Bradley Johnson

U.S. agency revenue climbed a solid 7.9% in 2011. Agency stocks soared to post-recession highs in March. Omnicom's John Wren scored a 43% pay increase. The agency business, in short, is humming along.

Last year, U.S. agencies generated 30.3% of revenue, or $10.1 billion, from digital, compared with 28.0% in 2010, according to Ad Age DataCenter.

AT&T, the biggest player in the rapidly shrinking yellow-pages sector, plans to sell a 53% share of its directories.