IAPI Releases the 2024 Census for the Commercial Creativity and Communications Industry

IAPI has released the annual Industry Census which shows once again a resilience and optimism among agencies despite a difficult trading year when year on year revenues were reported as 10% down and average profit margins were as low as 8% in 2023.

72% of IAPI member agencies participated in this year’s Industry Census throughout September and October 2024. Representative members from all agency disciplines took part including Media, Creative, Digital and Experiential, providing comparison findings for each agency type where relevant.

“Anecdotally, 2024 has been an extremely busy year for IAPI members and the industry in general.  Shorter turnaround times, ever-changing and tactical briefs have resulted in creating more work for agencies, however, it has come at a significant cost to the sector given that marketing budgets have not increased in ratio to the workload. So, while it is disappointing to see revenues and profit margins so low across the sector, it is not surprising to see that stark reality coming through in this years’ census”, said Charley Stoney, CEO, IAPI.  “There is a need for the industry to update the charging model and put far more emphasis on outputs, rather than inputs. This has been discussed for several years now and I would urge the industry to prioritise these changes in the near future in order for the sector to remain sustainable in the long term. I would also ask that brand owners and marketers acknowledge the changing nature of their briefs and reflect this more in the budgets allocated for their agency partners.” 

Further key points that came from this year’s IAPI Census are as follows:

Pitching and its’ impact on profit margins

In positive news, the average hours spent on pitching fell by 14.6% compared to 2022 while the average cost per pitch has also dropped year on year by 37.4%. This result potentially reflects the consultation IAPI undertook with the industry over the past few years, resulting in a reduction of the input required by agencies during Agency Selection processes. (Click here to view IAPI’s latest Charters for Agency Selection published this year.)

However, the average amount of time spent on pitches by IAPI members is still high for a market the size of Ireland, where the average number of employees in an IAPI agency is less than 30.  Respondents reported spending 302 hours per pitch on average in 2023, which is the equivalent of 7½ weeks of someone working fulltime per pitch.  Given that respondents stated they undertake on average 20 pitch processes per year, this indicates that agencies need an extra 3 fulltime employees to resource speculative pitch work.  This further erodes profit margins, which, coupled with the higher employment and rising business costs in Ireland, has resulted in a reported single digit profit margin on average for 2023.  

Diversity, Equality & Inclusion in the Workplace

The total number of people employed by IAPI members is estimated at 2,681 (a 13% increase since 2023). In notable news, the number of international employees in the workforce increased by 1.5% year-on-year to 18% in 2023.  This is nearly on par with the 18.5% of international workers reported in the 2022 Irish Census - a great achievement for the industry. 

The proportion of the workforce diagnosed as people with disabilities, including neurodiversity, has more than doubled, from 4% in 2023 to 10% this year, which is another positive change. 

Positive Leader’s Sentiment

IAPI agency Leaders continue to be optimistic, with 89% believing their agency will do as well, if not better than 2023 and 92% believing the industry as a whole will perform as well if not better. Notably, optimism about the industry as a whole is higher this year compared to 2022. 

Just over half of the agency leaders who responded also believe they are proficient or very proficient in Artificial Intelligence and the majority of leaders feel positively about the potential impact of AI. 

Under-privileged and rural employment within the advertising industry

When asked about their concerns within the industry, respondents mentioned the low levels of employment within the under-privileged and rural part of the Irish population.  In part, this is caused by the cost of living in Dublin where the majority of IAPI member agencies are based.  However, IAPI is currently developing a national apprenticeship programme with TU Dublin to tackle this which is on track for launch in 2026.

Other notable findings

• It is interesting to note that females dominate the workforce in the under 30s age group by almost 2:1. However, the industry currently employs double the number of men over the age of 45 years versus women. 
• The increasingly common decision from employees to take time out or go travelling continues to affect the industry, with 32% of leavers reportedly departing for this reason. Only 4% of leavers are moving to tech companies, showing that the drain on talent leaving to the tech industry has eased. 
• Another concern respondents raised was about creative thinking skills gaps. Business thinking is also an area where leaders feel their employees could use more expertise. 
• In terms of expanding the Irish industry’s footprint abroad, the 2024 Industry Census reports that 59% of respondents are actively pursuing new business from international clients for the future growth of their agencies. Almost half (47%) are pushing their current clients to use their services in the international market. 

You can download a copy of IAPI’s 2024 Census here.