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The strategy paradox: agency strategy is sidelined while client demand for strategic guidance is high new study reveals

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WARC

WARC releases The Future of Strategy 2025, a worldwide survey-led report with insights from more than more than 1,000 marketing strategists

06 October 2025 – Strategy is at a crossroads, according to 80% of strategists worldwide, and all too often is treated as expendable. Yet in a world characterised by uncertainty and volatility, client demand for clear strategic guidance is high. These are key findings included in The Future of Strategy 2025, released by WARC, the global authority of marketing effectiveness.

The annual WARC study highlights key challenges facing agency-side strategists and outlines ways to reignite the discipline, pivotal to the marketing ecosystem.

The research is based on a global survey with 1,127 strategists worldwide fielded in August 2025, the majority of which are agency-side, and discussions with leading strategists from around the world.

Lena Roland, Content Director, WARC Strategy says: “Our annual Future of Strategy report acts as a temperature check for how strategists are feeling about the state of the discipline. It explores the challenges in agency strategy, and the rise of independent strategists. It looks at the impact of AI and the importance of human-led research.

“This year’s survey makes for stark reading. It found agency-side strategists feel their discipline is at a crossroads and all too often is treated as expendable. Agency-side strategy needs to rebrand, focusing on helping clients identify where and how to grow.”

The key challenges and opportunities for strategists outlined in the report are:

The strategy paradox: 80% of strategists say the discipline is at crossroads, 62% say strategy is treated as expendable, yet client demand for strategy is high

Most strategists around the world (80%) believe strategy is at crossroads and must adapt to remain relevant; 62% of survey respondents believe strategy is treated as expendable when there are budget constraints.

Yet in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, brands need clear strategic thinking and solutions. However, with headcount in decline (only 31% of respondents expect strategy headcount to grow in the next 12 months versus 47% in 2024), agency strategy is struggling at a time when strategists are needed.

Tom Morton, Founder of strategy consultancy Narratory Capital, says: “The economic housing of strategy is coming apart, which is strange because the demand for it is as high as ever.”

Ellie Bamford, Chief Strategy Officer, VML North America, observes: “We’ve become risk averse, and our clients have become risk averse… We are hiding behind mountains of data and research, and we’re not coming out strongly enough with our point of view. And that’s diminishing our value.”

More strategists across the board – junior, mid and senior – say they see their next role as client-side rather than in an agency. And 24% of the most experienced strategists think their next role will be in a consultancy.

Strategists are split on AI’s impact

Strategists are unclear on AI’s long-term impact on their roles. Nearly half (46%) disagree that AI will erode their value in the future, however more strategists agree (37%) than disagree (34%) that AI will learn one of the most valuable skills – the ability to take strategic leaps.

Strategists who know how to use AI effectively, who can adapt it to enhance their thinking and strategic output are more likely to thrive.

The biggest change strategists saw in their role over the past year was the increased use of AI tools (76%). This was especially pronounced in North America (85%) vs. Asia (74%) and Europe (69%).

Oliver Feldwick, Chief Innovation Officer, T&P, says: “The challenge for strategists is not to resist AI, nor to blindly embrace it, but to partner with it. This is not about abdicating our role. It’s about evolving it. Reclaiming strategy from the grind and rediscovering the joy of thought”

Strategists are using AI to streamline time-consuming tasks like conducting competitor analysis (66%), speeding up brief development (51%) and gaining deeper / faster cultural insights (42%).

tic data in research has increased (38% this year, up from 32% in 2024) opening up more potential routes to insight. However, human-led research is the antidote to ‘average’. Strategists say the biggest limitations of AI are lack of originality (61%) and lack of cultural nuance and emotional resonance (60%). In the age of AI, strategists have a key role to play in being guardians of reality, and rooting ideas in the ‘real’.

Strategy beyond frameworks

Agencies need to encourage more imaginative and disruptive thinking. This might mean fewer frameworks, and more lateral leaps; breaking category norms and finding a brand’s asymmetric advantage.

Joseph Burns, Strategy Lead, Quality Meats Creative, says: “Strategy regains relevance when it stops polishing symmetry and starts opening up advantages: gaps in understanding (insights no one has), in access (places others can’t go), and in timing (moves others can’t match).”

