Media Execution Partner for Agencies

At Pathlabs, we offer the best media activation, optimization, and analytics services for agencies and in-house teams. If you want to grow your clients’ business, we want to be your media execution partner.

The MEP Playbook

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The Problem.

Today’s mid-sized ad agencies are forced to navigate a messy, confusing, and expensive digital media ecosystem with too many tools and not enough solutions. While many platforms, analytics tools, and measurement systems are available, most are costly, complicated, undifferentiated, yet still overwhelming. 

To run a successful digital media campaign, you should leverage both tools and technology. But, in addition, you also need a team of people - helping to execute everything from account management to analytics to ad operations and more. And building such a team is expensive and increasingly difficult to manage with the pace of change in the industry.

The Current Situation

Right now, there are two ways for mid-sized ad agencies to execute digital media campaigns.

One way to execute a digital media campaign is by using various vendors. While this can be a cost-effective way to buy digital media, the major downside is that minimal service comes as part of these relationships. You likely still need your own people to traffic ads, set up tracking, and manage both ad servers and reporting software. A single vendor doesn’t always care about your clients’ overall business objectives and will push into a singular technology (theirs). The reality is that you will need to engage many different vendors, which is expensive and a pain to manage.  If quality and campaign performance are not a concern, this can be a lucrative way to run digital media campaigns. Unfortunately, happy clients and a happy media team are not a likely outcome. Using vendors is just media teams wrangling cats and not doing strategic work.

Potentially cost-effective  

Less control

Not Cross-Platform

Very time consuming to vet and implement multiple partners across multiple channels

Traditionally, planning and buying in-house has been a great strength for agencies. But, executing modern media campaigns takes increased resources, as the process is becoming increasingly complex with rising costs and rapid change in technology. To do it well, you need people. A lot of people with very specific skills. Hence, agency commissions are being starved while resource costs are increasing. The margin for error is low, and you could end up in a low-quality situation. Sending media directors on wild goose chases to accomplish this on a shoestring budget. So while executing digital media campaigns in-house can be an excellent way to do the actual work, it tends to be unprofitable due to today’s labor costs and demands. We’re here to tell you that there’s a different way.

Potentially high-quality

More control  

Expensive due to recruiting, training, and retention of team

Cash flow risk due to media purchases

Can distract from high-value money-making activities that grow the agency

Lack of purchasing scale for all but the biggest agencies

Introducing Media Execution Partnerships (MEP)

What Is an MEP?

An MEP gives you access to all the best-in-class tools and technologies. MEPs combine the best of both worlds between in-house teams and vendors. With MEPs, you get a full digital media team to plan, launch, optimize, and report on your campaigns. You gain access to the best-of-class tools and technologies to execute successful digital media campaigns. All the while, maintaining the amount of control that works best for your team. This is a partnership, after all.

How Are MEPs Priced?

How you pay for a media execution partner is similar to paying a media vendor as a pass-through cost. As a result, MEPs allow agencies to focus on the more strategic components of media execution while reducing staffing costs, limiting financial risks, and ultimately delivering more successful digital media campaigns for your clients. Best of all, the time saved by using an MEP gives you more time to focus on scaling your agency.

Hear It From Our Customers

  • Katie Glaisyer

    "We're spending more time with clients than ever before. With Pathlabs, my team spends 50% less time managing media."

    — Katie Glaisyer, VP, Media Director, Merlino Media Group

  • Andy Brunn

    "Pathlabs is the best digital media partner I've worked with. They consistently deliver results for our agency -- and give our clients better performance for the same dollars."

    — Andy Brunn, Media Director, CCF

  • Chelsea Kauss

    "Pathlabs is more than a vendor. They're part of our team! Providing new ideas & insights - we're thrilled to have them on board."

    — Chelsea Kauss, Director of Account Services, The Partnership

  • Ashley Nix

    "Pathlabs came to us at the perfect time. We were eager to launch a campaign in a matter of a week, and Pathlabs worked effortlessly to meet our deadline. That's when we knew they were going to be an excellent long-term partner."

    — Ashley Nix, Digital Strategist, The Partnership

  • Nicole Kirsch

    “Their dynamic reporting provides real-time, omni-channel dashboards in a clean, simple design – making Pathlabs incredibly easy to work with.”

    — Nicole Kirsch, Media Director & Principal, Firehouse

  • Geoff Peddicord

    "For me, Pathlabs has transcended the concept of a typical vendor. They are incredibly transparent on every level and make it crystal clear that their #1 priority is our organization’s success.”

    — Geoff Peddicord, Vice President, Marketing - First Security Bank

  • Graham Oleson logo

    "Working with Pathlabs delivery team has been the highlight of my career."

    — Media Director, Graham Oleson

  • Partners Creative logo

    "I've become an all-knowing, all-seeing omnipotent master of media."

    — Director of Media, Partners Creative

Learn How Pathlabs Seamlessly Supports Simantel’s Media Team

Simantel was challenged with servicing a Fortune 100 client with a reduced workforce.

With Pathlabs, Simantel solved the short-term resource crunch— and serviced this high-profile client without a hitch. This resulted in 20hrs of leadership time saved every week—and exciting new opportunities to scale the agency

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