Media Buying FAQ’s

Media buying is negotiating the cost and strategic placement of your marketing message(s) on TV, radio, podcasts, banner ads, pop-ups, social media, magazines, newspapers, and an array of medias. Equally important to negotiating rates for ad buy(s) is ongoing monitoring and management of the delivery of that agreement, and holding the ad-seller accountable.

Media buying is a complex business with an ever-shifting landscape. The Thrive team is in the trenches day in and day out. Utilizing research and our collaborative seasoned experience we are poised to strategically invest your valuable advertising budget for a fantastic ROI. Dedicated to this niche, we have the time and resources to hold media companies accountable for the ad buys we place.

As a bonus, Thrive’s purchasing power is strong. Purchasing media buys for multiple clients provides a collective spend that build accountability with medias (not to mention maximizes your advertising spend with “bulk buy” pricing)!

Thrive is a hyper-focused boutique agency that focuses solely on media planning and buying. In our past careers we worked in network television advertising sales, search engine marketing, and social platform management which provided us ample opportunities to learn the ins and outs of this tricky industry. We are not incentivized or otherwise paid by media companies. We are incentivized by client success and repeat business. We work for YOU.

NOTHING. We don’t charge you a fee for buying media on your behalf. Every dollar you spend goes directly to buying airtime and ad space.

We get paid by the companies with whom we invest your advertising dollars. Media companies have a commission built in to every single media transaction. If you were to personally buy airtime or ad space directly from a media company, a salesperson representing the media company gets a commission. When you let a media buyer buy the advertising for you, the media buying firm receives the commission. So, whether you buy directly yourself, or buy through an agency like Thrive, there is a commission built into the cost of the buy. Our clients tell us it’s a simple decision. They’d rather work with an impartial, unbiased media negotiator who understands advertising via all marketing channels rather than be “sold” by a salesperson who represents a single media company (with a sales quota they have to meet).

Thrive holds every advertising entity accountable for everything we negotiate on your behalf.

For instance, in Seattle we don’t get a lot of sun. Let’s say you bought local airtime for your commercial during Dancing with the Stars, and the TV station determined your price based on a projection that 100,000 women aged 25-54 would be watching the show that night.

Thanks to the wonderful weather, only half of those women watched the show because the other half were enjoying sangrias on patios with friends.

Thrive monitors your performance. In this scenario, we’d require that TV station to make up the missed viewers at zero extra cost to you.