Steve Walls, Planner, Moon Rabbit, added: “Planning needs to stop trying to be right and start trying to be useful. It needs to take leaps of faith and to convince others to follow it into the unknowable. Strategy should be infused with empathy, imagination, ambition and truth.”

Rebrand agency strategy as a growth partner for clients

Agency-side strategy needs to rebrand, according to the survey, to focus on helping clients identify where and how to grow. In a complex world, strategists add value by simplifying the chaos, and in the AI age, human skills like empathy are elevated.

Tomas Gonsorcik, Global Chief Strategy Officer, BBH, says: “We have to rebrand strategy – not as a back-office function, not as a luxury, but as a service: clear, accountable, and indispensable,” adding, “Strategy should operate as a standalone service inside the agency. Its primary customers are creatives and CMOs, and its purpose is to deliver growth clarity, not just decks.”

The most significant opportunities for strategists relate to helping clients navigate volatility and complexity in their categories (52%) and in the media landscape (45%).

The Future of Strategy 2025 report, which includes quantitative and qualitative data analysis, expert commentary and advice from leading strategists, is available to WARC subscribers. Three Future of Strategy podcasts will be available to tune into on 7, 8 and 9 October.

 

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Liberia to Preview Next Oil & Gas Licensing Round Strategy at Houston Investor Day

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The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority will host operators, investors and partners in Houston on August 19 to preview future licensing opportunities and showcase the exploration potential of its offshore basins

HOUSTON, United States of America, August 7, 2026/APO Group/ –The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) will present its strategy for the country’s next offshore licensing round at Liberia Investor Day Houston on August 19, bringing together international exploration companies, investors, service providers and energy leaders to discuss the next phase of Liberia’s upstream development.

Hosted in partnership with Energy Capital & Power, the event will provide a platform for the LPRA, led by Director General Hon. Marilyn T. Logan, to outline Liberia’s regulatory framework, investment priorities and plans to attract new participation across the country’s offshore sector. Discussions will focus on upcoming licensing opportunities, exploration prospects and the subsurface data supporting future investment decisions.

Liberia’s offshore sector is entering a new phase of exploration activity, with renewed international participation and a growing pipeline of opportunities. Following the award and ratification of eight Production Sharing Contracts in 2025, Liberia has re-established itself as a frontier exploration destination, with international operators advancing work programs designed to further evaluate the country’s petroleum potential. TotalEnergies is progressing exploration activities that include offshore geochemical surveys, 3D seismic acquisition and seabed mapping, while Oranto Petroleum has also signed contracts to explore Liberia’s offshore.

At the Liberia Investor Day Houston, the LPRA will provide industry stakeholders with insight into the priorities shaping the next licensing round, including the anticipated process, qualification requirements, available acreage and access to technical data. The engagement will give prospective investors a clearer view of Liberia’s exploration landscape and the opportunities emerging across its offshore basins.

The event will also facilitate direct dialogue between LPRA and the global upstream community, connecting companies with policymakers and industry stakeholders involved in shaping Liberia’s next chapter of petroleum development.

As exploration companies continue to seek new frontier opportunities, Liberia Investor Day Houston will highlight the role of regulatory certainty, data availability and strategic partnerships in unlocking long-term investment across Liberia’s offshore sector.

Registration is now open for attendees. Companies interested in Liberia’s emerging offshore opportunities are invited to join LPRA, investors and upstream leaders in Houston for insights into the country’s licensing strategy and exploration outlook. For more information contact info@energycapitalpower.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

 

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Beyond Stabroek: Guyana’s Offshore Basin Attracts New Wave of Exploration Investment

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Etu Energias

As ExxonMobil advances appraisal activity in Stabroek and new operators target frontier acreage, Guyana is attracting global capital and building a diversified offshore portfolio designed to sustain long-term growth

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, August 7, 2026/APO Group/ –Guyana’s transformation into one of the world’s fastest-growing oil producers is entering a new phase, with a growing network of IOCs expanding exploration activity across the country’s offshore basin. Beyond the landmark discoveries that first put Guyana on the global energy map, new drilling campaigns and licensing partnerships are creating a broader exploration ecosystem designed to support long-term production growth.

