The idea of agencies selling subscriptions instead of billable hours has kicked up significant debate over the past week. It started when S4 Capital’s Monks told me it expects roughly a quarter of its revenue to come from subscriptions by year end. Cue the hot takes that are nearly unanimous in one verdict: subscriptions aren’t the answer to the pricing problem facing agencies in a world of automated advertising.
That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be tested, though. If nothing else, they could be a useful stop gap on the road to the real holy grail: outcome-based pay.
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