of agency owners fully execute on the strategic priorities they name as most important.
- Niching down doesn’t require picking an industry. A region, attitude, or strategic approach can build the same “confident differentiator” status.
- Client demand for agencies hasn’t dropped. The questions clients ask have changed, from “can you build this” to “should we do this.”
- Commoditized deliverables (brochures, basic content, routine reports) are losing pricing power fast. Strategy, judgment, and direction are not.
- 29% of clients expect fee reductions tied to AI, while clients working with a differentiated, authoritative agency are willing to pay more, not less.
- Chasing AI as a standalone offer is a shrinking window. It’s already table stakes, and clients want it used intentionally rather than pitched as the product.
Great Moments
- [02:43] – What separates a “confident differentiator” agency from the rest
- [05:49] – Only 13 to 16% of agency owners fully execute their own top priorities
- [07:56] – Gerstner reconciles the two seemingly contradictory client statistics
- [14:07] – What the pricing data shows about fees, AI, and expertise
- [17:49] – Niching down doesn’t mean picking one industry, it means having a focus and sticking to it
- [20:17] – The hidden challenge: retraining an existing team that isn’t built for the work agencies need now
Memorable Quotes
- “There’s a reason the compass was invented before the clock. It’s because it’s more important to know where you’re going.” — Brian Gerstner
- “There is still probably more opportunity than ever before if you can take the time to see it.” — Brian Gerstner
- “If you focus down, if you niche in, if you lean into an area, it is an investment. It’s hard. Growth is painful.” — Brian Gerstner
- “Coming in the strategy door is a far better relationship than coming in the vendor door.” — John Jantsch
- “The moment other people start saying these people have a great reputation in this area, that’s when you’re truly establishing that confident differentiating position.” — Brian Gerstner
- “You’re gonna have to hire a strategic thinker who can become a leader, because the doers, we can outsource.” — John Jantsch
Resources
Agency Core, agency pricing, agency strategy, AI marketing, Brian Gerstner, niche marketing, White Label IQ
