PEONY Talent has released new research examining how advertising agency employees perceive the strength of core human values across their own agencies, client relationships and the industry as a whole.
The study, “Human Values in Advertising: Industry Pulse Survey,” was conducted in partnership with Enact Insights and Simple Opinions and surveyed more than 300 agency professionals globally. It looks at 10 core human values, including creativity, curiosity, boldness, adaptability, accountability, compassion, loyalty and security, offering a new lens into how agency employees are experiencing the industry from the inside.
Key Findings for Agency Leaders
The findings point to a clear divide between what the industry continues to do well and where it is under strain. Employees report strong confidence in advertising’s craft values, including creativity, curiosity, boldness and adaptability. But values tied to conscience and care, including security, loyalty and compassion, rank much lower.
In short: agency professionals remain confident in what they can produce, but less confident in how it feels to work within the industry.
- #1 A wide gap between creativity and security. Across agency ownership models, confidence in creative capability remains strong. But employees’ sense of security, including confidence in their role, support from colleagues and stability in their future, varies significantly. Independent agency employees report stronger feelings of security, while holding company employees report a sharper drop. The research suggests that security should not be treated only as a workplace or HR issue. It is also a creative issue. People are more likely to take risks, experiment and contribute bold ideas when they feel supported enough to do so.
- #2 Accountability is fractured. Employees report stronger confidence in accountability inside their own agencies, but that confidence declines when client relationships and the broader industry are factored in. The finding points to a need for clearer expectations, shared ownership and healthier boundaries between agencies and clients.
- #3 Compassion emerged as the lowest-rated human value in the study. According to the research, nearly half of agency employees feel the industry falls short in demonstrating care. Open-ended responses suggest that compassion is not dismissed by employees, but often gets deprioritized under pressure. Rather than calling for more symbolic culture efforts, respondents pointed to more structural needs: better pace, greater transparency, more realistic expectations and shared responsibility.
Led by founder Mandana Mellano, PEONY Talent designed the research as a diagnostic tool for agency leaders, not a scorecard. The goal is to help leaders identify where their organizations are strong in craft but weaker in care, where accountability breaks down under pressure, and whether employees feel secure enough to do their best work.
The full infographic for the “Human Values in Advertising: Industry Pulse Survey” is available through PEONY Talent here: https://www.peonytalent.com/s-projects-side-by-side
