1 / Lately, most of the demand comes from social and OTT, especially short-form video. YouTube Shorts, TikTok Spark Ads, and Hulu's self-serve tools are the spots clients rush toward. One DTC skincare brand originally wanted a display-heavy push, but once we redirected the budget into connected TV and TikTok, their CPA dropped by 32%. Static placements just aren't pulling the same weight anymore; video and native formats--anything with a tight story and quick hook--are what everyone asks for. 2 / Smaller, geo-targeted campaigns usually take about two to three weeks from planning to launch, and we put in roughly 10-15 hours a week to keep them tuned. Bigger, multi-channel programs are a different animal. When we're blending programmatic, CTV, influencers, and search, the prep alone--strategy, media mapping, creative planning--can stretch several weeks. Those campaigns often run three to four months, and we'll spend 20 hours a week or more early on. One retail startup's rollout ended up at roughly 400 hours over six weeks. 3 / Our pricing shifts with scope. For smaller digital-only buys, we stick with a flat fee starting around $3,000 plus 10-15% of the media spend. For national or multi-channel efforts, we use a hybrid setup: a monthly retainer (about $8K and up) with performance-based add-ons. When media prices jump mid-campaign--Q4 holiday surges are the usual culprit--we either renegotiate or rebalance the channel mix so the ROI doesn't get wiped out. 4 / Most digital campaigns start showing movement in two to three weeks, especially retargeting or tightly segmented paid social. Traditional media takes longer. A radio-plus-outdoor combo we ran for a regional gym needed about a month just to establish consistent traffic patterns, and we didn't see full lift until around the two-month mark. The timeline really depends on the mix and how familiar the audience already is with the brand. 5 / We do our first performance check by day three, adjust within the first week, and then settle into weekly optimizations. On Facebook, anything that slips under a 2.5x ROAS gets attention right away. Evergreen campaigns get more breathing room, but we step in if impressions dip or conversion costs jump more than 20% week over week. CTR matters, but the bigger triggers are creative fatigue, overlapping audiences, or a slowdown in post-click behavior.
Right now the most common brief I see is for performance-focused digital campaigns that mix programmatic display with connected TV and some paid social. What's most in demand are mid-funnel campaigns that build qualified demand, not just last-click conversions. Over the past year I've seen a clear shift from broad awareness buys to more data-led, audience-first plans that tie straight back to pipeline and LTV, plus steady growth in CTV and retail media. For small, single-channel campaigns (say, one digital channel for a regional brand), I'd expect 1-2 weeks for research, planning and setup, then 8-12 weeks of active optimisation. For large, multi-channel campaigns across several regions, the upfront phase often stretches to 4-6 weeks (strategy, modelling, creative specs, tracking), then 3-6 months of active management and refinement. Pricing is usually a mix of a base fee (for strategy, planning, reporting) plus a % of media, with the % stepping down as budget scales. Rates shift with complexity (number of markets, channels, creative versions, attribution setup) more than sheer spend. When media costs rise or platforms add fees, I tend to keep the management fee stable and re-cut the channel mix or flighting so the plan still hits CAC and ROAS targets. For digital media, clients often see early signals in 2-4 weeks, with more stable, meaningful results in 8-12 weeks once we've tested audiences, bids and creative. For traditional media like broadcast or print, it's more like 2-3 months before you can read lift with confidence. After launch, I'm adjusting digital campaigns at least weekly, and often several times a week in the first month. Triggers include big shifts in CPMs or CPCs, frequency getting too high, creative fatigue, or conversion rate drops. I watch CPA, ROAS, lead quality, and post-click behaviour (bounce rate, time on site, funnel drop-offs) to decide when and where to optimise. Credit: Josiah Roche, Fraction CMO, Silver Atlas - www.silveratlas.org
Right now, the most common engagement is Paid Ads across search and social to drive B2B lead generation. Demand is strongest for performance-focused campaigns that emphasize measurable lead quality and pipeline impact. Clients are prioritizing platforms where intent signals support efficient Paid Ads performance.
We optimize campaigns using geo and time holdouts and "how did you hear about us?" inputs to connect demand creation directly to qualified pipeline from net-new ICP accounts. We run controlled tests on creation channels and shift spend when marginal CAC, payback, and LTV:CAC indicate better efficiency. This approach enabled a reallocation toward creation that drove organic and pipeline gains.
At WhatAreTheBest.com we run a dedicated media buying unit that supports our product ranking ecosystem. The campaigns we execute most often are sponsored editorial buys tied to high-intent categories, paid affiliate acceleration (boosting merchants during peak seasons), and multi-platform launches when we introduce a new vertical. The biggest demand shift this year has been toward bundled placements that combine sponsored list inclusions, retargeting bursts, and creator micro-assets. Simple campaigns take two to three weeks, but our heavier multi-channel launches run eight to twelve weeks as we test creatives, segment audiences, and synchronize paid placements with organic category pushes. Pricing scales with traffic quality, competitive pressure in the vertical, and the level of creative production needed. Most clients see movement within 10 to 20 days. Our strongest example this year was a home-tech vertical where we paired sponsored editorial with retargeting and influencer micro-placements. Once we unified the creative and tightened the audience model, CTR jumped 27 percent in nine days and partner conversions doubled over the following three weeks. We optimize daily, watching CTR swings, CPC volatility, impression pacing, and affiliate conversion variance to know when to intervene. Albert Richer, Founder, WhatAreTheBest.com.
When asked what companies hire us for most right now in media buying, the highest demand I see is for performance-driven digital campaigns, especially paid social and search tied to real-world conversions. Over the past year, I've seen budgets shift away from broad awareness into highly targeted Meta, Google, and short-form video placements, with connected TV increasingly layered in once campaigns prove traction. Clients want campaigns that can be tested fast, optimized weekly, and tied to measurable outcomes, not vanity impressions. In terms of time commitment, small-scale digital campaigns usually take two to four weeks from planning to launch, with light optimization ongoing, while larger multi-channel buys can stretch across three to four months. Those bigger efforts require more time upfront for audience modeling, creative testing, and platform coordination, followed by continuous optimization once data starts flowing. I've learned that rushing the setup almost always costs more later, so we prioritize strong foundations even when timelines are tight. When reporters ask about pricing, our media buying fees are typically tied to campaign complexity, ad spend, and number of platforms, with smaller digital campaigns starting in the low five figures and larger buys scaling upward as media costs fluctuate. Clients usually see tangible results within 30 to 45 days for digital campaigns, while traditional or CTV placements take closer to 60 to 90 days to show lift. We optimize campaigns weekly at minimum, and sometimes daily during launches, using KPIs like cost per acquisition, frequency, and creative fatigue as triggers for change, because media buying only works when it stays responsive to real performance.