In its 2000 Annual Member Survey, Second Wind Ltd.-a leading international small and midsize advertising agency network-said members reported an excellent year. Agency Gross Income (AGI) averaged $1.6
million, while net profits exceeded $400,000.
"We believe our survey figures show that the midsize and small advertising agency business is very healthy and profitable," said Tony Mikes, founder
and managing director of Second Wind. "Our survey also revealed that total billings averaged about $3.9 million, while capitalized billings averaged about $10.7 million."
Additionally, the study
found that 92% percent of those surveyed use Macintosh workstations, while 71% use PC workstations; 83% have computers linked through a network and more than 90% of the applications are for file
sharing; 39% have a new media group; nearly half of the work being produced by new media groups is web site creation and management; and 87% have an agency web site.
Also, 26% employ a full-time
new business hunter; 56% have a profit-sharing program; healthcare benefits averaged $2,200 per employee; 72% use part-time employees and 90% use freelancers; and 41% offer a tuition refund program.
And, healthcare, banking/financial and industrial/manufacturing are the top industry areas of expertise; 39% of the respondents are located in smaller cities (100,000 to 499,999 area population);
54% use a blended hourly rate for all services; and 82% are the agency-of-record for at least one client.