"There's a very specific facial expression CMOs make when "principal media" enters the conversation - composure holding, skepticism setting in. They understand the mechanics: an agency buys inventory, resells it and keeps the margin. What's changed is the expectation that they take a side. For some, the model nudges decisions toward the agency's balance sheet, not their objectives. For others, it's a tradeoff to be structured and contained with the right guardrails."
"Step 2: Decide whether to play Some marketers, including Procter & Gamble, have drawn a bright line against principal media, preferring harder fee negotiations without them to embedded conflicts with them. To these marketers, principal buying introduces a model where inventive misalignment is built in rather than incidental. Others - often more performance-orientated advertisers - accept thinner transparency if the economics and guarantees deliver. In that equation, provenance matters less than outcomes."
"Step 1: Accept that your "agency" is not really your agent The first mental hurdle is linguistic. "Agency" is a word that suggests representation - a fiduciary in an advertiser's corner. Except, today's holdcos are vertically integrated marketing operating companies. They sell media, data and products of their own, not just brokerage services, said Ruben Schreurs, CEO of media management firm Ebiquity."
CMOs respond with composure and skepticism when principal media appears, recognizing agencies can buy inventory, resell it, and retain margins. Many holding companies are vertically integrated and sell their own media, data, and products rather than acting purely as brokers. Marketers must reset expectations and treat agencies as commercial counterparties with inventory and capital at risk. Some advertisers ban principal media to avoid embedded conflicts, while performance-oriented advertisers accept reduced transparency if economics and guarantees deliver. A middle group permits principal activity but constrains it contractually with channel limits, conditions, disclosure rules, and caps.
Read at Digiday
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