{
  "id": 16683907,
  "title": "Agencies don’t have a hiring problem. They have the (EBITDA) multiple problem",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/agencies-dont-have-a-hiring-problem-they-have-the-ebitda-multiple",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-27T01:00:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "e27",
    "slug": "e27",
    "url": "https://e27.co/agencies-dont-have-a-hiring-problem-they-have-the-ebitda-multiple-problem-20261025/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The wire material presents a discussion about the challenges faced by agencies in the current market, focusing on the EBITDA multiple problem rather than a shortage of hiring. Publicis' recent announcement of an AI Development Hub in Singapore, aimed at creating roles instead of removing them, highlights this issue. The article explains that agencies traditionally price based on capacity, with revenue following people and margin measured as EBITDA. When clients cut back on media budgets, agencies need to find new revenue streams, which is where AI-native martech comes in. Private AI companies are valued at a much higher EBITDA multiple (27.1x) compared to public SaaS (4.3x) and traditional martech (8-12x). The article suggests that agencies should transition from hourly pricing to product-based pricing, with revenue that doesn't rise with hours, retention measured by cohorts, and a margin story that survives automation. The Singapore hub's success depends on whether its output is licensed as software or absorbed into fees. The research shows that 73% of Southeast Asian companies are piloting or scaling AI, indicating a shift in the market, which agencies need to adapt to in order to remain competitive.",
  "summary": "The most telling line in Publicis’ announcement of a new AI Development Hub in Singapore isn’t about technology. It’s the promise that the hub will create roles rather than remove them. The hub itself is a serious bet: engineers, data scientists and product designers working alongside strategists to build proprietary marketing technology in Singapore and […] The post Agencies don’t have a hiring…",
  "key_points": [
    "Agencies face EBITDA multiple problem, not hiring shortage",
    "Publicis launches AI Development Hub in Singapore",
    "Agencies urged to shift from hourly to product-based pricing"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}