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Agency & Media
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT
Agency & Media. Winning the client is half the job.
Fast briefs. Big ideas. Tight turnarounds. Plenty of opinions.
We find new-business, client-services and agency-marketing people who understand scope, margin and what the client is actually buying — not just how to pitch.
Agency & Media
Fast briefs. Big ideas. Tight turnarounds. Plenty of opinions.
Recruitment for commercial roles across advertising, creative, digital, performance, PR, communications, media, production and specialist marketing agencies.
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT IN
SALES & MARKETING RECRUITMENT
Agency & Media
Fast briefs. Big ideas. Tight turnarounds. Plenty of opinions.
Recruitment for commercial roles across advertising, creative, digital, performance, PR, communications, media, production and specialist marketing agencies.
1 - BIG PICTURE STORY:
The Agency & Media Economy
THE UK PICTURE:
In the UK, creative and media agencies generated approximately £35.2 billion in GVA in 2024, with more than 23,000 registered agencies employing around 288,000 people. Total UK advertising investment then reached £46.7 billion in 2025 and is forecast to rise to approximately £50.5 billion in 2026. (Advertising Association)
THE IRISH PICTURE:
Ireland's wider advertising market reached approximately €1.7 billion in 2025. The 2025 IAPI Census also reported more than 3,000 people working across its member agencies, with retainers increasing to 36% of agency income and 21% of revenue coming from overseas clients. (Creative Communications Ireland) Those headline numbers sit across very different commercial models.
A performance agency, PR consultancy, creative studio and media agency may compete for similar client budgets while developing quite different Sales, Marketing and client-management experience.
£24.3bn
UK advertising & marketing GVA, 2024
€1.146bn
Ireland digital advertising spend, 2025
+8%
Ireland digital advertising spend growth, 2025
01 — THE SECTOR
Unique hiring considerations:
In Agency & Media, winning the client is only half the commercial job.
The work still has to be scoped properly, delivered by the team the client thinks they are buying and priced well enough that the agency can keep doing good work without quietly absorbing more and more of it.
That changes how experienced new-business and client-services people look at an opportunity. A prestigious name, exciting brief or large fee can still become a poor account if the scope is loose, the decision-making is difficult or the client expects substantially more senior time than they have actually bought.
Marketing the agency has its own challenge. Prospective clients are often being asked to buy judgement before they can fully evaluate it. Strong agency marketing therefore makes the way the agency thinks visible, not just the work it has already produced.
Two New Business Directors may both show major pitch wins and well-known clients. The same result can start at very different points in the buying journey.
The title tells us surprisingly little unless we know what the client was buying and how the agency made money from it.
CANDIDATE A
Strongest once the brief lands
• Builds strong credentials and pitch processes
• Coordinates senior agency involvement
• Converts briefs once the opportunity is defined
CANDIDATE B
Shapes the brief before it exists
• Builds senior relationships before formal briefs
• Creates preference while needs are still forming
• Qualifies carefully for fit, margin and win probability
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
Two New Business Directors may both show major pitch wins and well-known clients.
One may be strongest once an RFP or brief arrives, coordinating credentials, senior teams and the pitch process; another may build relationships long before the brief exists, shape how the agency is perceived and qualify opportunities for fit, margin and win probability.
The same new-business result can start at very different points in the buying journey.
CANDIDATE B — SHAPES THE BRIEF BEFORE IT EXISTS
Builds senior relationships before formal briefs
Creates preference while needs are still forming
• Qualifies carefully for fit, margin and win probability
CANDIDATE A — STRONGEST ONCE THE BRIEF LANDS
Builds senior relationships before formal briefs
Coordinates senior agency involvement
Converts briefs once the opportunity is clearly defined
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
02 — HOW WE ASSESS
Same CV. Different capability.
Two New Business Directors may both show major pitch wins and well-known clients.
One may be strongest once an RFP or brief arrives, coordinating credentials, senior teams and the pitch process; another may build relationships long before the brief exists, shape how the agency is perceived and qualify opportunities for fit, margin and win probability.
The same new-business result can start at very different points in the buying journey.
