Marketing Consulting Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 47,000 marketing consulting services in the US provide advice and assistance on marketing related issues. Services include marketing strategy and market development consulting and implementation; sales management and development consulting and implementation; and strategic management consulting and implementation. Most marketing consulting firms are small, independent operators.
Variable Demand
Demand for marketing consulting services can vary depending on client needs.
Increasingly Complex Environment
Shifting demographics and the advent of digital technology have fundamentally changed the discipline of marketing and created a more complex and fragmented environment for clients and consultants.
Industry size & Structure
The average marketing consulting firm operates out of a single location, employs fewer than 5 workers, and generates about $914,000 annually.
- The marketing consulting services industry consists of about 47,000 firms that employ 326,000 workers and generate about $43 billion annually.
- The industry is fragmented; the top 50 companies account for about 24% of industry revenue.
- Large management consulting firms that provide marketing consulting services include Bain, Boston Consulting Group, and McKinsey. ZS Associates is a management consulting firm that specializes in sales and marketing. Most marketing consulting firms are small, independent operators.
Industry Forecast
Marketing Consulting Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Feb 12, 2025 - Tariffs Could Threaten Online Ad Revenue
- The Trump administration’s 10% tariffs on goods from China, as well as threatened 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada, could have a detrimental effect on online and traditional advertising spending. Chinese e-commerce companies such as Temu and Schein have spent enormous sums to market their low-cost consumer goods on digital platforms of Meta and Alphabet. (Per The Wall Street Journal, Temu spent $20 million on Meta ads in 2023.) If they were to cut online ad spending even modestly it would significantly depress ad revenue at big social media companies. The auto manufacturing industry stands to be one of the most negatively affected by tariffs, which could increase the price of new cars by $3,000. If auto makers begin accruing big losses, marketing budgets will likely be one of the first things slashed to compensate.
- Influencer marketing is an increasingly critical and lucrative business for the industry. Research company eMarketer predicts a 14% increase in spending on influencers in 2025. Influencer marketing is a method by which popular social media figures promote brands in posts and receive a commission when their followers make purchases. The ability by advertisers to better track the effectiveness of influencers, which until recently had been vague and difficult to track, is leading to a boon of investment in the marketing niche. MyShop, an influencer marketing technology company, has raised millions of dollars in venture-capital funding and is now valued at $410 million - up from $80 million in early 2024. Spending on influencer marketing is expected to be more than on standard social media and digital marketing, per eMarketer.
- In December, advertising firm Omnicom announced it would acquire rival Interpublic Group in an all-stock deal that will create the world’s largest advertising company. The two firms had a combined 2023 revenue of $25.6 billion. Omnicom said the merger will create a company providing end-to-end services across media, marketing, CRM, data, digital commerce, advertising, public relations, and branding. The deal comes as tech firms, including Google and Meta, gain larger shares of the ad market and as big tech’s generative AI efforts are expected to further encroach on traditional ad players’ creative development space. Once the deal is complete, Omnicom shareholders will hold a 60.6% stake in the combined company, and Interpublic shareholders will own 39.4%. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, and the combined company will retain the Omnicom name.
- US net media owner advertising revenues rose by 12.4% to $380.2 billion in 2024 as cyclical events, including the Summer Olympics and the presidential election, pushed ad spending higher, according to advertising firm MAGNA. Growth in 2024 was driven by a 15.4% rise in pure-play digital ad spending, generating revenue of $271.8 billion. Traditional media owner ad revenue rose 5.6% to $108.4 billion. In 2024, the strongest ad verticals included automotive (16% revenue growth over 2023), finance and insurance (+15%), and food and beverage (+12%). The technology vertical saw weak spending in the first half of 2024 but accelerated in the second half as tech firms spent heavily promoting their AI-enhanced products. Absent the significant cyclical events that juiced ad spending in 2024, US net media owner advertising revenue growth in 2025 is expected to slow to 4.9%.
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