How to choose a media planning agency: A guide for marketers
The media planning agency review process can be laborious and expensive for both marketers and agencies. Clarity, transparency, and communication can help.
Step 1: Are you sure you need an agency?
Reviews are expensive on both sides of the table. In a 2023 ANA/4As study, marketers spent an average of $408,500 out of pocket to run one, and incumbents spent about $406,000 defending their business. With three agencies pitching, the total tops $1 million. Yet two-thirds of marketers kept their incumbent anyway, which is why the 4As’ Matt Kasindorf says a review “should really be considered a last resort.”
The trade groups’ new Positive Pitch Principles set two tests before you start. Has your incumbent heard specifically what’s falling short, and had a fair chance to fix it? And if you can’t yet describe the partner you need, hold the review until you can.
In our experience, frustration that looks like an agency problem often traces back to structure:
Scope: Has the work outgrown what the contract and team were built for?
Compensation: Does the fee model reward the outcomes you care about today?
Governance: Do performance check-ins match how fast your business moves?
Decision rights: Who approves plans, and how many layers must a change clear?
This hits media planning agencies hardest. ANA/4As research puts the average media-only relationship at 3.7 years, roughly half the 7.3 years full-service partnerships last.
And that radical candor runs both ways. Agencies, too, should say openly when a scope of work has drifted past their core expertise or approvals are stalling the work, instead of quietly absorbing it. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to at Exverus.
1a. Decide what needs an outside partner
Start by deciding which media functions could be done internally vs. those that need an outside partner at all. Our guide to hiring an agency vs. buying in-house walks you through that decision-making process.
1b. Before you RFP, identify your ideal media planning agency partner
Pitch consultancy ID Comms puts it bluntly: “your success will be decided long before any RFP goes out.” For larger advertisers, its recommended runway is five to six quarters, and most of that time goes to internal work, such as:
auditing contracts
identifying business objectives
designing the operating model you want
...and only then sketching the partner who fits it.
The ANA and 4As reach the same conclusion in their 10 Positive Pitch Principles, which ask marketers to open any review by stating why the search exists and what business outcomes will define success.
Name the objective as precisely as you can. Brands often come to us wanting “more awareness” or “more sales,” and sometimes they ask for awareness when they really want sales.
Those are reasonable starting points, but neither tells an agency what to build. “Win back lapsed buyers in our top three retail accounts” does. The sharper the objective, the better we can judge how to meet it, and whether we’re the right partner for the job.
None of this works unless you’re candid internally first. Put your real budget in writing, list what you’ve already tested, and acknowledge where internal politics shaped past plans. ID Comms warns that misalignment among marketing, procurement, and finance shows up fast in the questions agencies send back.
Agencies owe you the same honesty. At Exverus, we always check a prospect’s needs and budget against our core strengths, and sit the pitch out if those don’t line up.
1c. Action Items:
Put the problem in writing to your incumbent. Name what’s underperforming and set a timeline to fix it before you consider a review.
Run the structural check first. Score scope, compensation, governance, and decision rights before you score your agency.
Ask your agency where your setup slows them down. Approval bottlenecks and scope creep rarely surface until someone asks directly.
Audit before you brief. Document your budget, your current partners, and stakeholder disagreements so agencies respond to your unique situation.
Write the objective in one sentence. Name the audience, the behavior you want to change, and the metric that proves it moved.
Ask every potential agency what it doesn't offer. An honest answer about what it can't solve tells you more than a polished capabilities deck.
More to come on the pitch process soon! Subscribe to our weekly Paid Media Insights newsletter for the latest.
About the Author
Talia Arnold is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Exverus by Brainlabs, an independent, full-funnel media agency serving both challenger brands and Fortune 500s. With 22 years in advertising, media planning, and entrepreneurship, Talia was named a 2026 ADWEEK Agent of Change and a 2025 CampaignUS Inspiring Women in Media. Now under the Brainlabs umbrella, Exverus joins a global team of 1000+ leading the industry with its technological innovations and visionary culture.
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