Trends in agency compensation

David Beals

Reports briefly the 13th ANA triennial Agency Compensation Survey. There has been significant move away from commissions, now used by only 10% of survey respondents, towards fees as the dominant payment method.

Inside Information

Trends in Agency Compensation (See Figure 1)

David Beals

The 13th edition of the ANA's triennial Agency Compensation Survey continues to highlight two major trends:

1) The significant move away from commissions to fees as the primary method of agency compensation. Fees are now the dominant form of compensation regardless of the size or type of advertiser or the type of agency service. In fact, commissions were reported by only 10 percent of the survey respondents as the primary method of compensation.

2) The continued increase in the use of performance incentives. Although overall growth has...

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