Ad Agency

The full-service, managed-media agency — Google, Meta, programmatic, and AOR contracts

The traditional, full-service, managed-media agency — $10,000/month-and-up clients, Google/Meta/programmatic budgets, agency-of-record contracts — distinct from the smaller-client SMMA model on capital, sales cycle, and what wins a pitch. Derives the make-or-buy mechanism from first principles, works the real math behind commission-vs-retainer-vs-hybrid pay (including the ANA/K2 Intelligence programmatic-opacity scandal), and separates gross revenue from AGI so the margin, churn, and concentration-risk benchmarks in the operating module actually mean something. Closes with sourced 2026 research most 'start an agency' content skips: the Omnicom-IPG consolidation and holding-company AI-driven layoffs, set against the ANA/4A's own finding that independent agencies retain clients longer than holding companies do in the same year — and what that implies for what's actually defensible to pitch. Five modules, the same [Established]/[Directional]/[Speculative] tagging as Income Playbooks, COVER, and AI Agency. Standard-tier barebones build; unreviewed.

56 min of reading