Ad Agencies vs. AdTech Companies: How Agencies Can Win the Battle

In traditional advertising, agencies have long been indispensable. They've helped well-known brands build audiences, sharpen their targeting, and make the most of their marketing budgets — at every scale. Built on proven methodologies, deep experience, and a reliable well of creativity, ad agencies were the default choice for brands looking to manage their advertising and marketing campaigns.

For years, agencies translated those offline skills into the online world with considerable success. The fundamentals carried over, and the results followed.

But the rapid growth of technology within the online display advertising ecosystem has fundamentally shifted the balance of power — away from agencies and toward the companies building the technology itself.

Ad-tech companies now wield sophisticated platforms, including demand-side platforms (DSPs), that allow brands and advertisers to achieve more precise audience targeting, access cheaper services, and generate higher ROIs than traditional agency models typically deliver.

The consequence is predictable: many brands and advertisers are cutting out the agency middleman and going directly to ad-tech providers. For agencies, this isn't just a competitive inconvenience — it's a structural threat to their business model.

So how do ad agencies compete in a market that grows more programmatic and tech-driven every year? The full analysis of that question is laid out in a MediaPost column, How Agencies Can Win the Battle Against Ad-Tech Companies, which is worth reading for anyone watching this shift play out.