The Best Value for Money Guide, agency edition
AGS Rome 2026 Welcome Kit for agencies · which tier for which goal · the whole bill · what a worthwhile result looks like
The ticket is only the start of the bill, and you're the person who feels payroll week in every outstanding invoice. So this guide prices the whole trip, including the four days nobody bills, and asks the only question that matters: what would this trip need to produce to justify its total cost for your agency? It's built to allow "Standard is enough" and "not this year." Both are answers. So is "go."
Part 1. The passes, exactly
| Standard | Premium | Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price now | €375 | €672 | €1,005 |
| Price at the door | €525 | €999 | €1,375 |
| Welcome reception | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Full exhibition access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| All conferences and workshops | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Match App | Limited | Basic | Privileged |
| Half-day activity | Yes | Yes | |
| AGS Awards | Yes | ||
| Networking drinks | Yes | Yes | |
| On-demand playback of stage sessions | Yes | ||
| Meet and greet, VIP and influencers | Yes | ||
| VIP lounge | Yes | ||
| Priority concierge service | Yes | ||
| Varsity jacket | Yes | ||
| iG Academy discount | 25% | 50% | 75% |
Hosted dinners sit in the paid tiers.
Part 2. Which tier for which goal
| Your goal in Rome | Tier | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Clients. Three to five brands you'd want on retainer. | Standard | You request them, walk their stands, sit where their people sit. Limited covers a shortlist of six. |
| Partners. Networks or owners who'd pay you on results. | Standard | Networks want buying teams; they accept requests. The stand does the rest. |
| Both, with a long list. Eight or more named requests. | Premium, if Basic is what you need | Only if Limited caps you below your list. Ask AGS what Limited allows before paying €297 for the difference. |
| A run of meetings in one place. | Platinum | The lounge as your meeting room, the awards night as a room full of networks. A second-trip tier. |
Don't buy an upgrade because "the good conversations happen in the lounge." The good conversations happen with the people you requested, wherever you meet them.
Part 3. The whole-trip budget
Your figures.
| Line | € |
|---|---|
| Pass (Standard €375 / Premium €672 / Platinum €1,005) | |
| Flights, return | |
| Hotel, nights × rate | |
| Airport to Fiera Roma and back (FL1 train, or taxi) | |
| Meals and local transport, days × daily figure | |
| Cash cost | |
| Days away from delivery × your billable day rate | |
| Cover (contractor, overtime) | |
| Total including time |
Solo? The second block is the real cost. Four days away from delivery is four days nobody bills. Price it honestly, then price what four more months of the current pipeline costs you.
Part 4. The break-even worksheet
Planning with your assumptions. Never an expected AGS result.
For a client win:
Total cost of the trip ÷ monthly contribution from one incremental client = months for one client to cover the trip
Contribution means the retainer minus the delivery cost of that work (hours × loaded rate, tools, overhead). Not the retainer.
For a performance arrangement:
Monthly results × payout per result, minus traffic cost you fund, minus fulfilment or creative cost you carry = monthly contribution
Then the same division. Every cost you'd carry, before you count a return.
The sentence that decides it. Write the answer as: "One client at €[ ] contribution, held for [n] months," or "One offer at [n] results a day for [n] months." If that sentence describes something you'd bet on, go. If it describes a hope, don't, or wait. If it describes something smaller than one client, which for most agencies it does, that's the argument.
Part 5. The nine questions
Ask these of any network or owner before you treat an offer as a plan.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who funds the traffic? | Your budget at risk, or theirs? Changes everything. |
| What exactly is paid for? | Sale, lead, call, trial, install. What counts as qualified. |
| How is it tracked, and whose tracker decides? | Discrepancies are where margins go. |
| When does cash arrive? | Net terms, frequency, thresholds. Cash flow, not just margin. |
| What's the reversal window and rate? | Refunds and scrubs after you've paid for the traffic. |
| What's the cap, and who can raise it? | Whether the offer can absorb your volume. |
| What are the creative and compliance rules? | What you can say, where, who approves. |
| Who can terminate, and how fast? | The offer can end on a Tuesday. What's your notice? |
| Is there exclusivity or a private tier? | The terms the buyer with the direct deal already has. |
Part 6. Meeting preparation and follow-up
The request: one line on what you do, one on what you'd bring them, one on what you want to discuss.
Bring: a result in their category they can check, your capacity next month, the channel they aren't on, and, for networks, your monthly spend as a number you can say out loud.
In the meeting: ask the nine questions. Don't agree terms at the table; agree to send them.
After: one message the same day with the next step and a date. A second-week follow-up. The client or offer that comes out of Rome is usually agreed in December and starts in January; that's the real timeline, and it's what the break-even period should assume. It's also two months faster than "what would have closed in 3 days is now closing in 3 months."
Part 7. Names before flights
Pick six from the roster. Buy the pass. Send the requests the day the app opens. Book the flight you can't cancel once you've tracked who's accepted. If nobody accepts, you've spent the pass price and learned something about your list. Nobody's promising acceptances, and you'd distrust anyone who did.
We update this kit from time to time as confirmations, prices and event details change. This page is current as of 12 September 2026.