Media Buying
The media buying industry has a problem most clients don't know about. Large media agencies take rebates and commissions from the media owners they buy from — TV networks, OOH operators, publishers, platforms. Which means the agency is financially rewarded for spending your budget where the kickbacks are best, not where the campaign performs best. It's been the open secret of the industry for thirty years.
01 / Description
We don't work that way. THAT operates as a fee-only media partner. You pay us for our planning and execution. We don't take rebates, we don't run trading desks, and you see every invoice from every media owner — at the rate we negotiated, not at our markup. If you want to verify a rate yourself by calling the media owner, we'll give you their number.
The work itself is straightforward. We plan the right mix across paid digital, traditional broadcast, out-of-home, print, radio, cinema, and sponsorships. We negotiate, we buy, we optimize, we report. The boring part of media buying — the part where rate audits and post-campaign analysis happen — gets done because the boring part is where the value is.
02 / Capabilities
- A / CapabilityMedia planningchannel mix, budget allocation, reach and frequency modeling across paid digital, traditional, OOH, and sponsorships
- B / CapabilityOut-of-home buyingbillboards, mall and retail screens, transit, airport, taxi, premium digital OOH
- C / CapabilityBroadcast & cinemaTV, radio, cinema networks, regional and international channels
- D / CapabilityPrint & publicationsnewspapers, magazines, trade press, regional editions
- E / CapabilitySponsorships & partnershipsevent sponsorships, branded content deals, integrated partnerships
- F / CapabilityProgrammatic & ad opsprogrammatic display, video, audio, with full attribution and supply-path transparency
- G / CapabilityRate audits & vendor diligenceindependent verification of placements, rates, and delivery
- H / CapabilityPost-campaign analysisfull media performance reporting, learnings carried into the next campaign
03 / Process
Two weeks. We audit your current media spend — what channels, what rates, what's actually delivering against your KPIs. Most clients we audit are paying 15–30% above-market rates somewhere in their plan. We find it and document it.
Two to three weeks. Channel mix, budget allocation, reach and frequency targets, creative and timing requirements. Approved in writing with the rationale behind every line item. You see what each channel costs and what it's expected to deliver.
Negotiate rates, place buys, manage delivery, monitor pacing, optimize mid-flight when something isn't working. You see invoices from media owners directly. We charge our fee separately. No markups, no rebates, no surprises.
Post-campaign. What was delivered against what was booked. Where the campaign over- or under-performed. Rate benchmarking against open-market data. Recommendations for the next round. Every campaign teaches the next.
04 / FAQ
You pay us a planning and execution fee — flat, retainer, or percentage of managed spend, depending on what fits the engagement. We don't take rebates from media owners, we don't earn commissions, and we don't run a trading desk that marks up media. You see every invoice at the rate we negotiated.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Big agencies have volume leverage on certain channels we can't match. But the difference is rarely as large as their pitch implies, and once you account for the rebates and markups they take, our net cost to the client is often lower. We'll show you the math on your specific channels.
Yes. Most engagements involve existing creative partners. We brief them on placement specs, manage delivery deadlines, and make sure creative is optimized for the placements we've bought. Ego-free collaboration.
Single-campaign buying makes sense above a certain budget threshold — below that, the planning and admin overhead exceeds the value we add. We tell you upfront if your budget is below that line and recommend a different shape.
Both. Digital media buying for our clients runs through this team — programmatic, OOH digital, paid social planning. Day-to-day social and search campaigns sit under our Digital Marketing service. We tell you which fits in the first conversation.