Best Media Buying Agencies for 2026

A media buying agency is the partner that decides where your money goes across the media landscape and then negotiates, places, and manages those buys. In 2026 that job looks very different than it did even a few years ago. Audiences are spread across linear and connected TV, retail media networks, programmatic display and audio, paid social, and search, and almost none of those channels can be bought the same way twice. The agency that can plan a coherent allocation and then actually execute it well across all of those surfaces is rarer than the category language suggests.

Choosing one is hard for reasons that go beyond channel fragmentation. Programmatic and CTV supply chains are genuinely complex, and the path from your budget to a viewed impression can pass through several intermediaries that each take a margin. Media economics are often opaque: some agencies earn undisclosed arbitrage on inventory they resell, or collect rebates from media owners that never appear on a client invoice. The line between planning and buying has also blurred, so a shop can claim both while being strong at one and thin at the other. None of that is obvious from a pitch deck.

Our point of view at QRY is straightforward. Buying should be planned across channels rather than optimized one platform at a time, the economics should be transparent enough that you know exactly how your agency makes money, and the measurement should be real rather than borrowed from the platforms doing the selling. That lens is how we built this list, and it is the lens we would suggest you use even if QRY is not the right fit for you.

How to use this list

Read the descriptions, not the rankings. Every agency here is a real practitioner, but they are built for different buyers, different channel mixes, and different spend levels. A shop that is excellent for an enterprise CPG brand running national CTV and retail media is the wrong partner for a growth brand that mostly needs disciplined social and search buying. If you want the broader paid media landscape rather than the media-buying cut specifically, our list of the best paid media agencies is a wider view, and our guide on how to choose a paid media agency walks through the diligence questions worth asking on a pitch call.

We evaluated each agency through a consistent lens, and you can apply the same one. If you are weighing a move from an incumbent, the questions in our piece on 7 questions to ask before switching media agencies are a good pressure test before you sign anything. The criteria below are what actually separate these shops.

1. QRY

QRY is an independent paid media agency built around Brand plus Performance buying: integrated cross-channel planning and buying across CTV, programmatic, paid social, and search, with first-party measurement and incrementality testing rather than platform-reported attribution. We work primarily with consumer brands in ecommerce and retail, CPG, financial services, and healthcare and pharma, typically in the growth to mid-market range where brand investment and performance accountability both matter. Media is bought into accounts the brand owns, economics are disclosed, and planning and buying stay connected end to end through our paid media operating model.

Headquarters: Jersey City, NJ

Year Founded: 2016

Team Size: 20–50

Key Services:

• Media Planning & Buying
• Programmatic & CTV
• Performance Marketing
• Incrementality & Measurement

Why Choose QRY:

QRY earns the top spot here on a narrow, testable claim: the buying is planned across channels and the economics are disclosed, so you can see both what was bought and what it actually moved. Most agencies optimize one platform at a time and report the numbers the platforms hand them. We instead tie cross-channel buying to first-party measurement and holdout testing, which is the part most shops avoid because it can show their own work in a less flattering light. Senior practitioners own the client relationship directly rather than handing it to a junior account layer, so the people making allocation calls are the people you actually talk to. If you want execution-only support at the lowest possible fee, we are not the cheapest option, and we will say so early.

We're a fit for: brands at $5M–$100M+ in media spend that want cross-channel buying tied to real measurement, and CMOs who need to translate media performance into board-ready evidence. We're not a fit for: brands under $1M in spend looking for execution-only support, or marketers who want their agency to optimize purely toward last-click ROAS.

Industries:

• Retail & Ecommerce
• CPG
• Financial Services
• Healthcare & Pharma

Example Case Studies:

• Peak Design CTV Geo-Holdout Proves Incrementality
• Integrating Direct Mail & Digital Marketing to Improve HUK's Revenue by 23%
• How QRY Helped Peak Design Increase Online Revenue +66%

2. Goodway Group

Goodway Group is an independent commerce and media agency operating at national scale, with programmatic media, retail media, and connected-commerce strategy as core capabilities. The agency traces its roots to 1929 and has built a proprietary connected-commerce operating system alongside a methodology it describes as principled buying, which governs how inventory is sourced and priced. It serves primarily retail, CPG, and franchise brands that have significant in-store or marketplace distribution and need their media buying to connect to what actually happens at the shelf.

Headquarters: New York, NY

Year Founded: 1929

Team Size: 200–500

Key Services:

• Programmatic Media Buying
• Retail Media & Connected Commerce
• Media Planning & Strategy

Why Choose Goodway Group:

Goodway's distinctive angle is the bridge between digital media and what actually happens at the shelf or in the marketplace, an area many media agencies leave unsolved. Its connected-commerce orientation is built for brands whose growth is constrained by that gap rather than by digital efficiency alone. The principled-buying methodology is the agency's stated answer to inventory-quality and economics questions, and it is worth asking them to walk through it specifically on your account. Retail, CPG, and franchise brands operating at national scale with real in-store or marketplace distribution are where the independence and connected-commerce depth tend to matter most.

