As board scrutiny intensifies and investor activism increases, agency conversations with senior executives are shifting away from creative output and toward measurable business impact. Today’s C-suite isn’t just asking what marketing will do for their organizations but what it will prove, how it mitigates risk and whether it strengthens long-term enterprise value.
Here, 15 members of Forbes Agency Council share how these pressures are affecting their client relationships and the conversations they’re having with executives. Their insights below affirm that the ability to connect strategy to financial outcomes is a key differentiator in this climate.
1. Focus On Business Value And Sustainable Models
It has shifted the conversation from marketing activity to business value and sustainable business models. With greater board and investor scrutiny, executives want clearer links between spend, growth, efficiency, risk, reputation and the economics of a distinct business unit, including client acquisition costs. Agencies are now expected to bring ideas and judgment that hold up in a boardroom. – Oksana Matviichuk, OM Strategic Forecasting
2. Balance Bold Creativity With Boardroom Risk Sensitivity
Twenty-five years ago, when starting my agency, we would push the boundaries that helped put brands on the map. Today, many bigger companies don’t have the luxury of cutting through the noise with controversial creative PR and digital advertising ideas, as they are too concerned about what their board may think. However, the same rules apply—you need to cut through ideas to break through. – Adrian Falk, Believe Advertising & PR
3. Optimize Brand Presence Across AI-Driven Platforms
The conversation has shifted dramatically. Proving communication works now means showing how you’re shaping what AI says about your client. People overwhelmingly trust AI outputs, and boards are realizing that if the AI narrative is wrong, earned media is not all that fixes it. We’re helping clients measure and optimize how they show up across AI systems. This is the new front line in strategic PR. – Elizabeth Edwards, Volume Public Relations
4. Tie PR Efforts Directly To Revenue And Bookings
We work in travel and tourism PR, and we are finding that more luxury hotels are owned by private equity, for example—numbers-driven owners. So we are having more conversations about ROI and how PR can drive bookings and revenue, not just good press. In some cases, we are actually an extension of the hotel’s sales team, which is brilliant when it works! – Laura Davidson, Laura Davidson Public Relations
5. Align Executive Authority With Enterprise Strategy
Board scrutiny has shifted conversations beyond campaign ROI to executive credibility itself. Senior teams now ask whether leadership narrative, digital footprint and market positioning reinforce investor confidence or introduce doubt. We spend more time aligning executive authority with enterprise strategy, not just brand messaging. – Fernando Beltran, Identika LLC
6. Reframe Investor Activism As Strategic Insight
Remind clients that not all activism is “bad.” Clients view investor activism as something to avoid, but the reality is that activist investors are not going to walk away, and some have legitimate concerns regarding board independence and conflicts, operational efficiencies, growth strategy and so on. Listen, and try to find a mutually beneficial path forward that will benefit the company in the long run. – Scott Powell, Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC
7. Demonstrate PR’s Impact On Bottom-Line Growth
Education plays a huge role in our conversations—giving our insights not only into the ins and outs of PR and what it takes to see momentum turn into impact but also into how we’re improving their bottom line. It’s our job as professionals to demonstrate our value at every step of the PR process, whether it be reporting on media placement, referral traffic or increased reporter inbound requests. – Heather Kelly, Next PR
8. Align Cross-Functional Teams Around Unified Strategy
We stress the importance of team alignment. Marketing now involves compliance, IT, finance and, in pharma, medical teams. Without alignment, companies face errors, rework, delays, missed opportunities and inflated costs. Bringing teams together under unified strategies, operations and tech stacks helps them compete more effectively. – Nataliya Andreychuk, Viseven
9. Start With Measurement Architecture, Not Messaging
The conversation has shifted from “what should we say?” to “what can we prove?” Boards want evidence, not narrative. That’s actually good news for marketing—but only if you’ve built the systems to connect activity to outcomes. We now start every senior engagement with measurement architecture, not messaging. – Matt Wilkinson, Strivenn
10. Align Audience Strategy To Revenue And Risk Mitigation
Investor pressure has elevated marketing discussions to the balance sheet. In accordance with this shift, we’ve aligned audience strategy directly to growth, risk mitigation and performance. As the tone has changed, it’s no longer, “How many leads?” but, “What’s the revenue impact—and how certain are we about the data?” – Paula Chiocchi, Outward Media, Inc.
11. Keep Strategy Grounded In Shareholder Value
It is now, and has always been, about the fiduciary responsibility of the board and CEO to shareholders. Anything can be politicized, from DEI to sustainability. At the end of the day, the question is clear: Are you leaving money on the table and not future-proofing your business because you’re too caught up in the political landscape and don’t know how to shift the conversation? – Oswald Mendez
12. Translate Marketing Performance Into Revenue Impact
Senior leaders increasingly expect agencies to translate conversions into revenue impact and report clearly on ROI, not simply traffic or rankings. Board-level scrutiny has pushed marketing conversations toward commercial accountability and measurable value. There is also growing interest in how AI is reshaping search visibility and the long-term resilience of digital channels. – Jade Bartholomew, Sierra Six Media Limited
13. Prepare To Defend Strategy In The Boardroom
Our long-standing work with charitable and not-for-profit organizations has taught us that the board is a strategic partner. Board participation is a standard of practice, ensuring that marketing strategies are mission-critical KPIs and long-term governance. Senior executives need an agency that can walk into a boardroom and defend a budget through the lens of stakeholder accountability. – Lisa Montenegro, Digital Marketing Experts – DMX Marketing
14. Shift From Awareness To Defensibility Of Activity
It has shifted the conversation from activity to defensibility. Senior leaders now want proof that spend supports revenue resilience, trust and risk reduction—not just awareness. We get more questions about attribution, downside exposure, channel dependence and whether our work strengthens long-term authority in AI- and search-driven discovery. – Boris Dzhingarov, ESBO Ltd
15. Focus On Message Discipline And Crisis Readiness
Board scrutiny has shifted conversations from “how do we get coverage?” to “how does this protect valuation?” Senior leaders want proof that brand narrative aligns with financial performance, governance and risk. We’re talking more about message discipline, digital footprints and crisis readiness. PR is no longer exposure. It’s risk management and enterprise value strategy. – Bryanne DeGoede, BLND Public Relation
