Survey of 1,000 Marketers and Executives: Agencies and Consultants Expected to Provide 'Strategic and Decision-Making Support' Beyond 'Execution Support'

I-Bridge Corporation, through its self-service survey tool 'Freeasy', utilized its panel of approximately 13 million members to conduct a survey on April 27, 2026, targeting marketing managers, executives, and business leaders at corporations. The survey, titled 'Survey on the Usage of Advertising Agencies and Consultants: From Execution Support to Strategic and Decision-Making Support', aimed to clarify the reality of agency/consultant usage and the value truly sought by business clients. In recent years, as marketing operations within companies have become more sophisticated and internalized, the role of advertising agencies and consulting firms is said to be shifting from 'execution support' to 'strategic and decision-making support'. The survey results showed that 'continuous contracts (retainer type)' were the most common at 40%. Regarding elements sought in the future, 'execution capability (driving initiatives)', 'data analysis/survey design capability', and 'cost transparency/fairness' were all equally valued at around 32%. The ideal image of an agency or consultant is a growth partner that delivers results through expertise and trust while being closely aligned with the business. Freeasy is a low-cost, easy-to-use, and fast self-service survey tool that has been adopted by over 4,000 companies.