Custom media buying
Custom media buying beyond the two big platforms.
We plan, source, test and manage paid media outside Google and Meta when another channel can reach the right customers at a better price and its results can be measured honestly.
The thinking
Why it works this way
Google and Meta are the base of most acquisition plans, but they aren't the only places customers spend attention. TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, programmatic display and native, connected TV, podcasts, newsletters, direct publisher placements and specialist native, push, pop and age-gated networks can all earn a role, depending on the audience and the offer.
Custom media buying is how we decide which of them deserve budget. We plan around the customer you want to reach, test each new source with a fixed budget and clear success criteria, and scale only what holds up against your real results. Our team has sold media as well as bought it, so we know how inventory is priced and packaged and where the negotiable value sits. We source placements case by case. We don't resell inventory or claim exclusive access.
What we do
What's included.
The work itself, in plain terms. Every engagement is scoped to what your accounts actually need.
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Media planning
Working out where your customers spend attention, what each channel costs to test and what success looks like, all before money is committed.
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Sourcing
Self-serve platforms, programmatic buying and direct placements with publishers, creators and newsletters where they make sense. We assess audience fit, inventory quality, price and how results will be tracked.
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Evaluation
Checking placements for brand safety, invalid traffic, audience overlap with existing channels, and whether reported numbers can be verified on your side.
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Test design
Each new channel gets a defined budget, a hypothesis, the creative it needs and a decision date. No open-ended experiments.
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Specialist and age-gated networks
Native, push, pop and age-restricted ad networks for offers that need them, bought with age-gating, tight placement controls and invalid-traffic checks.
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Buying for performance partners
For networks and advertisers paying per lead, per paying user or on revenue share: dedicated accounts with your admin access, budgets and ROAS guardrails per traffic source, and weekly reporting reconciled to your tracking.
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Management and optimization
Day-to-day buying, pacing, bids, placements and creative rotation across the channels that make the cut.
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Cross-channel allocation
Budget moves between channels based on what each adds at the margin, including channels that are harder to attribute.
Inside the account
What it looks like in practice.
The structure, tests and decisions behind a well-run account. Open “Why it's built this way” for the reasoning behind each line.
| Traffic source / lander | Visits | CTR | Conv. | CR | Revenue | Cost | Profit | ROI | EPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta · PROS | Broad | 412,300 | 31.99% | 9,870 | 2.39% | $296,100.00 | $214,800.00 | $81,300.00 | 37.8% | $0.718 |
| LP-03 · Quiz → calculator2 | 208,400 | 38.00% | 6,110 | 2.93% | $183,300.00 | $108,600.00 | $74,700.00 | 68.8% | $0.880 |
| LP-01 · Advertorial | 203,900 | 25.85% | 3,760 | 1.84% | $112,800.00 | $106,200.00 | $6,600.00 | 6.2% | $0.553 |
| Google · SRCH | Non-brand | 96,500 | 43.01% | 3,420 | 3.54% | $116,300.00 | $71,900.00 | $44,400.00 | 61.8% | $1.205 |
| Native · Content rec. | 233,000 | 20.00% | 2,010 | 0.86% | $60,300.00 | $52,400.00 | $7,900.00 | 15.1% | $0.259 |
| Push · New source test3 | 158,200 | 19.03% | 1,190 | 0.75% | $35,700.00 | $41,600.00 | −$5,900.00 | -14.2% | $0.226 |
| Total | 900,000 | 27.79% | 16,490 | 1.83% | $508,400.00 | $380,700.00 | $127,700.00 | 33.5% | $0.565 |
Why it's built this way
- 1The tracker, not the ad platforms, is the source of truth for revenue: conversions arrive by server-side postback and are matched to the click.
- 2Landers are compared on the same traffic. The quiz lander converts better, so it takes the budget and the advertorial gets a new angle.
- 3A new source runs as a capped test with a decision date. This one is under water, so it's fixed or cut, not scaled on hope.
Illustrative account · names generalized · not a specific client's results
How we think about it
Principles
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Every channel has to be measurable somehow
Not every channel can be tracked click by click. When one can't, we agree a measurement method first, whether that's a holdout, a geographic test, an offer code or a post-purchase survey.
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Test small, decide clearly
A test that never ends is just spend. Each one has a budget cap and a date when we make the call.
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Inventory quality over cheap reach
Cheap impressions are often cheap for a reason. We check where the ads actually appear and who actually sees them.
What you get
Deliverables
- Channel opportunity assessment
- Media plan with test budgets and success criteria
- A measurement plan for every channel
- Insertion orders and trafficking for direct buys
- Cross-channel pacing and performance reporting
- Scale or stop recommendations, with the evidence
FAQ
Media buying questions.
Which channels do you buy beyond Google and Meta?
We choose based on the audience and the offer, not a preferred list. Commonly that includes TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, programmatic display and native, connected TV, podcasts, newsletters, direct placements with publishers or creators, and specialist native, push, pop and age-gated networks.
Do you have exclusive inventory or publisher partnerships?
No, and we don't claim to. We source placements for each client based on fit and judge them on the evidence. If a channel doesn't perform, we stop buying it.
How do you measure channels that can't be tracked by clicks?
We agree the method before buying. Options include geographic holdouts, matched-market tests, unique offer codes or landing pages, post-purchase "how did you hear about us" surveys, and changes in branded search and direct traffic.
Media buying guides
- How do you test a new ad network or traffic source without wasting budget?
- ROAS, MER, CAC and contribution margin: which number should you run paid acquisition on?
- Should you start with Google Ads or Meta Ads, and how should you split the first budget?
- How do you hire a performance marketing agency without losing control of your accounts?
- How should a pay-for-performance media buying relationship be structured so both sides are protected?
Other services
Let's look at your media mix.
Share your goals, your channels and roughly what you spend. We'll reply with an honest view of where we'd start, or tell you if we're not the right fit.