Industries:

• Retail & Commerce
• CPG
• Franchise & Multi-Location

3. Mediahub

Mediahub is a global media planning and buying agency within IPG's Mediabrands network, launched in 2005 as a media buying spinoff of Mullen. It operates across 15-plus cities worldwide and is built around what it describes as an unconventional approach to media planning, combining creative media thinking with the inventory access and negotiating leverage of a large holding-company network. It serves primarily large global advertisers in entertainment, technology, and consumer categories running multi-market campaigns.

Headquarters: New York, NY

Year Founded: 2005

Team Size: 1000+

Key Services:

• Media Strategy & Planning
• Programmatic & Addressable Media
• Paid Search & Paid Social
• Research & Analytics

Why Choose Mediahub:

What sets Mediahub apart is a creative point of view on media, not just efficient activation, paired with the inventory access and negotiating leverage that come with a large holding-company network. For global brands buying premium CTV and digital inventory across many markets, that combination is hard for smaller shops to match. The flip side of network scale is network economics, so brands that prioritize fully disclosed media costs should ask precisely how buying is structured and where any rebates or trading benefits land. It is built for enterprise global advertisers rather than focused growth budgets.

Industries:

• Entertainment & Media
• Technology
• Consumer Brands & Lifestyle

4. Exverus Media

Exverus Media is a Los Angeles independent media agency, now part of the Brainlabs group, offering full-funnel media planning and buying for culture-driven brands. Its work spans audience strategy, cross-channel planning, and activation across video, social, programmatic, and connected TV. The agency has been consistently recognized as a leading independent shop and focuses on brands for which cultural relevance in media placement matters as much as channel efficiency.

Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA

Year Founded: 2014

Team Size: 20–50

Key Services:

• Full-Funnel Media Planning & Buying
• Audience Strategy
• Programmatic & CTV

Why Choose Exverus Media:

Exverus has been repeatedly recognized as a leading independent and small media agency, which speaks to consistency rather than a single standout year. Its angle is cultural relevance applied to media planning, building buys around where attention is actually moving for younger and culture-driven audiences. Now sitting inside the Brainlabs group, it can pair that boutique sensibility with broader resources, though brands should clarify how the group relationship affects staffing and economics. Full-funnel work without holding-company overhead is the draw for mid-market consumer and challenger brands, provided that profile aligns with the brand's channel mix and spend level.

Industries:

• Food & Beverage
• Wellness & Lifestyle
• Consumer & Challenger Brands

5. Canvas Worldwide

Canvas Worldwide is one of the larger independent media agencies in the US, now fully owned by INNOCEAN after launching in 2015 as a joint venture between INNOCEAN and Horizon Media. It offers media strategy, planning, and buying across linear, programmatic, connected TV, social, and search, with an emphasis on data-driven decisioning across the full media mix. The agency serves mid-market to large advertisers across automotive, retail, and broad consumer categories.

Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA

Year Founded: 2015

Team Size: 200–500

Key Services:

• Media Strategy, Planning & Buying
• Programmatic & CTV
• Data-Driven Audience Targeting

Why Choose Canvas Worldwide:

The clearest reason to consider Canvas is scale without a holding-company network label: it positions itself as transparent and data-driven while having the backing to handle large, complex media plans. That makes it a reasonable middle option for brands that find pure independents too small but the big networks too opaque. Because the ownership is holding-company-backed rather than fully independent, the useful diligence question is exactly how transparency is implemented in practice, not just stated. It works across a wide band of brand sizes, which is part of its appeal for advertisers whose spend is growing quickly.

Industries:

• Automotive
• Retail
• Technology & Consumer Brands

6. Crossmedia

Crossmedia is a minority-owned independent media agency with US and international offices, founded in Germany in 1997 and in the US in 2000. Its model is built around fully transparent media buying with no arbitrage, and the agency has operated consistently on that principle for more than two decades, making it the largest certified minority-owned media agency globally. It serves mid-market to enterprise brands in retail, financial services, and travel that want disclosed economics as a baseline requirement.

Headquarters: New York, NY

Year Founded: 2000

Team Size: 500+

Key Services:

• Media Strategy, Planning & Buying
• Programmatic & CTV
• Transparent Media Buying

Why Choose Crossmedia:

Where Canvas argues scale-with-transparency, Crossmedia's distinctive position is the absence of arbitrage entirely: the agency states it does not mark up or resell media for undisclosed margin, which directly addresses one of the central trust problems in media buying. For a CMO who has been burned by hidden inventory economics, that no-arbitrage stance is a concrete, checkable commitment rather than a tagline. Longevity as an independent and minority-owned firm adds stability that some newer transparency-first shops cannot point to. It fits mid-market to enterprise brands that want disclosed economics as a baseline requirement, not a negotiation.