SAME JOB TITLE - CANDIDATE A
Builds strong credentials and pitch processes
Coordinates senior agency involvement
Converts briefs once the opportunity is clearly defined
SAME JOB TITLE - CANDIDATE B
Builds senior relationships before formal briefs
Creates preference while needs are still forming
Helps shape the agency proposition around opportunity
SALES, NEW BUSINESS & CLIENT GROWTH
01
New Business Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Which pitches deserve the agency's time — not just winning them.
HOW IT VARIES
RFP-led in some agencies; relationship-led long before a brief in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Tell us about a pitch you walked away from."
02
Client Services Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The gap between what the client expects and what the fee covers.
HOW IT VARIES
Full P&L and renewal authority, or delivery lead with pricing held elsewhere.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"When did you last renegotiate scope mid-year?"
03
Account Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Growth that doesn't turn into unpaid over-servicing.
HOW IT VARIES
Performance agencies build media economics; creative agencies build judgement on ambiguous briefs.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did the account's margin move under you?"
MARKETING
04
Agency Marketing Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Attracting the kind of brief New Business actually wants.
HOW IT VARIES
Visibility and awards in some agencies; proposition and pipeline in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Which piece of thinking brought a client in?"
05
Communications Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The agency's reputation, and sometimes its clients' too.
HOW IT VARIES
Corporate narrative in-house, or crisis and media work on behalf of clients.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"What didn't you say, and why?"
06
Content Strategy Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Connecting audience insight to measurable commercial outcomes.
HOW IT VARIES
Client-facing strategy lead, or the agency's own thought-leadership engine.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did you prove it worked?"
We also recruit across media sales, partnerships, PR, performance and digital marketing, and sales & marketing leadership.
Discuss a role in this sector →
03 — ROLES
What the title doesn't tell you
We also recruit across media sales, partnerships, PR, performance and digital marketing, and sales & marketing leadership.
Discuss a role in this sector
→
MARKETING
04
Agency Marketing Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Attracting the kind of brief New Business actually wants.
HOW IT VARIES
Visibility and awards in some agencies; proposition and pipeline in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Which piece of thinking brought a client in?"
05
Communications Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The agency's reputation, and sometimes its clients' too.
HOW IT VARIES
Corporate narrative in-house, or crisis and media work on behalf of clients.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"What didn't you say, and why?"
06
Content Strategy Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Connecting audience insight to measurable commercial outcomes.
HOW IT VARIES
Client-facing strategy lead, or the agency's own thought-leadership engine.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did you prove it worked?"
SALES, NEW BUSINESS & CLIENT GROWTH
01
New Business Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Which pitches deserve the agency's time — not just winning them.
HOW IT VARIES
RFP-led in some agencies; relationship-led long before a brief in others.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"Tell us about a pitch you walked away from."
02
Client Services Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
The gap between what the client expects and what the fee covers.
HOW IT VARIES
Full P&L and renewal authority, or delivery lead with pricing held elsewhere.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"When did you last renegotiate scope mid-year?"
03
Account Director
WHAT IT REALLY OWNS
Growth that doesn't turn into unpaid over-servicing.
HOW IT VARIES
Performance agencies build media economics; creative agencies build judgement on ambiguous briefs.
WHAT WE'D PROBE
"How did the account's margin move under you?"
03 — ROLES
What the title doesn't tell you
MARKETING
Makes the agency's thinking visible before a brief appears
Uses case studies to demonstrate decisions and outcomes
Builds reputation that helps the agency enter consideration early
Communicates a clear proposition rather than a capability list
Aligns agency marketing with the work New Business actually wants
SALES
Qualifies opportunities before consuming pitch resource
Understands what is really driving the client's decision
Sells the agency that will actually deliver the work
Understands how the pricing model affects account economics
Protects scope, margin and relationship quality as accounts grow
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals
SALES
01
Qualifies opportunities before consuming pitch resource
02
Understands what is really driving the client's decision
03
Sells the agency that will actually deliver the work
04
Understands how the pricing model affects account economics
05
Protects scope, margin and relationship quality as accounts grow
MARKETING
01
Makes the agency's thinking visible before a brief appears
02
Uses case studies to demonstrate decisions and outcomes
03
Builds reputation that helps the agency enter consideration early
04
Communicates a clear proposition rather than a capability list
05
Aligns agency marketing with the work New Business actually wants
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals we listen for
04 — WHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR
Strength signals we listen for
SALES STRENGTH SIGNALS
Qualifies opportunities before consuming pitch resource
Understands what is really driving the client's decision
Sells the agency that will actually deliver the work
Understands how the pricing model affects account economics
Protects scope, margin and relationship quality as accounts grow
MARKETING strength signals
Makes the agency's thinking visible before a brief appears
Uses case studies to demonstrate decisions and outcomes
Builds reputation that helps the agency enter consideration early
Communicates a clear proposition rather than a capability list
Aligns agency Marketing with the work New Business actually wants
40-person Belfast brand agency needed a Commercial Director during a major repositioning.
