How Agency by Agency mapped the UK’s agency sector using The Data City

Agency by Agency is the only business providing a comprehensive, data-led view of the UK’s marketing, advertising, creative and media agencies. Their platform offers industry intelligence that allows agencies to benchmark performance, uncover trends, and plan with confidence.

As a business built “by the sector, for the sector”, they needed a partner that could help them map a notoriously hard-to-define industry.

Agencies are difficult to define. The language is messy, inconsistent, and context dependent. Existing datasets like SIC codes are outdated and incapable of capturing the nuance of this fast-evolving sector.

Agency by Agency’s vision was to create an independent, accurate, and data-rich view of the sector but they needed the right tools to make it happen.

Working closely with The Data City team and funded by an Innovate UK grant, Agency by Agency used our data  to build their own machine learning-powered classifications.

Using EXPLORE, they created and refined 35 initial segments of the agency sector – eventually refining this to 28 cleaner categories through an iterative process, such as Video and Production, and Digital Product Design . They leaned into our machine learning tools to deal with the complex and ambiguous language used by agencies, combining their sector expertise with our data infrastructure.

Once the classification was in place, they used ANALYSE to create benchmarking tools, break down the sector by turnover, headcount and geography, and export the insights for deeper analysis.

They developed 28 machine learning-driven segments of the agency sector, giving them the most detailed and accurate classification system to date. These classifications now underpin their platform’s benchmarking tools, enabling agencies to analyse performance, track trends and make smarter decisions.

The partnership between Agency by Agency and The Data City is built on ambition, trust, and a shared commitment to uncovering fresh insights. The collaboration will continue to evolve, responding dynamically to the specific needs of the agency sector.