Screenvision Media

Majority of Independent Agency Owners Want to Sell

Evros Group’s 2026 M&A Sentiment Survey, published as an exclusive through ADWEEK’s new Dealroom vertical on July 23, 2026, finds that more than half of independent agency owners are interested in selling their businesses. The survey compared answers from three groups — independent agency owners, holding company and PE-backed buyers, and financial investors in marketing services — to evaluate dealmaking sentiment across the marketing economy. ADWEEK describes the findings as indicating a market with greater appetite for transactions than has been seen in recent years.

Adweek and Evros Group Publish 2026 M&A Sentiment Report

ADWEEK has launched Dealroom, a dedicated hub for coverage of M&A, investment, and dealmaking across the marketing economy, in partnership with Evros Group. The launch is accompanied by an inaugural 2026 M&A Sentiment Report from Evros Group, which surveys independent agency founders/operators, strategic and PE-backed buyers, and financial investors to capture market sentiment before deals are announced. Evros Group is described as an M&A advisory firm with more than 20 completed deals and over $2 billion in enterprise value represented. The report finds heightened acquisition appetite across the market but identifies a standoff that is preventing much of that appetite from converting into closed transactions. ADWEEK subscribers are directed to the full report link on the site.

Stop Forcing Marketing Into False Binaries

At Cannes Lions 2026, Jill Kramer, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard, tells Adweek's Marketing Vanguard that marketing often traps itself in false binaries—AI vs. creativity, brand vs. performance, strategy vs. execution. Kramer argues the strongest work lives in the gray area where creativity, emotion, accountability and business outcomes intersect. She says AI should sharpen creative focus rather than replace human craft, and that modern CMOs must be able to maintain a high-level view while also getting close to execution. The conversation was recorded live at Cannes Lions 2026 as part of Adweek's vidcast series and presented in partnership with Edelman.