Beyond billable hours: Rethinking the value of creative industries

In the lead-up to Black Friday, a major retailer faced a crisis—millions of dollars of stock stuck at a port, unable to reach shelves in time for the biggest sales weekend of the year. Panic set in. But their agency, which also worked with the port, was able to help. With one strategic phone call, the agency’s CEO connected the right people, cut through red tape, and got the stock moving.

Had they billed for the time spent—perhaps an hour—the fee would have been a couple of hundred dollars. Instead, the retailer paid half a million. Because they weren’t paying for a phone call, they were paying for expertise, relationships, and the immense value of that intervention.

True story.

Why the billable hour is broken 

For decades, creative agencies have structured their business models around billable hours. But this model has long been at odds with the true value of creative work. The focus on time spent rather than outcomes delivered not only limits an agency’s potential to go the extra mile but also fails to reflect the impact of strategic and innovative work.

Consider the Citibank logo redesign in 1998: Paula Scher from the agency Pentagram famously sketched the now-iconic logo on a napkin during a meeting with the bank’s leadership. Based on time spent alone, compensation would have been trivial. 

But it was what led up to that moment—Scher’s years of expertise and strategic thinking—that made it possible for her to bring it to life in an instant. 

Rethinking the value of creative industries 

The value an organisation gets from working with an agency isn’t just the deliverables—or at least, it shouldn’t be. As AI makes it cheaper and faster to produce content across mediums, the real value of creative work isn’t in deliverables alone. It’s in the human creativity. 

The ability to think beyond the obvious, to anticipate shifts in culture, to read the nuances of an audience, and to craft strategies that shape markets rather than just participate in them—this is where value lies. Clients aren’t just paying for content; they’re paying for the thinking that underpins it, the relationships that make it happen, and the strategic foresight that ensures it resonates.

Most importantly, clients are paying for impact. Real outcomes, whether it’s shifting brand perception, changing consumer behaviour, or driving measurable revenue growth. And as it turns out, brand reputation is measurable, too.

The DBB Creative Index has been ahead of the curve in thinking about creativity in terms of economic impact. The role of creativity in Australia’s prosperity is often an afterthought, but it’s creative thinking that is shaping the ideas, solutions, and economic opportunities of the future.

Using historical and live ASX share price data from 2012 to now, they’ve put a quantifiable dollar figure on creativity, with current market value fluctuating between $770 billion and $790 billion.

Moving beyond time as a metric

The challenge isn’t just for agencies—it’s for everyone. We need to move away from seeing creative work as a transactional expense and start viewing it as a long-term investment in business success. That means shifting the conversation from cost to value, from hours worked to impact delivered. Instead of asking, How much time did this take?', try asking, 'What impact did this work have on my business?'

A great idea requires expertise, vision, and a deep understanding of the industry and audience. Done right, it has the potential to deliver results that far exceed the hours spent on execution. Apple’s Think Different campaign is a perfect example. In 1997, Apple was struggling and Steve Jobs wanted to reposition the company. Its agency developed a bold, emotional campaign that didn’t just sell computers; it redefined Apple’s identity and ignited a brand resurgence that set the foundation for its dominance today. What Apple ultimately paid for wasn’t hours. It was transformation. 

Agencies and clients must align on the bigger picture—how creative thinking can drive not just campaigns but fundamental business transformation. The future of creativity isn’t about selling hours—it’s about selling impact, influence, and innovation.