Iris grew its gross profits by 31% to £37m on turnover of £68m, helped by its win of the Sony Ericsson integrated account.
Several agencies suffered declines in gross profits, including Publicis Dialog with a 14% fall in profits, and Hicklin Slade & Partners, which saw a 21% decline in profits.
Digital Marketing Group (DMG), parent of Inbox, Jaywing and Cheeze, recorded the biggest increase in profits in 2008. Its gross profits were up 294% to £33m on turnover of £50.9m.
DMG is a diversified group embracing data, digital and creative. DM agencies with similarly broad capabilities bucked the start of the recession last year. TMW saw profits rise 15% to £17.9m as it continues to evolve into a digital shop.
Tony Spong, head of DM, SP and integration at agency intermediary AAR, said contact strategy work with existing clients drove reviews last year. "What we're seeing is the maturing of the digital marketplace from ‘let's build the website' to ‘let's connect with customers'," he said.
Agencies with double-digit profit growth include Gyro International, ranked second in the league, as well as The Marketing Store Worldwide, TMW and Billington Cartmell.
Gyro's 2008 gross profit of £34.5m represented an increase of 61% on 2007. Partners Andrews Aldridge, ranked 20th in the league, saw gross profits rise by 48% to £8.1m on turnover of £13.1m.
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