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Consultancy Listenmore says agency-pitch activity stabilized in 2025 as indies continued to capture imaginations and AOR wins.
Listenmore’s 2025 Canadian Agency Pitch Report found that while the total activity of 163 pitches represented a 7.4% decrease from 2024’s high of 176, the market saw a profound shift in where assignments are landing.
The report, which summarizes pitches across creative, media, digital, multicultural and PR accounts, as well as across sectors and product categories, cites a surge in specialized sectors such as tourism and health care, with significant wins including AstraZeneca (NFA Health), Healthcare Excellence (LG2) and Sandoz (Spark) to name a few.
Stephan Argent, founder and CEO of Listenmore, says 2025 marked a “healthy stabilization” of the market, telling strategy that the second half of the year rebounded from the economic uncertainty brought on by U.S. tariffs in the first half.
“We’ve seen growth in pitches since the pandemic, so it doesn’t surprise me it’s levelled off and stabilized,” he says. “While the headline volume is down slightly, the real story is the continued dominance of homegrown talent.”
The report reveals that independent agencies – those not part of the Big Six holding companies, Dentsu, IPG, Omnicom, Publicis, Stagwell and WPP – captured a record 78% of AOR wins.
According to Listenmore, the results reveal that marketers are increasingly “seeking the agility and senior-level focus that independents provide.”
Among the “Big Six,” Publicis Group emerged as a dominant force, capturing nearly half of all holding company wins.
The “Big Six” maintained a firm grip on media pitches, though their combined share dipped slightly to 62.9%.
Growth was fuelled by travel and tourism (surging from six to 14 pitches) and pharma-health care (up to 17 from 11), while the tech-online and automotive sectors experienced significant cooling.
According to Argent, as AI moves from a buzzword to the operational backbone of the industry, the definition of agency value is changing.
“In 2026, the winners won’t necessarily be the agencies with the most tools, but those who can operate ‘leaner, smarter, and faster’ to deliver high-level strategic value in an unpredictable market,” he says.
Last year’s report also revealed indies were punching above their weight and that year-over-year pitch activity from 2023 to 2024 moving up 15%.
