Media planning and buying held to revenue, not impressions.
Media plans often get judged on how much they bought, cost per thousand impressions, reach and frequency, rather than what the spend produced.
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How can we help you get found?
Next: name, email and budget. That’s it.
We plan and buy the other way. The plan starts from your revenue target, margin and sales cycle, sets a budget by channel with a job for each one, and names the measurement that will decide whether each channel keeps its money. Then we buy it: search and social through the platforms directly, and CTV, programmatic display, online video, streaming audio and retail media through self-serve platforms and demand-side platforms. Budgets are paced weekly, creative is tested and rotated alongside the buy, and reporting ties spend to leads, orders and revenue. To be plain about what we are: Theory Road buys through platforms and DSPs, not through a holding-company trading desk with pre-negotiated upfront deals. We are built for mid-market budgets, where flexibility and measurement usually matter more than volume discounts.
Deliverables, not adjectives.
Media plan and channel mix.
Budget by channel and month built from your revenue target, margin, sales cycle and seasonality, with the role of each channel, the audience, the expected cost ranges and the test that decides whether it stays.
Search and social buying.
Google, Microsoft, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Reddit bought directly, with campaign structure, audiences and bids run by the same team that owns the plan.
CTV, programmatic and audio.
Streaming TV, online video, display and streaming audio bought through DSPs such as Google Display & Video 360 and Amazon DSP, with deal and inventory lists, frequency caps and brand-safety controls set per campaign.
Retail media.
Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect and other retailer networks planned alongside the rest of the mix, so on-site ads, off-site audiences and marketplace sales are read together.
Budget pacing.
Spend checked against plan every week, budgets moved between channels on results, and flighting adjusted for seasonality, stock levels and sales capacity rather than spent evenly by default.
Creative-to-media loop.
Creative specs sized to each channel before production, variants tested in-flight, and results fed back into the next round of briefs so the buy and the creative improve together.
Revenue reporting.
Spend, reach, leads, orders and revenue by channel in one shared view, with platform-reported conversions checked against your CRM or store data and lift or holdout tests where the budget supports them.
Who this is for
- Mid-market brands running several paid channels at once who want one plan and one owner
- Companies adding CTV, programmatic or retail media for the first time and wanting it measured like search
- Marketing leaders replacing a media agency whose reports stop at impressions and CPMs
- Consumer, e-commerce, real estate, healthcare and financial services brands with a clear revenue or lead target
Platforms
- Google Ads
- Microsoft Advertising
- Meta Ads
- Amazon DSP
- Amazon Ads
- Google Display & Video 360
- YouTube
- Walmart Connect
- TikTok Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
- GA4
- Looker Studio
Where we run media buying.
Connected TV and programmatic advertising
Connected TV and programmatic advertising for mid-size budgets: Amazon DSP, self-serve streaming buys, open exchange, geo-targeting, fraud checks, lift tests.
ViewLinkedIn ads and B2B social
LinkedIn ads agency for B2B: ABM lists, Lead Gen Forms synced to your CRM, Thought Leader and Document Ads, Conversions API, judged on cost per opportunity.
ViewRetail media advertising
Retail media agency for brands: Amazon Ads, Walmart Connect, Instacart Ads, Roundel and other networks, onsite and offsite, with closed-loop measurement.
ViewTikTok ads management
TikTok ads agency for brands and lead gen: Spark Ads, Smart+ campaigns, GMV Max for Shop sellers, creative volume and hooks, pixel plus Events API tracking.
ViewYouTube advertising
YouTube ads agency: video and Demand Gen campaigns in Google Ads, Shorts, in-feed and in-stream ads, creative built for the first five seconds, and real lift.
View
About media buying.
- What is the difference between media planning and media buying?
- Planning decides where the money should go: which channels, audiences, timing and budget, and how each will be measured. Buying is executing that plan inside the platforms and DSPs, then managing bids, pacing, frequency and placements while the campaigns run. We do both, which means the people who wrote the plan are the ones accountable for what it delivered.
- Do you have a trading desk or upfront deals like a big media agency?
- No. Large holding-company agencies pool client spend for negotiated rates and upfront commitments. We buy through self-serve platforms and demand-side platforms, with private marketplace deals where they help. For mid-market budgets that is usually the better trade: no volume commitments, transparent costs and the freedom to move money weekly to what is working.
- Which DSPs do you use?
- It depends on the channel and budget. Google Display & Video 360 covers YouTube and a wide range of display and streaming inventory, Amazon DSP adds Amazon's audiences and inventory whether or not you sell on Amazon, and other DSPs come in when a campaign needs specific inventory. Some DSPs require minimum spend commitments, so we match the tool to the budget rather than the other way around. Our CTV and programmatic page has more detail.
- Is CTV worth it for a mid-market brand?
- It can be, when there is enough budget to reach meaningful frequency in the markets you sell into and a way to measure the effect. We usually start CTV in a limited set of markets with a holdout comparison, and watch search volume, site traffic and sales in exposed versus unexposed areas before scaling.
- How do you handle retail media?
- Retail media is bought and judged with the rest of the plan, not in a separate silo. Amazon Ads and other retailer networks are run against sales and total contribution, including organic lift, not only return on ad spend. Our retail media page covers the individual networks.
- How do you measure media that does not get clicked, like CTV and audio?
- With a mix of methods, because no single one is complete. Platform conversion reporting, geographic holdouts, lift studies where the platform offers them, and changes in branded search, direct traffic and sales in the areas where the media ran. For larger budgets, marketing mix modeling adds a longer view. We report which method each number comes from so it is not mistaken for certainty.
- What budget do you need to work with you on media buying?
- Media buying as a discipline pays off once several channels are running at meaningful budgets. Before that point, a focused paid search and paid social program through our paid media service is usually the better starting point, and we will tell you so.
Other services
- Paid Media & PPC
- SEO & AI Search
- Web Design & Development
- Brand Strategy & Identity
- Lead Generation & CRM Systems
- E-commerce & Amazon
- Affiliate & Partnership Programs
- AI Consulting & Automation
- Fractional CMO & Growth Advisory
- Global Talent & Offshore Teams
- Social Media Marketing
- AI Search Optimization
- Influencer & Creator Marketing
Let us look at your media buying first.
Send a short brief. We will come back within one business day with what we would fix first and what it would take.
Step 1 of 2
How can we help you get found?
Next: name, email and budget. That’s it.