Key stat: Creative quality is the top reason North American marketers pass on a new agency, cited by 55% of respondents, nearly 7 points ahead of category experience (48%), according to a December survey from RSW/US.

Beyond the chart:

• The creative quality bar isn't static, either. Some 73.2% of US marketers say data analysis and insights will be critical to the next phase of creative evolution, per TripleLift/EMARKETER.
• Meanwhile, agencies that fail to clear the creative bar face a direct threat from automation. Some 83% of marketing leaders say they would reduce agency spending if they could fully automate content creation, per Typeface.

Use this chart: Drop this in your next agency review or pitch debrief to show leadership where evaluations actually break down. Use the ranked list to pressure-test your agency's pitch against the top dealbreakers, and show your procurement or marketing ops team which criteria belong at the top of your scorecard.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• Ad Agency Trends 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• Digital Advertising Trends to Watch in 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the January 2026 RSW/US "2026 New Year Outlook Report." Over 5,000 senior-level marketers, marketing agency executives, and professional services firm leaders in North America were surveyed during November and December 2025. Respondents represented a wide range of disciplines, including full-service agencies, digital specialists, PR firms, marketing consultancies, and professional advisory organizations. The marketer sample was drawn from the RSW/AgencySearch database of over 20,000 marketing decision-makers representing companies of varying sizes, industries, and geographic locations.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.