Result: 3-person shortlist. Successful hire remains in post today.
The brief required an unusual combination of strategic leadership, people management and new business ability. We mapped the relevant market thoroughly and narrowed a broad potential field to three candidates capable of operating across all three areas.
05 — A RECENT SEARCH
In practice
05 — A RECENT SEARCH
In practice
40-person Belfast brand agency needed a Commercial Director during a major repositioning.
The brief required an unusual combination of strategic leadership, people management and new business ability. We mapped the relevant market thoroughly and narrowed a broad potential field to three candidates capable of operating across all three areas.
3-person shortlist. Successful hire remains in post today.
FOR EMPLOYERS
Discuss a Sales or Marketing Hire
For employers, we look beyond the obvious agency name and job title and spend time understanding the proposition, clients, pricing model, account economics and real commercial ownership behind someone's experience.
We look beyond the agency name and title to the proposition, pricing model, account economics and real commercial ownership behind someone's experience.
DISCUSS A HIRE
FOR PROFESSIONALS
Considering your next move?
We help make sense of the experience you've built, what you're genuinely good at and where it might take you next.
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
CALL TO ACTION
Hiring in Agency & Media?
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder
About MRKTSEARCH →
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder
About MRKTSEARCH →
A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER
[Sarah to write — one sentence]
Sarah, Founder · About MRKTSEARCH →
£24.3bn
UK advertising & marketing GVA, 2024
€1.146bn
Ireland digital advertising spend, 2025
+8%
Ireland digital advertising spend growth, 2025
06 — THE NUMBERS
The Agency & Media Economy
FOR EMPLOYERS
Discuss a Sales or Marketing Hire
For employers, we look beyond the obvious agency name and job title and spend time understanding the proposition, clients, pricing model, account economics and real commercial ownership behind someone's experience.
SOURCES
Advertising Association; Creative Communications Ireland.
£35.2bn
UK creative & media agency GVA, 2024
£46.7bn
UK advertising investment, 2025
€1.7bn
Irish advertising market, 2025
06 — THE NUMBERS
The agency & media economy
In Agency & Media, winning the client is only half the commercial job.
The work still has to be scoped properly, delivered by the team the client thinks they are buying and priced well enough that the agency can keep doing good work without quietly absorbing more and more of it.
That changes how experienced new-business and client-services people look at an opportunity. A prestigious name, exciting brief or large fee can still become a poor account if the scope is loose, the decision-making is difficult or the client expects substantially more senior time than they have actually bought.
Marketing the agency has its own challenge. Prospective clients are often being asked to buy judgement before they can fully evaluate it. Strong agency marketing therefore makes the way the agency thinks visible, not just the work it has already produced.
01 — THE SECTOR
Unique Hiring Considerations
In Agency & Media, winning the client is only half the commercial job.
The work still has to be scoped properly, delivered by the team the client thinks they are buying and priced well enough that the agency can keep doing good work without quietly absorbing more and more of it.
That changes how experienced new-business and client-services people look at an opportunity. A prestigious name, exciting brief or large fee can still become a poor account if the scope is loose, the decision-making is difficult or the client expects substantially more senior time than they have actually bought.
Marketing the agency has its own challenge. Prospective clients are often being asked to buy judgement before they can fully evaluate it. Strong agency marketing therefore makes the way the agency thinks visible, not just the work it has already produced.
01 — THE SECTOR