By Marcy Samet & Ronald Wohlman, Reverve
Every week brings another headline: agency CEOs are out, global client leads are in. Titles are disappearing, org charts are collapsing, and holding companies are racing to prove they can operate as one seamless machine.
But here’s the paradox: the more they consolidate, the more they slow down. Centralization breeds approval layers. Approval layers breed hesitation. And hesitation, in today’s market, is fatal.
Indies aren’t winning just because they’re “nimbler.” They’re winning because decisions don’t have to climb a mountain of management. When a client needs a strategy pivot, they’re talking to the person who can greenlight it that afternoon—not a global brand lead in London who’ll review it next Tuesday.
Here’s the shift in plain terms: when your competitor drops an unexpected campaign and you need to counter, how fast can you move?
In a holding company: account director → brand lead → regional creative director → global oversight → legal review. Timeline: 4–6 weeks.
In an indie: CMO → Creative Director → execution. Timeline: 3–5 days.
That’s the power of proximity. Decisions get made by people who know each other, trust each other, and move together. That’s why the question inside every boardroom sounds different now: not “Which agency should we hire?” but “Who are my people?”
Access to Decision-Makers Is the New Competitive Advantage
Authenticity shows up in how information moves.
In many large organizations, ideas pass through several layers before they reach the people who can act on them. Each step adds time and takes away context.
Indies work differently. The people shaping the strategy are the same ones building the work. Everyone hears the same conversation, sees the same signals, and can make the next move together.
The strongest partnerships happen when senior leaders stay close to the work and close to their clients. It’s about being able to decide, adjust, and keep things moving in real time.
When that access exists, progress feels natural. Ideas grow faster. Momentum builds instead of stalling. That’s the advantage everyone’s chasing.
From Logos to People
Holding companies have spent decades building brand recognition and standardized systems. And yes, inside those organizations, as Ad Age reported in September 2025, the global client lead has become the real point of power—not individual agency CEOs.
But when CMOs evaluate partners today, the metric has changed. They’re looking for teams who can make decisions in the room—people who move ideas forward without layers of sign-off. Market share and momentum now matter more than prestige. When results are measured in quarters, not years, the agencies that thrive are the ones that can respond, refine, and deliver fast.
Recent data from the ANA and 4A’s shows client-agency relationships averaging seven years – nearly double a decade ago. (ANA/4As Client-Agency AOR Relationship Tenure, April 2025). However, only 11% of multinational brands surveyed by the World Federation of Advertisers say the current agency models fits their future needs (The Media Leader, Oct. 2023). That gap tells a story. Clients aren’t staying because they’re thrilled. They’re staying because switching takes time, money, and focus they can’t afford to lose. The partners winning new business are the ones removing friction and streamlining decisions. They’re stabilizing teams and keeping strategy and execution connected.
Scale still has its place, especially for brands launching across dozens of markets or managing heavy compliance demands. But for marketers investing $10–$75 million a year, the middle ground is where indies shine. They can staff senior talent directly on accounts—leaders who’d be several levels removed in a larger system—and that access shows up in the work.
It’s not about size. It’s about connection, transparency and pace.
How AI Multiplies This Advantage
AI has rewritten the math.
Work that once required large, cross-functional teams can now be led by smaller, senior groups using AI to accelerate thinking, drafts, and production. Take us, for example. We each came from holding companies where process often outweighed progress. Today, through LBRB Collective, we produce the same level of excellence—often better—in how we help clients win new business. The difference is how we spend our time. We’re no longer buried in bureaucracy; we’re fully focused on what we love most: helping teams sharpen their story, move faster, and win.
When teams work this way, smaller, senior-led, and supported by AI, decisions happen faster and ideas stay closer to their original intent. In a market where speed determines advantage, those weeks saved can change everything.
So here’s the call: go after the business others hesitate to chase. Compete for the multi-million-dollar accounts. Show clients you understand their world, that you, the decision-maker, are in the room from day one, and that you can move quickly and decisively.
Because in this new landscape, the best competitive advantage a client can have is direct access to the people doing the work—and that’s structurally impossible for holdcos to deliver at scale.
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