You can widen your search by using our directory and filtering through more than 550 media buying agencies by hourly rates, budget, agency size, location, and other criteria. You can also learn more about our selection process at the bottom of this article.

The Number 1 Media Buying Agency as Selected by DesignRush Is...

1. TEC Direct Media

• Best for: Overall
• Average hourly rate: $180
• Minimum budget: $10,000 - $25,000
• Founded: 2001
• Size: Under 49
• Location: Chicago, IL
• Notable clients: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Records, Specialized Bicycles, Concord

TEC Direct Media provides media planning and buying services for high-profile brands. The agency has decades of experience with internationally renowned clients in the music, entertainment, and consumer goods sectors, using online and offline media to elevate and strengthen their brands.

TEC Direct Media Success Story

• Challenge: TEC Direct Media is the agency of record for Specialized Bicycles, a US-based premium bicycle manufacturer. The company needed to boost its sales promotions and new product releases in key markets by acquiring ad space on radio and billboards.
• Solution: Implementing a low-cost buying strategy, TEC placed radio schedules across 5 large Nielsen audio markets to generate awareness and in-store traffic. It also placed billboards and digital boards in strategic locations, targeting older adults with relatively higher incomes who typically travel by car, bus, or train.
• Result: Radio ads helped drive more sales compared to the previous year across multiple markets. Sales of new products, such as e-bikes, also beat projections across test markets thanks in part to this media campaign.

Check TEC Direct Media Agency Profile

2. Wingman Media

• Best for: Ad campaigns for niche products and services
• Average hourly rate: Inquire
• Minimum budget: $50,000 & Up
• Founded: 2003
• Size: Under 49
• Location: Westlake Village, CA
• Notable clients: UFC, Tempur-Pedic, Jacuzzi, Sit ‘N Sleep, Boston Medical Group

Wingman Media is a growth-minded media buying agency with expertise in launching campaigns on CTV, traditional TV, radio, and digital platforms. It also specializes in targeting niche audiences and industries. Additionally, the agency provides free media audits to help businesses optimize their ad campaigns for maximum growth and ROI.

Wingman Media Success Story

• Challenge: Wingman has been a partner of the Sit N’ Sleep mattress company for over two decades. As mattresses are expensive items with low purchase frequency, the agency had to help make Sit N’ Sleep’s product line a more appealing purchase within a short 3-week sales cycle.
• Solution: To build credibility, Wingman sought endorsements from high-profile radio personalities, who urged listeners to give Sit ‘N Sleep a try. The agency also placed memorable TV ads at a high frequency to counteract the short sales cycle.
• Result: From a one-off furniture store, Sit ‘N Sleep has grown into one of America’s leading specialty mattress retailers with more than 40 locations nationwide and over $160 million in annual sales.

Check Wingman Media Agency Profile

3. Vision Media

• Best for: Local and national-level media strategies
• Average hourly rate: $200
• Minimum budget: $1,000 - $10,000
• Founded: 2002
• Size: Under 49
• Location: Bellevue, WA
• Notable clients: Coca-Cola, The Museum of Flight, Merrill Gardens, Trustone Financial Credit Union, Geisinger, Clean Energy

As the leading media planning and buying agency in the Pacific Northwest, Vision Media provides results-driven media strategies for businesses and organizations of various sizes and industries. It has decades of experience crafting tailored media strategies to help clients achieve their unique marketing and business objectives. Vision Media is also highly proficient in communicating, managing, and billing media representatives and vendors.

Vision Media Success Story

• Challenge: Vision Media serves as an agency of record for Coca-Cola, planning and executing media campaigns for 40+ Coca-Cola bottlers and retail partners. More recently, the agency was tasked to stimulate purchases from customers looking for pre-lunch and snack beverages on-the-go and while playing video games.
• Solution: Using geotargeted data and media close to retail locations, Vision Media zeroed in on consumers who were most likely to buy a beverage. The agency collaborated with media partners such as Waze to engage customers who were considering on-the-go purchases. It also bought ad inventory from Twitch and other video game streaming channels to engage gamers with convenient offers while playing.
• Result: Coca-Cola reported a +30% increase in purchase volume of its 20 oz. classic Coca-Cola sodas and a +9.6% increase in store visits.

Check Vision Media Agency Profile

4. Media Two Interactive

• Best for: Aggressive media planning and buying campaigns
• Average hourly rate: Inquire
• Minimum budget: $50,000 & Up
• Founded: 1998
• Size: Under 49
• Location: Wilmington, NC
• Notable clients: Berkshire Hathaway, Walmart, Microsoft, Sonoco, 3M, Mizuno

Media Two Interactive offers a range of programmatic media buying, traditional media buying, social media buying, and planning services. The agency takes what it calls a bold approach to media strategy and implementation, resulting in impactful results. It also fosters a decentralized collaborative process, enabling clients to play a greater role in planning their media campaigns.