At the center of this momentum is ExxonMobil’s continued exploration and appraisal activity in the prolific Stabroek Block. The company has submitted a proposal for a 35-well exploration and appraisal drilling campaign, expected to run from 2028 through 2033, pending regulatory approval. The program would build on more than 30 commercial discoveries already made in the block, with drilling activity focused on evaluating new prospects and appraising existing discoveries to support future development opportunities.

Exploration activity is also extending into Guyana’s frontier acreage, with ExxonMobil advancing drilling operations at the deepwater Canje Block. The company has deployed the Noble Stena Carron drillship for exploration activity, highlighting continued industry interest in evaluating Guyana’s underexplored offshore potential beyond the established Stabroek Block.

Guyana’s strong exploration outlook comes as the country’s economy continues to benefit from rapid oil sector expansion, with hydrocarbons expected to remain a key driver of exports, government revenues and economic growth. As production scales up, attracting additional investment across exploration, services and infrastructure will be critical to supporting the next phase of development.

That momentum is being reinforced through partnerships established under Guyana’s 2023 offshore licensing round. A consortium comprising TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy and Petronas is advancing exploration activities in Block S4 under a five-year production sharing agreement signed with the government in late 2025. The award represents one of the first major outcomes of the licensing round and demonstrates continued international confidence in Guyana’s offshore resource potential.

Beyond the largest operators, a diverse group of companies is also expanding activity across Guyana’s offshore basin. Eco Atlantic is advancing exploration at the Orinduik Block; CGX Energy and Frontera Energy are progressing work in the Corentyne Block; Occidental is evaluating opportunities in the Roraima Block; while Ratio Guyana and Cataleya Energy hold interests in the Kaieteur Block. Together, these partnerships are broadening Guyana’s exploration landscape, increasing competition for acreage and creating opportunities for future discoveries.

As Guyana transitions from an emerging producer to a global energy hub, the next challenge will be converting exploration success into sustainable investment, local value creation and regional growth. These opportunities will be explored at Caribbean Energy Week 2027, held under the theme “Unlocking the Caribbean Energy Corridor: Oil, Gas, LNG & Investment for a New Global Hub.” Bringing together governments, IOCs, investors and technology providers, the event will examine how Guyana’s expanding partnerships can accelerate offshore development, strengthen regional energy cooperation and attract the capital needed to support the Caribbean’s evolving energy landscape.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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Energy Capital & Power Establishes London Entity, Expanding Global Platform for Energy and Mining Events

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Energy

The move strengthens ECP’s presence in the UK and Europe, and its ability to connect African and South American markets with global investors

LONDON, United Kingdom, August 6, 2026/APO Group/ –International events company Energy Capital & Power (ECP) (www.EnergyCapitalPower.com) has officially established its UK entity in London, marking a milestone in the company’s growth strategy and reinforcing its ability to deliver world-class energy and mining events and campaigns in the UK and Europe.

By establishing a presence in a key hub like London – the pre-eminent energy and mining finance center – ECP actively shapes the global energy conversation. The expansion positions ECP to better serve clients, partners and investors seeking to develop business opportunities between Africa, Europe, the Americas and energy markets worldwide.

Opening our UK company brings ECP closer to key investors in the global energy finance capital

The milestone comes as ECP strengthens its reach through a series of investment platforms that connect global capital to energy and mining projects. These include the Venezuela Energy Week London Showcase on July 30 – with over 300 delegates registered – and the annual Invest in African Energy Forum, held in Paris as the premier event connecting global investors to Africa’s energy transformation.

ECP hosts high level summits and investor conferences in leading energy and minerals producing countries in Africa and South America, including: Venezuela Energy Week; Angola Oil & Gas; MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power; African Mining Week; Libya Energy & Economic Summit; Congo Energy & Investment Forum; South Sudan Oil & Power; and Caribbean Energy Week. The company has hosted investor forums and supported licensing round roadshows in Houston, London and Paris since 2016.

“Opening our UK company brings ECP closer to key investors in the global energy finance capital,” states CEO James Chester. “Having a permanent presence in London further cements our footprint in Europe, enabling us to fulfil our mission to bring minerals and energy investment to diverse global markets.”

With teams located across Africa, Europe and the Americas, ECP has long-facilitated strategic engagement, market intelligence and industry convening, uniting investors with leading energy and mining projects.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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