2026 Will Be the Year of the Indie: Welcome to a Landmark Year in Agency Evolution

Following Omnicom’s takeover of rival IPG and massive shifts for the industry’s other behemoths, experts predict smaller shops to be bullish this year – but the path isn’t a simple one.

“I think I was slightly early when I said that 2025 would be the year of the indie,” says Tony Walford, a partner at finance and M&A advisory firm Green Square Associates. “But this year will certainly be the year of the indie.”

It’s not just that there’s sustained interest from buyers (especially those from the private equity space) in smaller, agile indie agencies. It’s that the industry’s macrodrama – Omnicom’s enormous acquisition of IPG; attempted international divestiture by Dentsu; continued difficulties for WPP – is providing space for growth in the industry’s nimbler corners.

“The big thing for me is the potential loss of creativity out the networks,” Walford said today at The Drum’s Predictions event in London. “The good people leave, they go and set up something else, and the networks are becoming a little bit homogenous.”

Walford was joined on stage by Jon Goulding, chief executive of indie shop Atomic; Justin Thomas-Copeland, CEO of US trade org the 4As; and Gabrielle Ludzker, the recently departed chief executive of Omnicom agency Rapp.