The latest research, insights, tools, and resources that make managing a digital shop easier,
New Support For Digital Agency Teams
TL;DRMany agencies are in planning mode this time of year. To support them, we launched a new research piece on standardized job descriptions and an entirely new level of Delphi that brings our salary and positioning research directly into the AI tools leadership teams already use. Meet Delphi OracleDelphi members already get quarterly updates on agency sales pipelines, hiring plans, service and industry demand, and trends impacting agency sales. Now, we're adding deep dives into how 23k digital agencies in the U.S. are positioned. What they sell. Who they sell it to. And we're tracking how this changes as the market shifts. In addition to this, we're tracking thousands of agency job postings to give leaders near-real-time data on who agencies are hiring, the salaries they're offering, and the skills that are in demand. These additions are part of our new Oracle tier of Delphi that includes MCP access to these datasets. Here are some examples of what it can already do: What would it cost us to hire a lead developer, a mid-level designer, and a project manager?
About $341,000 a year at the median advertised salary for each role: $160,000 for a lead developer, $83,000 for a mid-level designer, and $98,000 for a project manager.
Are agencies still hiring junior people?
13% of agency job postings are for entry-level or junior roles. Mid-level roles make up 45%, senior roles 16%, and lead roles and above 25%.
How many agencies offer marketing strategy services to law firms?
447 agencies offer marketing strategy services and serve law firms. In all, 2,053 agencies serve law firms.
Bring your question to Delphi’s Oracle to get answers from real agency data, not an AI tool’s best guess. Agencies that subscribe get access for their entire leadership teams, so everyone stays up to speed on changes in the industry and how they're impacting shops across the U.S. Delphi members on the free tier will also get headline updates as new research comes out, but the MCP and deeper dives are reserved for Oracle members. We're offering a major discount (51% off) for agencies that sign up during the Founding Cohort period.
Standardized Job DescriptionsWe analyzed thousands of job descriptions from digital agencies to create a resource for agency teams that allows their ops departments to quickly create and customize JDs for 28 common agency roles. It covers everything from account coordinators to creative directors, grouped into seven sections: account management, marketing, developers, designers, business development and sales, project managers, and operations. Each role contains a summary, responsibilities, requirements, and preferred qualifications with editable fields you can customize for your agency.
Hopefully these make it easier to grow a profitable agency in 2027! |
Research & Strategy for Digital Agencies
The latest research, insights, tools, and resources that make managing a digital shop easier,
TL;DR We analyzed 3,184 job postings from 820 U.S. digital agencies. You can find our full writeups at: Digital Agency Salary Benchmarks & Digital Agency Hiring Trends. We're considering doing this regularly for our Delphi group. Join now so you don't miss it. Advertised pay for account managers is now 10% higher than what agencies paid two years ago and 22% higher for Account Directors. Today's junior hires will grow into tomorrow's mid-level employees in about three years. Agencies...
TL;DR Last year, we built Delphi - an insights network for agency leaders. Now hundreds of them get quarterly updates that keep them informed about key industry shifts. We're expanding this network and opening a dedicated sponsor slot for 2027. We've already had multiple firms reach out, so we'll be selecting the sponsor in the next few weeks. Reply if you'd like to explore sponsoring the Delphi network. We analyzed over 1k job postings from a few hundred digital agencies and built average...
TL;DR Our Agency Operating Model Assessment is live! Use it to identify and fix the key gaps in how your agency operates. Last year, we built Delphi - an insight network for agency leaders. Now hundreds of leaders get quarterly updates that keep them informed about key industry shifts. We're expanding this network and opening a dedicated sponsor slot for 2027. Reply if you'd like to explore sponsoring our Delphi network. Assessing Agency Operating Models Take our Agency Operating Model...