The future of media buying: A balance of brand, agency and tech

At Possible this week, there was much debate around the future of agencies and the evolving agency model in advertising. While these debates tend to gravitate to cost, we should be having a more worthwhile discussion about the structure of modern marketing partnerships.

As the distinctions between brand, agency and tech continue to blur, the discussion must shift to how these groups can collaborate more effectively in pursuit of real business outcomes that matter.

After decades of working on both the brand and tech sides, I can say that any strategy that seeks to disintermediate the agency will not likely work. The most effective organizations are those that build teams of complementary partners. It’s not agency versus brand versus tech. It’s agency plus brand plus tech. It means working with shared data, aligned incentives and specialist expertise (across the agency, brand and tech partner).

This isn’t a pivot. It’s a natural evolution.

At The Trade Desk, our focus has long been on supporting agencies, who continue to serve as the critical operators of programmatic media for most large advertisers. That’s why we continue to invest in our agency teams, whether they’re working with holding companies or independents. That priority is not going to change.

What is changing isn’t the engagement model, but the scope of collaboration that brands are demanding with all their partners. As programmatic becomes an ever-larger element of a brand’s campaign spend, there is more demand to understand exactly how programmatic can add incremental value. We should all be welcoming this. As the programmatic decision-making point gets elevated every year, there’s an opportunity for everyone in the ecosystem to showcase the value of reaching consumers in a data-driven way, where they are most leaned in.

It’s in that vein that we and others in the ad tech ecosystem are now working more closely with brands not to displace the agency, but to get to the “metrics that matter” for our shared customers. That means tighter alignment between a brand’s goals, its data, its agency and its tech stack. The aim is to reposition media as a driver of growth, not just a line item.

Agencies as architects of growth

Agencies are no longer defined by media buying alone: They’re now business consultants. They are judged by business outcomes like sales lift, return on ad spend and incrementality. Their remit has grown. So too must the tools they use.

Technology, in this context, becomes a true force multiplier — not by replacing agencies, but by helping them evolve.

Consider one example: We partnered with a major American consumer health company that embodies this forward-thinking mindset. The brand adopted a “one team” approach across IPG, The Trade Desk and its own marketing organization. This collaboration ensures consistent alignment on consumer and business goals — and enables us to tailor, measure and optimize every initiative against those benchmarks.

A shared mission

At the heart of this is respect for the distinct role each partner plays in a shared mission. Brands bring the vision and the goals. Agencies bring the craft. Platforms bring data-driven intelligence. On their own, none of those pieces are enough. But together they create something powerful.

When those partnerships click, the result isn’t just better media, it’s better marketing. And when marketing connects clearly to business growth — especially when it earns the trust of the CFO — it stops being a cost to manage and starts being a strategic driver.

That’s the direction we’re heading: one where marketers make smarter decisions because they’re closer to their data, where agencies guide strategy with tools that reflect the complexity of their clients’ businesses and where platforms don’t compete, but contribute to tie it all together.

Because in the end, the question isn’t “Who gets the credit?” It’s “Did the business grow?”

Closing the loop

If there’s anything I’ve learned from my sitting across the table from brands and agencies, it’s this: CMOs want to get closer to the technology and the data — not necessarily to micromanage, but to make faster, better decisions and to better represent the work and results of marketing to their C-suite peers. Agencies are drawing us in, helping everyone get closer to the business itself. As more advertisers start to see how open, objective programmatic technology can connect marketing, media and sales, the benefits speak for themselves.

When advertisers are better informed, partnerships are stronger, goals get clearer and growth becomes more predictable.

That’s not just a better way to buy media. It’s a better way to grow a business.

The Current is owned and operated by The Trade Desk Inc.