Global new-business revenue increases by 7.5%: R3

Global new business revenue grew by 7.5% in 2018, according to a recent report by independent consulting firm R3.

Based on their analysis of 7,000 agency new business wins, global new business revenue increased from $2.9 billion in 2017 to $3.1 billion in 2018.

The growth is attributed to agency business being put into review.

See the full-year 2018 APAC New Business League rankings

"In this moment of truth around media ROI and transparency, marketers are putting accounts up for review to leverage compliance and start taking a more rigorous business approach to re-addressing contracts," said Greg Paull, principal and co-founder of R3.

Despite an increase in overall global revenue, the number of wins decreased 5.5% year-on-year, according to the research. This is mirrored on the creative side, which experienced a 2.4% increase in new business revenue in 2018 on 10% fewer wins.

However, on the media side, new business revenue increased 18.4% ($931 million in 2017 and $1.1 billion in 2018) on a 2.3% increase in number of wins.

This rise in media wins was driven by the US, where revenue was up 49.2% year-on-year. In this market, BBDO and Starcom led the way, winning creative for Ford and media for Fiat Chrysler respectively.

Five out of the top ten global wins for creative agencies were in the U.S. in 2018, while for media agencies the number is four out of 10. In terms of number of wins in the U.S. alone, total creative wins are down 0.6% and media wins are up 12.1% year-on-year.

"The generally healthy U.S. economy is encouraging marketers to innovate and optimize their budgets," added Paull.

"They’re doing it by moving towards new and hybrid agency models that allow for more flexibility in media and production costs."

The following tables show the full-year global rankings for creative and media agencies.