We are family
Opinion – The Indie Leader – AMI
JAA’s marketing director, Caroline Ayling, explores why indie agencies are the perfect partner for family-run businesses.
How often do you see the cliché ‘welcome to the family’ used to greet new clients and employees at an agency? Gives you the ick, right? But for many independent media agencies, we do feel and act like families.
We celebrate good times together, we ride out tough times together, we create memorable moments for clients together, we argue over the state of the bathroom, and often have one tipple too many at Christmas.
And in some rare cases, such as mine, we actually are family. My name is Caroline Ayling, and I’m a second-generation to walk through the doors at JAA – John Ayling & Associates, founded by my father in 1978.
First, let’s look at the numbers
* There are over 25,490 agencies in the UK marcomms sector and of those, 25,320 are independent (source: Agency by Agency)
* Whilst there is no official track on media indies, the Alliance of Media Independents membership has grown threefold since launching last year, and we now sit at 36 and rising.
* When it comes to family businesses in the UK, it is estimated that there are approximately 5m making up roughly 92% of private sector organisations
* The majority are micro-organisations with less than nine people, but 160,407 have more than 10 employees, and 23,649 businesses have 50 people or more.
There are already alignments between family and Indies…
Getting into the business of family business
There’s a moment every second-generation family businessperson knows well. It’s the one where someone asks, with genuine curiosity, whether it was always the plan. Whether you always knew you’d end up here.
The honest answer, for me, was originally ‘no way – I’m my own person’, then ‘oh maybe, sports marketing and media are so aligned, and I’d already introduced a couple of clients to the agency’. Finally, it was a hard, unequivocal ‘yes – but I’m not reporting to my dad as chair just direct to our CEO, Richard Temple.’
Look, I grew up around this business; I absorbed it. My height used to be measured on the agency walls each Christmas Eve, so I suppose I’ve always been part of the woodwork.
What I didn’t fully appreciate until I was inside it was the passion and drive I would have in growing it.
Then, following in my father’s footsteps (he was a core part of the original Association of Media Independents – AMI part one set up back in the 80/90s), I joined the modern-day AMI as chair of the Marketing and Business Development Group.
It has only reinforced how much running an independent agency and working with family businesses have in common. Yes, we take your media investment seriously and ‘spend every penny like it’s our own’ (cliché two!), but it’s because we care about campaigns being successful. Not for awards, although they are always nice, not because we have shareholders to please, but because it makes a massive impact.
Here are my six reasons indies and family-run organisations make the perfect match:
1) The name above the door means something
Across the independent agency landscape, a recurring characteristic stands out: accountability is personal. Whether the founder’s name is literally above the door or not, independents tend to be run by people with genuine skin in the game. People who built something or who were part of the journey of that build and who feel the weight of that in every client relationship.
For example, I’d never done business development roles until joining JAA – but I’ve found a new drive since starting in 2021. My drive for growth isn’t just a job; it’s personal.
Family business clients understand this immediately, because they live it too. When your grandparents started the company, or your parents took the risk and mortgaged the house to keep it going, you just cared differently. The stakes are real in a way that transcends any three-year contract.
At the networks, the person who shakes your hand at the pitch is rarely the person working your account three months later, let alone the one who you can share deeper life and business advice years down the line. At an independent, the senior people are genuinely present, passionate and committed to client success. Drum roll for cliché number three: ‘ Your success is our success .’
At JAA, we’re really proud of our staff and client retention rates, as well as the friendships built on a culture of forming lasting bonds. Media is still, at heart, a relationship business dealing with partners and suppliers over many years. Yes, new ones enter the fray, but the art of relationship building is part of the indie way.
2) Generational thinking is the long, not short, of it
The holding company model is ultimately answerable to quarterly reports and shareholder needs. That shapes how the entire business is run, from risk-taking to talent recruitment. Independent agencies, particularly those that have survived long enough to develop genuine heritage, operate on a fundamentally different timescale.
