March 10, 2026 — Foxwell Digital announced the release of the Foxwell Founders Releases 2026 State of Digital Marketing Agencies Report, a comprehensive survey-based analysis produced in partnership with Motion and drawn from hundreds of agency founders and executives in the Foxwell Founders community spanning more than 30 countries.
The report benchmarks challenges in the digital marketing agency landscape, where community members manage over $1 billion in monthly ad spend, including $500 million on Meta. It highlights AI as the predominant concern amid economic shifts, platform changes, and client demands, providing objective insights for agency leaders.
Key Findings from the Report
According to the Foxwell Founders Releases 2026 State of Digital Marketing Agencies Report, 30% of respondents identified AI as the biggest business threat over the next 12-24 months, surpassing client churn and platform volatility. In-housing remains a key issue, with 29% citing it as the primary reason for client loss.
Additionally, 50% of agencies plan to conduct lift tests for clients in 2026 to demonstrate incrementality, while 45% report ad creative production as their greatest challenge despite advancing AI tools.
“Between COVID, the rise of AI, and massive economic shifts, agencies have had very little access to reliable benchmarking data in recent years,” said Andrew Foxwell, co-founder of Foxwell Digital.
Strategic Takeaways
In a LinkedIn post, Andrew Foxwell outlined six critical insights from the Foxwell Founders Releases 2026 State of Digital Marketing Agencies Report, including AI as both threat and opportunity, the shift toward strategy ownership over media execution, and the rise of vertical specialization. He emphasized productizing AI services and holistic measurement as essential for growth.
Motion’s Head of Content, James Mulvey, noted:
“In the next few months, the best agencies will crystallize where exactly AI can help them in the creative strategy process… The best agencies have realized that the bigger utility of AI is in the research and creative analysis phases of their workflows.”
Industry Coverage
The Foxwell Founders Releases 2026 State of Digital Marketing Agencies Report has garnered attention, with Performance Marketing World highlighting AI’s mixed results in ad production, and ALM Corp recapping implications for 2026 strategies. Coverage notes agencies’ best use of AI for analysis rather than full generation.
No significant mentions appeared on X (formerly Twitter) as of March 13, amid broader discussions on 2026 marketing trends.