• by Bill Duggan , March 24, 2025

I will start with a belated public shout-out to Jared Belsky, recently named Ad Age’s 2025 Agency Executive of the Year. That is quite the honor as this recognition is reserved for just one person, in an industry rich with many talented people. While there were multiple reasons that Jared was selected, what stood out was his public stance against principal media.

He was loud and passionate about it. He created a website – www.saynotoprincipalmedia.com – where he advises, “Marketers need to ask more of their teams and partners. Demand to be shown that the media strategy aligns with your business goals, not just the agency’s need for margin.”

Now, just a couple of weeks after Jared’s recognition, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has been honored by the WFA (World Federation of Advertisers) as one of just five global winners of the WFA President’s Awards 2025. These awards recognize industry initiatives which are helping advance the marketer’s agenda and are contributing to positive change in the industry and society. The topic of our winning entry was principal media, and specifically, The Acceleration of Principal Media perspective released in May 2024.

Principal media has been getting increased attention in the U.S. More than ever, advertising agencies are acting as principals rather than agents. That means they acquire media — therefore becoming the owner, or “principal,” of that media — and then resell the media to their clients. The purpose of our work was to increase awareness and help educate marketers so they can make informed decisions about the role of principal media for them. 

Principal media has gotten extra scrutiny because of the pending Omnicom/IPG deal. Omnicom has been one of the earlier adapters of principal media while IPG has been later to the party. As I was writing this, I asked AI about “Omnicom IPG principal media” and got this back:

• “Omnicom's acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) creates a massive advertising agency holding company, with a focus on principal media buying and data-driven marketing, potentially leading to a more AI-driven and scalable ecosystem, but also raising concerns about client trust and potential regulatory intervention.”

The top benefit of principal media for marketers is reduced cost. Agencies purchase media in bulk at discounted rates and resell that to clients. Clients potentially don’t know where or how the agency acquired the inventory. The agency is delivering media where the actual price (if any) is not disclosed, and the agency markup is not known. Principal media is positioned to clients based on cost savings and access to better or exclusive inventory. 

Yet, there is an inherent conflict of interest. As one marketer told us, “I don’t know if my agency is recommending principal media because it’s the best media for me, or the best media for them.” In other words, are agencies potentially recommending media to the client where it has the highest margins, rather than being the best media for the client’s business needs.

It is imperative that marketers have guidelines for the use of principal media. Those guidelines should include: 

• First and foremost, the contract with your agency should have clear language to address principal media. Refer to the ANA Master Media Buying Services Agreement Template Version 3.0 for suggestions on how to address principal media in your agency contract. If it’s not addressed in your contract, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise in future with principal media accounting for a disproportionate amount of your media plan.

• The agency should be required to provide a clear business case detailing why principal media is recommended and is consistent with the marketer’s media strategy, objectives, and buying guidelines, and is in the best interest of the marketer. There should always be options presented that do not consist of principal media. 

• Have a clear internal approval process for the use of principal media. Have your own media department (or alternatively, a media auditor should there not be an internal media team) evaluate the proposal for reasonableness and to see how it compares to historical and/or market pricing and any agreed-upon agency goals and KPIs. 

• Final approval should be centralized with a single, senior-level person to coordinate the company’s total ongoing investments in principal media. Approvals should be done for each purchase in advance via a separate document or approval process. 

• Require that principal media be clearly identified on media flowcharts. Do not accept vague language such as, “Principal media may be included.” Require specifics.

• If principal media will be part of your media strategy, consider a cap for principal media — that is, it will be no more than X percent of the total budget for a specific period of time.

Marketers often “don’t know what they don’t know.” Media is the largest marketing investment for many brands. To optimize that investment, brands need to know about principal media and the guidelines for its use.