In JAA’s case, it’s 48 years, and we’re stronger, more innovative and braver today than we’ve ever been.
Like us, many of the agencies within AMI have been doing this for decades, navigating recessions, pandemics, and constant upheaval in the media landscape without losing what made them distinctive in the first place. This kind of longevity results from long-term decision-making, not the next reporting period.
Family businesses don’t measure success in 90-day cycles. They think about legacy, about what they’re building and for whom.
Here at JAA, we work with a host of clients that are family-owned, such as Baylis & Harding, set up by Granny Baylis and Granny Harding in 1970 and Loake Shoemakers, established in 1880. We’ve been by their side for years, helping them grow and establish themselves and the UK’s top private brand through smart paid media planning and buying.
3) Challengers by nature
A thread that runs through the independent sector is a genuine orientation towards challenger thinking – or as we call it at JAA, finding the underdog advantage.
Doing more with less. Moving with agility. Finding the smarter, more effective approach rather than ‘throwing money at it’.
Many family Ltd companies, particularly in competitive categories, are frequently the challenger or underdog. They’re up against well-capitalised corporate competitors with bigger budgets, larger in-house teams, and more sophisticated infrastructure. What these organisations have, and what independent agencies can support and act on, is agility, authenticity, and decision-making speed that no corporate committee structure can match.
4) A best-kept secret
Family-run businesses don’t always shout the loudest. They don’t always chase headlines. But they tend to build things that last.
Family-run doesn’t mean old-fashioned; to succeed and survive, we have to innovate. We constantly evolve, and each generation brings new energy, outlook and passion to the organisation. This innovation is the most progressive thing an indie agency can be.
One of the things I’m most focused on through my work with AMI is making the independent sector’s case more loudly and more confidently.
There’s a persistent misconception that independent means smaller, or less capable, or somehow a stepping stone to ‘the real thing’. The evidence simply doesn’t bear that out, and this is across creativity and results.
Just look at the work that is celebrated at the Independent Agency Awards each year or the fact that sector thought-leaders such as Thinkbox realised the need for an Independent Agency of the Year category, which it added for the first time in 2025.
5) Independence is cultural, not contractual
Independence isn’t just about ownership structure. It’s about behaviour and creating a culture with no fear of failure, balanced with measured risk-taking.
Family-run businesses are used to operating without a safety net. There’s no parent company to absorb bad decisions and no distant shareholders to dilute responsibility. That creates a culture of pragmatism, speed and accountability.
In an independent media agency, that translates into faster decision-making, flatter hierarchies and the freedom to challenge platforms, partners, media owners and even clients – obviously when it’s in their best interests.
Crucially, it also keeps leadership close. Culture isn’t something outsourced or written into a year-end presentation and rolled out across Zoom. It’s lived, daily, by people who are personally invested in getting it right.
6) Resilience and patience
John Ayling himself tells a great tale of surviving the 1979 ITV strike when the agency was merely a year old. Since then, he’s navigated recessions, weathered major client losses, and steered the agency through a pandemic. Independence isn’t a straight line. It demands resilience, adaptability and a willingness to make difficult decisions that aren’t always easy.
Today, I’m inside the business, patiently waiting for my seat at the table and doing my voluntary bit for AMI because I’m passionate about independence. It’s a certain drive, not many have it, and in my opinion, only a family member can bring such a dogged commitment and passion.
For me, this isn’t a career move, a mere role on the LinkedIn feed. It’s stewardship – for the next generation of JAA-ers and (if they are up for it) Aylings for generations to come.
For family-run organisations looking for an agency that will treat their brand with the same care and respect they do, my honest advice is to look for one where the people at the top have that same personal investment. Where the work still feels like something worth protecting. Where the long game is the only game – I suspect it’s indie.
Caroline Ayling is chair of AMI Marketing and Business Growth Group and marketing director at JAA. AMI members write regularly for The Media Leader in 2026 as part of our new Indie Leader series.