Just like a merry-go-round never stops spinning, agency life is in constant motion. To stay ahead, agencies must recognize that what worked five years ago may not work today. With the never-ending transformations of industry competition, client needs and technology, agencies are forced to embrace change. For agencies that want to remain relevant, staying comfortable isn’t an option.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RESTRUCTURING
The reasons behind an agency’s restructuring and what that restructuring looks like can vary. After being named Top Student-Run PR Firm by the Public Relations Student Society of America three times, The University of Alabama’s student-led communications firm, Capstone Agency, began a major restructure in the Fall of 2025. It’s their ability to recognize the need for things like restructuring that keep them at the top and winning awards. The agency realized their old way of doing things was no longer matching the industry.
The first few phases of the restructure were unsuccessful. The agency’s past structure had over 100 associates split into six departments and two to three associates from each department placed to work on one client team. Client teams consisted of about 12 associates. The first and second phase of restructure stripped associates of their specific client and had them work across multiple different client teams instead of just one. In theory, this was the goal to match industry structure, as many professionals typically work on more than one client in an agency. However, what the leadership team noticed instantly was that it was too much too fast.
“We did it wrong the first time where we got rid of client teams, but we also got rid of that leadership structure…,” President of Capstone Agency, Victoria Campbell said. “Obviously that structure didn’t work and it kind of jumped the gun a couple of steps.”
Leadership decided to pivot while keeping the multiple clients and asynchronous style of work but reimplemented the hierarchy aspect through named directors. The agency also consolidated former departments, putting copywriting, graphic design and creative media departments into one creative department and media relations and channel planning into another combined department. This new departmental structure proved to be much more successful not only improving their team efficiency, but the work that was being produced as well.
“The reason the restructuring was made really boils down to the [fact the] industry is changing,” Campbell said. “We realized we weren’t really mocking what the industry standards were looking like as they continue to change, and we wanted something more efficient.”
This push for restructuring extends far beyond student-run agencies. Omnicom, a parent company for numerous agencies, recently went through a restructuring after its merger with Interpublic Group (IPG). Omnicom decided to consolidate its larger public relations agencies to have fewer, larger agencies compete in a more tech-driven, cost-conscious environment. The restructuring includes folding Porter Novelli into FleishmanHillard and merging Ketchum with Golin.
According to an article in Creative Brands Mag, “The overarching objective behind all these changes is to create a unified, data-driven, AI-enabled marketing company that operates with the speed and precision needed for modern client demands.”
It is Omnicom’s goal that through the consolidation of different departments, similar to what Capstone Agency did in their restructuring, there will be an improvement in, “cross-functional collaboration and help the company compete more effectively with consultancies, digital-first companies, and independent agencies.”
By restructuring, agencies like Omnicom and Capstone Agency can lead their people into the future instead of standing still in the shadows of the past.
EVOLUTION WITH AI
Today, the center of many of these structural changes is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This new technology is hitting agencies with the big question: how does one implement this tool into the structure? Faced with the risk of irrelevance, agencies are being forced to define AI’s role within their creative and strategic processes.
“I think what we’re trying to balance right now is what is that line between the creativity of our associates and the efficiency of AI,” Campbell said. “Overall, I would love to see us transition as an agency that utilizes AI as a tool or as a resource. We still have that human oversight and that human creativity, and we incorporate it to help with our big ideas, not create them for us.”
Randall Huffaker, president of Alchemist Branding and director of Capstone Agency, echoed similar concerns, noting that while this technology can assist with execution, it cannot replace strategic thinking or human connection. However, with the positives AI does implement in the industry, like greater efficiency, many professionals who have been in the industry for decades are having to put back on their student cap to keep up with eager young professionals.
Huffaker urges anyone in the industry to “learn as much as you possibly can about each one of these skills that nobody else has and then learn AI. To be an expert in that is crucial.”
Omnicom offers a clear example of what this balance between AI and human creativity can look like. At the beginning of this year, Omnicom announced the next generation of Omni, its marketing intelligence platform that enables data intelligence and teams to operate as a unified force.
In an article published on Omnicom’s website, CEO of Omni, Duncan Painter said, “Omni connects the full breadth of modern marketing – audience insight, creativity, media, and commerce – into a single, open, and adaptive platform with the clearest view of consumer identity across the entire marketing ecosystem. But its power comes to life through our people. Omni is built to support strategists, creatives, analysts, investment managers, media and commerce traders, and client leaders in doing their best work, not to replace their judgment or imagination.”
Omnicom and Omni show that AI is not a threat to agencies, but the lack of implementation is.
THE COST OF NOT EVOLVING
For those that don’t evolve, the outlook is far less optimistic. Agencies being left behind is not a new concept. However, what industry professionals, like Huffaker, have seen throughout their careers is that agencies who don’t evolve with the industry will lose clients until ultimately; they have nothing left.
“If you’re not doing something and you’re not keeping up with the times, no one’s going to know who you are,” Huffaker said. “The amount of agencies that were here [in Tuscaloosa] in the 90s and in the 80s as opposed to what is now, is unbelievable.”
The biggest restructuring shift Huffaker saw throughout his career in agency life was the switch from agencies being known for one niche thing to now needing to be everything a client needs.
“You can’t just be PR, and you can’t just be Advertising, but you’ve got to be doing everything. If you’re not that uber unique type of thing you’re just not going to have anything. In the old days, it used to be where you had people who were siloed into ‘we only do this’ but you just can’t do that anymore,” Huffaker said.
As Huffaker continues to work with Capstone Agency and its restructure, he advises his students to know as much as they can.
Although it used to be sufficient for an agency to focus on a specific niche, the industry has evolved to a state where agencies need to be what Huffaker calls ‘chameleons’. “You’ve got to be able to bounce and be wherever you need to be,” Huffaker said.
Evolution is unavoidable. There is no getting off the merry-go-round that is agency life. Agencies that embrace change will lead and thrive. Those that resist will be left behind.