Media Two Success Story

• Challenge: Sonoco, a multinational packaging and industrial products supplier, partnered with Media Two to promote their new eco-friendly paper packaging. The agency was also tasked with boosting product launches with custom ad placements.
• Solution: Media Two implemented a phased launch strategy that started with a soft launch of ad campaigns that scaled over time. It also partnered with trade publications to develop custom advertising solutions, enabling Sonoco to target audiences more accurately for greater impact.
• Result: Throughout the soft launch phase, Sonoco reported a 400% lift in lead volume. The start of the campaign period also saw a 197% increase in daily click volume.

Check Media Two Agency Profile

5. EXL Media

• Best for: Tourism and hospitality businesses
• Average hourly rate: $149
• Minimum budget: $50,000 & Up
• Founded: 1994
• Size: Under 49
• Location: Incline Village, NV
• Notable clients: Palisades Tahoe, Four Seasons Resort, Costa Palmas, Diamond Peak Ski Resort, Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority

EXL Media offers strategic media planning and buying services that cater to varying client criteria, branding, and budget. Its proprietary media process focuses on transparency, which means clients know where each dollar is spent, which audiences were reached, and how it translates into measurable results. The agency has decades of experience working with hotels, resorts, convention centers, and other businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector.

EXL Media Success Story

• Challenge: The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority (RSCVA) partnered with EXL Media for a branding campaign targeting potential customers in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The goal was to increase room nights in designated market areas in the two cities.
• Solution: Using visitor origination data, EXL Media identified ZIP codes where adults with high household incomes (HHI) booked room nights frequently. Billboards were placed strategically in these locations according to traffic, visibility, and demo target. Travelers within the LAX airport were also given free Wi-Fi courtesy of the RSCVA after watching a branded video.
• Result: During and shortly after the 8-month-long ad campaign, RSCA saw a 154% increase in website visits from the LA area and a 35% increase in San Francisco. The targeted ZIP codes also saw an increase of up to 38% in room night bookings year over year.

Check EXL Media Agency Profile

6. Hotspex Media

• Best for: Digital ads
• Average hourly rate: $199
• Minimum budget: $25,000 - $50,000
• Founded: 2013
• Size: Under 49
• Location: Toronto, Canada
• Notable clients: Fujitsu, Under Armour, Clorox, Amazon, Panasonic

Consistently ranked as one of the leading media buying and planning agencies worldwide, Hotspex Media offers a complete package of digital media planning and advertising services. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, Hotspex has a more strategic process that ensures brands and businesses get the most out of their media buys. This includes brand measurement, detailed audience targeting, and integrated media buying tailored to the client’s needs.

Hotspex Media Success Story

• Challenge: Hotspex Media partnered with an oral care company to guide them through their first social media marketing campaign. To support this initiative, the agency set up ad campaigns on Facebook, YouTube, and Google.
• Solution: Hotspex crafted every step of the marketing campaign, including which KPIs would be tracked and what types of ads to be scheduled. The agency also provided a custom campaign dashboard to view and analyze reports and project progress.
• Result: While the initial campaign faced challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the client reported increased brand awareness from its target audiences. The client also praised the campaign dashboard, which enabled them to view impressions and other key metrics in the smallest detail.

Check Hotspex Media Agency Profile

7. Dragon360

• Best for: Paid media strategy consulting
• Average hourly rate: $149
• Minimum budget: $1,000 - $10,000
• Founded: 2007
• Size: Under 49
• Location: Kingston, NY
• Notable clients: Fofax, Bentley, Pantone, Blue Diamond Almonds, Kofax

From startups to multinational corporations, Dragon360 has helped many businesses craft paid media campaigns that drive scalable growth. Its people-first approach uses data-driven insights to generate awareness and fuel innovative and captivating ad campaigns. The agency also provides consulting services to optimize strategies and build media campaigns that generate maximum ROI.

Dragon360 Success Story

• Challenge: Dragon360 was hired by Kofax, an automation software provider, to help them bring in more incremental and recurring revenue. The company also wanted to find more qualified leads and acquire new customers from across its portfolio.
• Solution: Dragon360 orchestrated a unified paid advertising strategy to create and capture demand across the enterprise and e-commerce arms of the business. The agency took advantage of cross-selling, seeing such quick wins as a significant boost to the campaigns.
• Result: The unified paid media approach gave Kofax a massive 600% return on ad spend in e-commerce revenue. It also led to a 24% decrease in average cost per conversion.