Industries:

• Retail
• Financial Services
• Travel & Hospitality

7. Code3

Code3 is a full-service digital agency that connects commerce, media, and creative across major retail and platform ecosystems including Amazon, Google, Meta, and TikTok. Founded in 2010 as SocialCode and rebranded after acquiring a marketplace specialist, Code3 pairs marketplace and retail-media execution with cross-platform paid media and creative. It is built for brands whose growth is led by marketplace performance and who want buying, creative, and commerce strategy under one roof. Brands evaluating this category may also find our list of the best ecommerce marketing agencies a useful adjacent reference.

Headquarters: Cleveland, OH

Year Founded: 2010

Team Size: 200–500

Key Services:

• Marketplace & Retail Media
• Cross-Platform Paid Media
• Commerce Creative

Why Choose Code3:

Code3's center of gravity is commerce, which makes it different from the transparency-first independents above it on this list. The strongest reason to choose it is a brand whose growth is led by marketplace and retail-media performance and who wants buying, creative, and commerce strategy under one roof rather than stitched across vendors. That integration reduces handoffs but also means the engagement is broader than pure media buying, so brands wanting a narrow buying specialist should weigh the wider scope. Brands that are Amazon-led or marketplace-led, and where commerce performance is the primary growth lever, are the practical fit here rather than those with a more balanced or brand-heavy media mix.

Industries:

• Ecommerce & Retail
• Consumer Brands
• Marketplace & Amazon-Led Businesses

8. Empower Ocean Media Group

Empower Ocean Media Group is the second-largest independent media agency group in the US, formed in 2025 by the merger of Empower Media (founded 1985) and Ocean Media (founded 1996), managing $1.5 billion in combined media billings. The group has a multi-office US footprint across Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and New York, and offers full-service media planning and buying across linear, programmatic, connected TV, social, and search. It serves mid-market to enterprise advertisers that want one independent partner across the full media mix.

Headquarters: Cincinnati, OH

Year Founded: 2025

Team Size: 200–500

Key Services:

• Full-Service Media Planning & Buying
• Programmatic & CTV
• Linear & Broadcast Buying

Why Choose Empower Ocean Media Group:

The defining trait here is independent scale: combining two established agencies created a group large enough to handle broad national plans while staying outside the holding-company structure. For brands that want network-level breadth and a single full-service partner but are wary of network economics, that profile is the draw. A multi-office footprint and woman-founded heritage are part of the identity, though the practical question for a buyer is how consistently the combined teams operate across offices. It suits mid-market to enterprise advertisers that want one independent partner across the full media mix.

Industries:

• Retail & Consumer Services
• Healthcare
• Consumer Brands

9. Quigley-Simpson

Quigley-Simpson is a Los Angeles woman-owned full-service media and creative agency with significant television, streaming and OTT, and cross-channel buying capability. Founded in 2002, the agency pairs heavy video buying with in-house creative and analytics across the funnel. It serves mid-market to large national advertisers whose media mix leans on broadcast, streaming, and OTT as a primary growth channel.

Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA

Year Founded: 2002

Team Size: 50–200

Key Services:

• Television & Streaming Buying
• Cross-Channel Media Planning
• Creative & Analytics

Why Choose Quigley-Simpson:

Unlike the commerce-led or transparency-led shops above, Quigley-Simpson's real strength is video at scale: deep television and streaming buying expertise, which still matters enormously for brands whose growth depends on broad reach as much as on lower-funnel efficiency. Pairing that with in-house creative means the message and the media plan can be built together rather than negotiated between two agencies. Being woman-owned and full-service is part of its identity, while the practical fit question is whether your mix is video-heavy enough to use that expertise. It works best for mid-market to large national advertisers leaning on TV and streaming.

Industries:

• Direct-to-Consumer
• Retail
• Financial Services

Choosing the right media buying agency

The right media buying agency depends far less on list order than on the match between the shop's model and the question your business is trying to answer. A national brand running heavy CTV and retail media has a different buying problem than a growth brand that needs disciplined social and search, which is different again from a marketplace-led business where commerce performance dominates. Each agency above has a genuinely different center of gravity, and the diligence work is matching that center to yours.

Two questions cut through most pitches. First, how does the agency make money, and is media cost fully disclosed or does some margin come from arbitrage or rebates you will not see on an invoice. Second, whose data and accounts hold the proof of performance, yours or the agency's. If the buying is lower-funnel and conversion-led, our list of the best performance marketing agencies and the best PPC agencies are useful companion shortlists alongside this one.

There is no single best media buying agency, only the one whose buying model, transparency, and channel depth fit your scale and your category. The list above is built to make those differences visible rather than blur them behind shared category language. Use the lens, ask the hard economics questions early, and choose the partner whose answers you can actually verify.