H1 2026 New Business Market

At the start of the year, the question was whether the market was properly moving again after a difficult 2025. The H1 2026 figures suggest it is. Activity is up significantly. 

Across the total market, completed reviews increased by 49% vs H1 2025, reversing the -28% decline seen this time last year. That is a significant shift and points to a market that is moving again rather than stalling. 

There is some context behind that. We only report on completed reviews, so part of the uplift is likely to reflect processes already underway at the end of last year, with decisions landing in Q1. 

These figures also show volume, not value. More completed reviews do not automatically mean the same increase in revenue moving through the market. 

H1 2025 was also unusually slow. The market picked up in the second half, closing the full year at +15% overall growth, which gives a fairer read on the direction of travel going into 2026. 

So, while H1 2026 looks like a step change, the real question is whether this level of activity continues through the rest of the year – and what is driving it. 

New business activity H1 ’26 vs H1 ‘25

Source: www.aarnewbizmoves.co.uk 
Figures reported are volume of completed reviews only and do not include reviews still in progress. 

Advertising and Integrated Creative

Advertising and Integrated activity is back in growth, up +18% year-on-year after a -23% decline in H1 2025. 

That matters because it remains a useful read on the wider market. When this category moves, the rest of the market often follows. 

We do not always have visibility on the revenue attached to each review, but the data suggests there were fewer major reviews in the first half of 2026. 

Larger appointments included the Crown Commercial Service confirming its agency line-up, Ogilvy expanding its Coca-Cola relationship, and Heineken completing its global media, creative and production review, with Dentsu reappointed for media and wins for Publicis, WPP and Stagwell for production and creative. 

VCCP also had a strong run, winning IKEA after its 16-year relationship with Mother, as well as both the global and UK Just Eat accounts, previously held by McCann London. 

These are not the only examples, but they do show clients making significant decisions about their agency relationships. High-profile accounts are moving, even where (from an outside perspective) the work appeared to be working, as clients look ahead at what they want from their partners of the future. 

Wins are still spread across the market rather than concentrated among a small group of agencies, which reinforces how competitive this space remains. 

The data also suggests a higher proportion of global and more integrated opportunities than in previous years. That raises a question about how evenly this uplift is being felt, particularly for domestic UK creative agencies compared with agencies built to compete globally or across a broader integrated brief. 

So, while there are signs of more opportunity, this is still a difficult market to read. 

CRM/CX

The CRM/CX numbers look dramatic, with activity up +100% year-on-year, but that needs context. It says as much about how quiet last year was, as it does about renewed activity this year. 

The bigger picture has not really changed. CRM/CX is still more likely to come to market as part of a broader integrated or full-funnel brief than as a standalone discipline. 

That is partly because the category is becoming less clearly defined. There is more crossover with media agencies, more in-house capability across customer, data and performance, and more existing agency relationships being extended without a formal review. 

So, while the numbers show more activity, they do not necessarily point to a big rise in standalone CRM/CX opportunities. The better read is that CRM/CX remains important but is increasingly embedded within broader briefs rather than bought as a separate, high-volume category. 

Digital

Digital shows a similar rebound to CRM/CX, with activity up +100% year-on-year. But, as with CRM/CX, that says more about how quiet last year was than a real shift in how clients are buying. 

The bigger pattern is that digital creative is less often bought as a separate category. In most cases, it now sits within a wider brief. 

So, while the figures show more activity, the point remains the same. Digital is still an important part of what clients need, but rarely something taken to market on its own. 

Social Media

Social continues to see strong levels of activity, with reviews up +95% year-on-year, a significant step up from the more modest +5% growth seen in H1 2025. 

This reflects sustained demand from clients who see social as a core part of both brand building and performance, with a noticeable increase in both the volume and visibility of opportunities coming to market. 

However, as with other categories, the nature of what and how clients are buying is evolving. Social is no longer being treated as a standalone specialism in the way it once was. Increasingly, it is expected to connect into broader brand, content and commercial strategies. 

That shift raises the bar. It is not just about depth of channel expertise, but about how effectively agencies can integrate social into a wider system. 

That may also be reflected in the data. In H1 2025, around 10% of social briefs were won by advertising agencies or their social divisions, compared with 19% in H1 2026. This could suggest that clients are placing increasing emphasis on how social connects into a broader, integrated offer, alongside continued investment by advertising agencies in their social capabilities. 

While this remains a clear growth area, the nature of competition continues to evolve, with success increasingly connected to how social is positioned within a wider offer, regardless of what the chosen agency model might be. 

Media

Media has also seen a strong return in activity, up +59% vs H1 2025, reversing the -25% decline seen this time last year. 

That shift points to renewed momentum, but as ever with media, the volume alone only tells part of the story.  

It builds off a low base (H1 2025 saw a noticeable drop in volume) but also size and scale of media new business opportunities. We didn’t see the typical swathe of big global accounts last year, but the trend returned this year with the likes of Adidas, Coca-Cola, Dyson, Estée Lauder, IBM, Netflix and Kenvue (amongst others) reviewing their media arrangements.  

Clients outside the largest global advertisers were also a lot more active than during the same comparative period last year, contributing to the uplift in both volume and value seen in H1 2026.

In addition, the shape of opportunity continues to evolve. Reviews are increasingly influenced by a broader set of considerations including data, technology, measurement, the relationship with creative, and how media connects into wider marketing and business objectives. 

As with other categories, this points to a more integrated view of what is being bought. Media is increasingly being considered as part of a wider ecosystem, which in turn influences both how briefs are structured and how decisions are made. 

So, while activity levels are up, they come alongside a continued shift in expectations – with success dependent not just on capability within media itself, but on how it fits into a broader, more connected offering. 

A closing thought

The market is clearly more active than this time last year. More reviews are completing, and there is more evidence of clients coming to market. Set against a stronger H2 2025, that feels like a continuation of a market that had already started to move again. 

The bigger question is what happens next.  

H1 gives a positive read, but the real test is whether this continues through the second half of the year. 

It is also worth looking beyond completed reviews. Anecdotally, we are hearing more agencies talk about new business conversations starting but not concluding, reviews dragging on, or processes going quiet. That is harder to track in the data, but it matters because it shapes how agencies are experiencing the market.  

Either way, the pattern is clear. Appointments may be up, but the briefs are more complicated, more integrated and more competitive. Success is less about chasing volume and more about agencies being clear on where they can genuinely compete, and how they articulate that in a way that separates them from the competition. 

In a sentence: the market is moving again. The next six months will show whether that movement has real momentum behind it and is here to stay.