News | The Future of Planning, Strategy and Innovation Week in Focus
The number of account planning and strategy roles at UK agencies grew 18.5%, from 620 to 735, from 2024 to 2026.
That is according to IPA data from 49 member agencies surveyed over the two-year period, seen exclusively by The Media Leader.
Overall, planners and strategists now make up 6.6% of agency staff, up from 5.3% in 2024.
The uptick in planning roles bucks wider industry hiring trends. According to the IPA’s 2025 Agency Census, overall employment at agencies declined 6.8% year-on-year, driven primarily by a contraction in creative and other non-media agency employment amid consolidation in agency groups.
While the latest IPA data examines a comparatively small cross-section of the agency landscape relative to the Census, it is nevertheless notable that not only did planning roles buck the trend, but so did junior roles. While the proportion of employees aged 25 and under fell by 19.2% in the wider industry, junior planning roles not only grew, but grew more than planning roles overall.
Indeed, there are now 29% more junior planners, strategists, and apprentices (71) than in 2024.
Graeme Griffiths, co-director of media research at the IPA, commented that the survey data “shows planning is in good health”.
“The reason the adage, ‘Prior preparation and planning prevents poor performance’ exists is because there is a commonly held understanding of the value of these vital disciplines. And this very much rings true for the advertising industry,” he continued.
“Planners play a crucial role in bringing structure, insight and foresight to decision-making, ensuring agencies and brands can respond effectively to change. That has never been more important than today.”
Citing the IPA’s latest Making Sense report, Griffiths noted that continually fragmenting media consumption has made strategic insight planners even more essential. He added it was “so encouraging to see agencies continuing to invest in planning talent.”
Caroline Manning, chief design officer at Initiative and a columnist for The Media Leader, agreed it was “no surprise” planning and strategy has become more important, with the job requiring “more thinking, more understanding, and more orchestrating” amid media fragmentation.
She further noted that “‘programmatic’ as the default buying mechanism for media has grown in breadth,” driving a “renewed focus on up-front thinking.”
