Observed Signal · Sep 3, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: Hello Partner · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Positive
PI LIVE and AAB Launch Agency Ecosystem Map
PI LIVE Europe and the Agency Advisory Board (AAB) have launched the Agency Ecosystem Map, a free directory designed to help brands discover and evaluate agencies. The resource categorizes agencies by specialism, sector, trade body membership, award wins, and engagement thresholds. The initial release features 51 agencies across 14 sectors and covers regions including the UK & Ireland, North America, Europe, and APAC. Specialisms represented include influencer marketing, affiliate and partnership marketing, performance media, SEO, GEO/AEO, and retail media. The directory also highlights trade body memberships and participation in PI LIVE events. Industry figures from Hello Partner, Gen3 Marketing, and Growth HQ support the initiative, noting the need for transparency in the fragmented agency landscape. The map is set to be expanded quarterly, with agencies able to register for inclusion.
Launch of a free industry directory for agency discovery; relevant to marketing ecosystem but not a major transformative event.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- PI LIVE Europe and the Agency Advisory Board (AAB) launched the Agency Ecosystem Map on September 3, 2026.
- The free directory features 51 agencies categorized by specialism, sector, and trade body membership.
- The ecosystem covers regions including UK & Ireland, North America, Europe, and APAC.
- Specialisms include influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, performance media, SEO, GEO/AEO, and retail media.
- The map is designed to be expanded quarterly, with agencies able to register for inclusion.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mapped“Listed as a larger agency player in the ecosystem...”
“Listed as a larger agency player in the ecosystem...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Brands Navigating a Vast Agency Ecosystem
Brands face an expanding and diverse agency market and must balance fit, scalability and relationship quality when selecting partners. Data from Agency by Agency shows the UK agency sector has nearly doubled in ten years. Three consultants — Sophie Verachten, Luke Fleming and Rachel Said — identify core issues: finding agencies that truly understand brand positioning and can scale with channels; overcoming distrust after poor agency experiences and avoiding siloed delivery; and choosing value and compliance over lowest price in affiliate and partnerships. To help matchmaking, PI LIVE Europe and the Agency Advisory Board are building a free Agency Ecosystem Map directory, updated biannually, that will list agencies’ service types, territories, specialisms and accolades.
PI LIVE BuildLab Launches to Build Next‑Gen Partnership Tools
Hello Partner's newsletter announces the launch of PI LIVE BuildLab, an initiative at PI LIVE Europe this September aimed at architecting next‑generation partnership tools. Impact.com is announced as a supporter of the first edition. The newsletter also highlights industry stories including new research showing LLM chatbots struggle to find discounts, VideoAmp cutting 20% of its workforce amid an AI push (including the CTO role), and PubMatic rolling out a 'guardrail architecture' for agentic advertising. The edition includes a limited‑time Boutique Agency Pass offer for PI LIVE and practical advice for affiliate managers.
IAB Tech Lab Launches Comprehensive Agent Registry for AdTech
IAB Tech Lab announced the launch of its Agent Registry as part of the Tools Portal to catalog and validate Agentic Advertising agents built under the AAMP initiative. The registry lets companies register MCP and A2A agents, assign Tech Lab–defined categories (e.g., DSP, Identity Resolution, Measurement & Attribution, CDP, Consent Management), describe agent capabilities and maturity, and link each entry to the company's GPP ID and IAB TCF GVL IDs for validation. The Tools Portal (free to register) offers a UI and a documented REST API, and the registry itself runs as an MCP server so other agents can query it. Early supporters named include Equativ and PubMatic. IAB Tech Lab noted additional features (ratings, geo flags, private tenants, seller verification, update flows) are planned in coming weeks.
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