Editorial & disclosure policy

This page describes exactly how the index is produced, including the parts that are automated and the parts that are not reviewed at all. It is written so you can discount our output appropriately rather than take it on trust.

Scoring contract v1.1 · policy current as of 2026-09-08

Who owns this

Growth Partner Index is owned and operated by Fieldtrip, a growth firm that operates and invests in marketing services brands. Six agencies in the index are Fieldtrip portfolio brands and are labelled affiliated wherever they appear. They are listed on the Fieldtrip network page.

This is a commercial site. Affiliated recommendations appear in modules that say so before they name a brand. They are never blended into a ranked evidence list, and affiliation does not move a score or a rank.

Where directory data comes from

Agency records are assembled from public sources — agency websites and case-study pages, press coverage, podcasts and interviews, platform partner and certification pages, and public review profiles. Collection is largely automated. Records are then mapped onto a fixed vocabulary of services, platforms, verticals and budget bands.

Not every record has been reviewed by a person. Where a listing shows “Review pending”, it means it was collected automatically and no editor has signed off on it. We do not display a “verified” state, because we do not currently keep a per-record reviewer log that would make such a claim true.

Three different things people call 'verified'

  • Company-published claim. A number on the agency’s own site or case study. Useful, but self-reported, usually without a stated time period or control.
  • Corroborating source. A second, separate reference to the same engagement — press, a podcast, a client quote, a platform badge. It raises confidence that the work happened. It is not proof of the result, and coverage inside a shared commercial ecosystem is not independent.
  • Independently verified outcome. A result checked against data we could inspect. We publish none of these. Nothing on this site should be read as an audited performance claim.

Reported figures are attributed to the agency and quoted with whatever period the source actually states. Where a source gives no period, we say so instead of implying one, and we do not infer that the agency caused the outcome.

How articles are produced

Research and drafting are AI-assisted. Automated workflows can create drafts, run checks and prepare content for review. Publication through the editorial workflow requires an editor to approve the exact version that goes live; a later edit requires fresh approval. Scheduled draft creation does not approve or publish an article.

This describes the current editorial workflow. It does not establish that every historical article or directory record passed a documented human review.

Claims in articles carry citations with visible publication or check dates. We do not attribute an article to a named person unless that person actually reviewed it. Until a named author or reviewer is assigned, articles are bylined to the Growth Partner Index editorial organisation, which is honest about who is accountable: Fieldtrip.

Scoring and ranking

The published score is pure arithmetic over seven pillar values. The formula, the point limits, the proof thresholds, the tie rule and the affiliation policy are published in full on the methodology page.

In September 2026 we reconciled score arithmetic and proof labels with the published formula. Numerical scores remain provisional public-evidence assessments; arithmetic consistency does not constitute a fresh human audit.

Corrections and review triggers

Anyone can submit a correction, including the agency itself. We act on corrections that cite a source we can check.

Our policy — stated as intent going forward, not as a description of the past:

  • Recheck priority commercial pages (the highest-traffic category, list and guide pages, and all affiliated listings) at least every 90 days.
  • Recheck any record immediately on a material change: a rebrand, an acquisition, a dead website, a withdrawn case study, or a credible complaint.
  • Remove or unpublish a listing whose website no longer resolves to the agency.

This is a policy, not an automated schedule or a guarantee about work already done. If a page looks stale, tell us and we will check it.

What we do not do

  • We do not sell rank position, and payment does not change a score.
  • We do not publish star ratings or aggregate review scores we did not collect.
  • We do not route a contact request meant for one agency to a different agency. Where a commercial CTA appears, it is labelled and separate.
  • We do not claim a person reviewed something when no such record exists.
  • We measure outbound clicks on our own referral links for volume and page context. No personal data is attached to those events.