Blog series - In the age of AI, agencies must become true strategic partners. (2/5)

One of the four main learnings from the round table is that strong agency relationships are defined by their strategic relevance. This reflects a broader evolution: advertisers increasingly want agency partners who are able to think with them, challenge them and help them shape long-term decisions for brand communication.

From campaign delivery to business partnership

Participants stressed that their most effective agency relationships are long-term partnerships, driven by strategy, rather than transactional collaborations.

This means that agencies are involved in joint business planning, and not only in the production and activation of campaigns. They are encouraged to contribute proactively to the marketing and communication strategy, bring an external perspective and challenge choices when necessary.

This requires the right level of engagement on both sides. Exchanges, still limited in number, between senior decision-makers, such as CEOs, CMOs and agency leadership, can help align strategic priorities and create a stronger shared understanding of the business challenges ahead.

Strategic relevance starts with a deep understanding

For participants, agencies create more value when they have a very good understanding of their clients’ market dynamics, their customer journeys and their acquisition challenges.

Brands expect much more from agencies than a one-size-fits-all approach. They want their agencies to understand the specific context in which they operate and to translate this knowledge into relevant strategic recommendations.

Stable and cross-functional agency teams were also cited as an important factor. When teams remain consistent over time, they preserve brand knowledge, client understanding and market context. In a fast-changing environment, this continuity strengthens the quality of the collaboration.

AI increases the need for transparency

Participants expect agencies to use AI to improve efficiency, but they also want clarity on how tools are used.

This includes transparency on time spent, costs, data, dashboards, AI-supported insights, planning tools and execution platforms. While interest in shared tools or tools proposed by agencies is growing, questions relating to ownership and governance remain open.

For advertisers, transparency is essential to trust. AI can accelerate processes, but the value of the agency relationship still depends on open collaboration, clear responsibilities and honest conversations about how the work is created.

Remuneration models must reflect strategic value

The round table also highlighted that many current remuneration models seem outdated. Participants recognise the key importance of a remuneration model that takes into account strategic thinking, senior expertise and business contribution, rather than mainly rewarding production or media volume.

However, most advertisers still work within existing annual or short-term models and have not yet started more in-depth discussions with their agencies.

This creates an important opportunity. As the value of agencies shifts from execution to strategic relevance, remuneration models will also need to evolve in order to better reflect expertise, partnership quality and shared value creation.

Thank you

We would like to sincerely thank all marketing leaders from brands in Belgium who took part in these roundtables for their time and for sharing their use cases and insights. We also extend our gratitude to Sabine De veilder, observer of the world of brands, for her moderation and her strong contributions to the document. 

This article is part of a series based on roundtable discussions organised by UBA with brand members in Belgium. Held in March 2026, these sessions brought together about a dozen marketing leaders to share concrete experiences, perspectives and views on the evolution of brand–agency collaboration in the age of AI. The discussion took place under the Chatham House Rule to encourage open and constructive exchange.