Is hiring a media agency worth the cost?

Exverus Staff
May 28
4 min read

Why working with professional media planners can be more cost-effective in the long run than hiring one in-house.

four people fist-bumping around a wooden table — Photo Credit: Fauxels

Brand marketers have to make big decisions every day -- when to launch new products, what the packaging design should look like, who to hire internally and externally.

And in 2025, with a potential dip in the economy looming and marketing budgets on the chopping block, you’ve got to balance cost-cutting with ad-spending that keeps sales up!

Just as we saw during the pandemic, the ability to pivot quickly and eliminate inefficiencies will be critical for marketing leaders navigating ahead. It would be natural to consider cutting ties with your external partners.

After all, Meta and Google are appealing directly to brands, making their buying platforms as user-friendly as possible to eliminate the need for agencies. And generative AI is helping with creative and analytics at record speed.

But it's precisely during tough economic periods that you need an experienced, nimble media agency to help. Why?

Because media channels are like ingredients, and agencies are like professional chefs.

Anyone with a Facebook or Google account can run ads – but if they don’t have a deep understanding of:

what your target consumer’s purchase journey could look like
your brand’s voice, personality, and category positioning
how multiple marketing channels work together for brand and performance
why certain campaigns perform better than others

…they might as well throw your money against the wall to see if it sticks.

Costs of hiring a media agency vs. hiring in-house

We know we're a little biased here. So don't take our word for it!

Steve Boehler, founding partner at marketing agency consultancy Mercer Island Group, explains:

It’s incredibly hard for marketers to staff and maintain an outstanding in-house media capability. Platforms and technology change constantly. Best practices today are different from a month ago. Specialized planning tools are needed to plan across platforms. There is no formal career path for the folks that have hands on keyboards. There is no learning from other agency clients. Staffing your own internal media capability may seem like a cost savings, but it often is not. And the actual performance often lags behind an agency’s capabilities.

Bradley Keefer, chief revenue officer at media mix modeling platform Keen Decision Systems, agrees:

“Independent agencies are uniquely positioned to seize this moment. Lean, adaptive, and hungry, they don’t need to wait for bureaucracy to green-light innovation. They’re already integrating best-in-breed tools, building interoperable stacks that actually work, today.”

Before considering hiring any media agency, ask them in the pitch process questions like:

What specific expertise do you have in our industry or with similar target demographics?
Which team members would be dedicated to our account, and what are their backgrounds?
How do you stay current with emerging media trends, platforms, and technologies?
What proprietary tools, data sources, or technology platforms do you use?
What attribution models do you use to track performance across channels?
How frequently do you report on campaign performance, and what does that reporting look like?
Do you have preferred partnerships that might benefit our campaigns?
How transparent are you about media costs, fees, and any rebates you receive?

Long-term growth strategies

When times are tight, many marketers feel the pressure to close the sale and place a disproportionate emphasis on short-term performance metrics -- that's understandable! But be careful not to lose sight of the long-term brand trajectory.

While the immediate ROI metrics can look attractive and seem to reinforce this approach, we caution marketers not to get short-sighted and overlook the importance of long-term brand-building. This mistake is called short-termism, and it must be overcome to ensure brand success.

Paid media efficiency isn't about eliminating channels -- it's about reaching new consumers everywhere they discover and building swift, elegant paths to purchase.

We go long. Media planners collect deep audience- and competitive-insights to build a bespoke, full-funnel media strategy that guarantees the most bang for your buck.

Economical campaign ideas

Exverus lives at the intersection of creativity and technology—where bold media ideas meet cutting-edge execution to drive real business results. In order to remain at the forefront, we strategically partner with advanced ad tech and media platforms to unlock transformative value for our clients.

We’re not just using the ad-buying tools Big Tech offers us – we’re inventing new ones.

In March, we partnered with SeenThis to launch a new ad format called Social Reach, which splashes brands’ existing social videos across the open web in PubMatic’s premium Display slots.

3 cell phones displaying premier protein videos

The initial results are astounding:

First-to-market brand Premier Protein achieved +3.3MM more completed video views than on Meta at a fraction of the cost — $0.03 cost per completed view (CPCV) vs. $0.06 on Meta in the same 6 weeks, a +50% improvement in efficiency!

How does Social Reach save so much money?

Guaranteed outcomes due to its CPCV price structure
Scalable growth with less investment
Zero need for new creative production, just repurposed assets

More brands are already preparing to run Social Reach campaigns on the heels of Premier Protein’s early success.

red contest advertisement against black background

Transparent pricing models

Exverus is named after the Latin phrase for "from the truth" for a reason! While the holding companies merge into increasingly opaque, profit-blinded conglomerates, mid-sized independent agencies like Exverus only get more transparent, more agile, and more proactively creative for our clients.

Holdco agencies often engage in shady transaction practices like principal media buying. Not here! The right media agency partner will only recommend ad buys that will truly move the needle for your brand, based upon precise audience research.

Data-informed reporting & analysis

Modern, AI-powered measurement and analytics capabilities that were once reserved for the biggest high-rollers are now available to brands of all sizes through your media agency partner.

Our in-house programmatic traders and data analysts use platforms like Keen Decision Systems, Resonate, Skai, and DoubleVerify to justify every recommendation with brand safety and suitability for clients’ peace of mind.

Again, we're not just reporting today's sales performance -- we're evaluating your whole brand's health to ensure continued growth tomorrow and next year.