Marketers Prioritise AI Adaptation And Strategic Growth In Changing Business Landscape

The Agency Scope China has found the biggest challenges that marketers face relate to the economic context (Image supplied)

Beyond financial constraints, challenges increasingly relate to capabilities and adaptation: Market knowledge and the ability to adapt to AI and new technologies emerge as more prominent concerns than brand or communication-related issues, indicating a shift towards operational and skills-based priorities.

According to César Vacchiano, president and CEO of Scopen, “As marketing enters an era of heightened accountability, brands and agencies must move beyond execution and focus on delivering measurable business impact.

“In an increasingly fragmented ecosystem, true growth will come from integrated strategies, data-driven decision-making, and a sharper focus on real consumer needs.

“The role of agencies is evolving rapidly—from service providers to strategic partners capable of driving sustainable growth”.

Characteristics of the ‘ideal’ IMC agency

The ‘ideal’ Integrated Marketing Communications agency is defined first by Creativity and Strategic Planning, followed by Market and client knowledge and a Good professional team, which together form the top four characteristics shaping the ‘ideal’ agency profile.

Compared to the previous edition, Creativity-Innovation and Strategic Planning increase in importance, alongside with Good implementation and execution, Research, Data & Tools, and Good value for money.

On the other hand, more traditional differentiators such as Account service and Knowledge are less mentioned; marketers switch from reputational credentials towards capabilities, intelligent thinking, and execution quality.

The ‘ideal’ media agency

The ‘ideal’ media agency in 2026 is defined first and foremost by Media Planning, followed by Negotiation capabilities / Good prices in Media, and Research, Data and Tools, which are the top three characteristics shaping the ‘ideal’ media agency profile.

Compared to 2024, Media Planning shows the most significant increase, alongside strong growth in Research, Data and Tools, ROI, Good implementation and execution, and Digital capabilities.

A Good professional team also rises. In contrast, Negotiation capabilities / Good prices decline markedly, as does Strategic Planning, signalling a clear shift away from price-led and traditional strategic positioning towards stronger emphasis on media planning excellence, Data-driven decision-making and executional capabilities.

Selection methods

Organising a Pitch (creative and/or media) remains the most used method to select agencies.

Trial projects are the fastest-growing selection method, showing a clear shift towards testing agencies through real work before making long-term decisions.

International decisions continue to play a minor and stable role, well behind locally driven selection processes.

Client-Agency relationships

Relationship duration with an IMC agency remains broadly stable in 2026 (2.9 years on average), returning to ‘pre-2024 levels’ after the temporary dip seen in the previous wave.

Multinational companies continue to show slightly longer relationships than local ones (3.0 years), suggesting greater structural stability at global level.

Project-based collaboration continues to gain ground, confirming a move towards more flexible and less formalised engagement models.

Local agencies are primarily valued for their better understanding and Knowledge of the market, Speed and Cost efficiencies, while, on the other hand, Strategic capabilities and Working processes and methodologies continue to be seen as relative weaknesses compared with multinational agencies.

Regarding media agencies, the duration is also stable (3.3 years), maintaining the same figures as in the previous edition.

About Agency Scope China

Scopen conducts the Agency Scope Study in China in collaboration with global independent consultancy R3.

This China Marketing Trends Study follows over six months of in-depth interviews with nearly 300 market leaders and senior marketing professionals.

The marketing executives interviewed are top executives from the most important advertising companies in China, including users and investors of professional marketing, communication, and advertising services.

The 2026 sample is strongly concentrated in Shanghai, with a more senior and experienced respondent profile than in the previous edition.

Interviewees are predominantly senior marketing decision-makers, with a higher representation of marketing directors and media directors, while digital directors decline.

Respondents show longer tenure, both within their companies and in their current roles, reinforcing the strategic nature of the sample.

The study remains largely driven by multinational companies, although Chinese multinational brands are gaining some weight.

From a sector perspective, FMCG dominates the sample, with growth in categories such as beverages and retail/apparel and telecoms, while durable goods decline slightly, confirming a broad but consumption-led industry mix.

The report highlights key insights related to the challenges faced by market leaders, their expectations and requirements for collaboration, and the evolving relationships between market leaders and agencies.

The primary value of Agency Scope is to provide subscribing agencies and other communication partners with first-hand information regarding the needs of their existing and prospective clients.

This report provides them with a unique tool to improve and supply new services as it covers the main findings and trends in the communication and marketing sector and, more specifically, the perception and image of their company in comparison to other agencies and communication partners that Chinese marketing professionals work with.

Agency Scope China 2025/26 is the 11th edition of the study in the country.

In this edition, 288 professionals from 212 different companies were interviewed, and 837 client-agency relationships were analysed.

The fieldwork took place between September 2025 and January 2026.

Agency Scope is also conducted in 10 other markets, enabling the inclusion of global benchmarks in some key criteria.