Call to protect freelancers, 'the lifeblood of the industry'

With this week’s IPA Agency Census revealing major challenges in the sector – and increasing concerns over profitability – agencies are being urged to rethink how they maintain healthy relationships with freelancers if they want to protect both their own businesses and the talent they rely on.

So says a new report, “The Freelance Landscape” by marketing agency Perfect Storm, which reveals that all too often trust is being eroded by “increased ghosting, speculative work and even theft of ideas”.

The study, which is based on interviews with over 100 members of Perfect Storm’s partner network, comes at a time of huge turmoil in the industry, with the rise of AI meaning many agencies are struggling to get clients to pay for creative ideas; a factor that is already having a knock on effect.

In fact, Forrester’s recent 2026 Marketing Agency Predictions claimed agencies are facing the biggest shake-up in their history, with the rise of technology – especially AI – forcing them to take on a raft of new roles with a significantly reduced workforce.

In theory, this should open up more opportunities for freelancers as they offer a far more flexible solution, bringing in high levels of experience without the associated costs of employing staff in full-time roles.

However, the Perfect Storm study found that four in 10 (42%) freelancers believe there has been less agency work available over the past year. In fact, over a third (36%) felt that 2025 had been a more difficult year work-wise than 2024, whilst a quarter (24%) said it had been better than the previous year.

Many felt the fact that some agencies were struggling was having a knock-on impact on their own fortunes. Three-fifths (62%) felt many agencies were working with tighter budgets, while 38% said they thought agencies had reduced levels of work overall.

However, other solo-workers felt agency struggles presented their own opportunity. One in three (33%) felt that agencies were relying more on freelancers to plug gaps, where they previously would have recruited permanent members to the team. Positively, three quarters (76%) said they were working the same or more hours than in 2024 and only one in six (16%) had concerns about their 2026 new business pipeline.

Even so, more hours wasn’t necessarily leading to higher rates of income. A worryingly high 82% said day rates had plateaued or reduced in 2025 compared to 2024. In addition, getting invoices paid on time was ranked the fourth hardest thing about being a freelancer, whilst clients wanting to underpay for experience concerned one in five (20%).

The report also highlighted issues around trust. One in two freelancers (45%) said they were more frequently being asked to provide proposals and quotes which went nowhere. A unanimous 100% of respondents said ghosting was either at the same level or worse than in 2024. One in eight (13%) said theft of ideas was also an increasing issue, and one in four (25%) felt confusing and incomplete briefs were becoming more commonplace – with some suggesting this could be down to a level of over-reliance on AI. Only one in 10 (11%) felt there had been an improvement in understanding of how the freelance-agency relationship should work.

The study was commissioned to coincide with Perfect Storm’s 10th anniversary. Co-founder Dave Nutter said: “Expert freelancers are the lifeblood of our agency – when we launched a decade ago we were unique in using an in-house team of senior producers and directors and then hand-picking highly qualified specialist freelancers to assist with specific briefs.

“In this world of tighter budgets, specialist freelancers aren’t a luxury, they’re how you stay sharp. But our research shows that many agencies aren’t working with freelancers in such a way as to get the best out of them, which is frustrating not only for the freelancer themselves, but also in terms of the quality of work produced for clients.”

When questioning freelancers about what reasons they would give to recommend the self-employed route to someone, flexibility came out loud and clear. Choice around when and where they work, who they work with, and their own rate of pay were the most popular reasons given.

On the other hand, the hardest things about freelancing centred around three main themes – a lack of financial security, concerns about securing new business and loneliness. Interestingly one in seven (15%) are considering making the switch to look for a permanent role.

Fellow Perfect Storm co-founder Adam Errington commented: “Agencies should be playing a role in alleviating some of the key concerns for freelancers – through fair pay (paid on time), clear, open and respectful communication, and by giving people the opportunity to work as part of a team.

“Trust is being eroded by increased ghosting, speculative work and even theft of ideas – and even though I suspect many agencies are experiencing more of these themselves, there’s no excuse for passing those burdens on.

“Having full time specialist resource in-house is expensive so finding, harnessing and utilising the best talent possible creates a competitive advantage and top quality work. Plugging gaps with inexperienced juniors or AI is risky. But the best freelancers can pick and choose the work they take on – so for those agencies who don’t look after their partnership network, it will leave them vulnerable when they do need specialist support.”

Call to protect freelancers, ‘the lifeblood of the industry’

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