Check Dragon360 Agency Profile

8. ChuckJoe

• Best for: Ad campaigns for food and beverage products
• Average hourly rate: $149
• Minimum budget: $1,000 - $10,000
• Founded: 2016
• Size: Under 49
• Location: West Hollywood, CA
• Notable clients: Amy’s, Milk Bar, Sumo Citrus, Jacobsen Salt Co., Splendor Water

ChuckJoe draws from years of experience to deliver industry-leading media buying services to food and beverage companies worldwide. Its paid media strategy focuses on reaching out and engaging audiences at every stage of the media buying process, leading to increased customer loyalty and conversions. The agency also provides social media and influencer relations services, ensuring clients are connected to the right people at the right time.

ChuckJoe Success Story

• Challenge: Splendor Water, a volcanic water supplier from Ecuador, partnered with ChuckJoe as part of its efforts to successfully launch its brand online. The agency was responsible for growing the company’s paid media channels from no presence to a steady source of revenue.
• Solution: ChuckJoe implemented a multi-platform media strategy to boost brand awareness across multiple channels. The consumer data acquired was also used to expand the email subscriber base that would later serve as the foundation of the company’s email marketing channel.
• Result: The campaign was instrumental in growing Splendor Water’s email list from zero to over 14,000 subscribers. The increased monthly revenue generated from email also rose from $476.25 to $13,974.68, contributing to the client’s 208% year-on-year revenue growth overall.

Check ChuckJoe Agency Profile

9. Ai Media Group

• Best for: Proprietary attribution technology
• Average hourly rate: Inquire
• Minimum budget: Inquire
• Founded: 2008
• Size: 100-249
• Location: New York, NY
• Notable clients: Panasonic, Hard Rock Hotel, Mediacom Business, Berkeley College, Turtle Bay Resorts

Ai Media Group is a full-service media planning and buying agency that combines cutting-edge technology with years of industry expertise. It features a unique attribution platform that gathers data and insights essential to crafting ad campaigns across various channels. Its experts help clients make informed decisions and attain the best ROI possible.

Ai Media Group Success Story

• Challenge: Turtle Bay Resorts partnered with Ai Media Group to assist them in their campaign to increase bookings and tap into new sources of revenue. Although the company was already meeting its ROI goals through paid search and remarketing, it saw an opportunity for its website to bring in more reservations and revenue.
• Solution: Ai Media Group launched an omnichannel strategy to maximize brand visibility and engagement. It leveraged major digital marketing channels such as the Google Display Network, YouTube ads, paid socials, and programmatic ads to ensure seamless engagement with potential customers at every touchpoint.
• Result: The campaign achieved a 117% increase in conversion rate, with clickthrough rates (CTR) rising by over 600% and internet search doubling during this period. Overall, Turtle Bay exceeded its ROI targets by nearly 3x its initial goal.

Check Ai Media Group Agency Profile

10. WEBITMD

• Best for: Multichannel paid ad management
• Average hourly rate: $199
• Minimum budget: $1,000 - $10,000
• Founded: 2008
• Size: Under 49
• Location: Los Angeles, CA
• Notable clients: Aquent, Ryanair, Hyatt, TP-Link, Anderson Hay

WEBITMD is a digital growth agency that provides paid media services across multiple platforms. Whether it’s Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, or YouTube, businesses can gain access to high-performing networks under a single engagement scheme. It also does all the legwork from onboarding (goal setting, competitor analysis, campaign setup) to implementation and optimization (A/B tests, fine-tuned audience details, budget reallocation), saving clients time and resources.

WEBITMD Success Story

• Challenge: Anderson Hay teamed up with WEBITMD to help promote its new e-commerce brand, Andy’s Hay. Struggling to find its audience even after considerable ad spend, the client needed to find a way to build brand awareness and put the fledgling brand on the map.
• Solution: The WEBITMD team launched paid ads on Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram to increase reach. This is supported by branded sample packs that were handed out to prospective customers.
• Result: Andy’s Hay ads and content reached 2.3 million people worldwide with 7 million in total impressions. Paid media also contributed to a 5x boost in returns on ad spend in Amazon, while 2,000 new leads were acquired from the sample packs.

Check WEBITMD Agency Profile

How We Picked the Top Media Buying Agencies

Our research team ranked each media buying agency using our in-house scoring system according to several key criteria. These include:

• Reviews: Feedback and evaluation from past and current clients on an agency’s performance
• Portfolio: Highlights the agency’s knowledge and expertise in handling various projects
• Awards and Press: Recognitions and media coverage showcasing the agency’s competencies and achievements
• Team Bios: Showcases the credentials of individual team members and the company’s overall dynamics
• Top Services: The core services that serve as the company’s identity and drive its purpose
• Media Buying Expertise: Specific capabilities, tools, and skills set the agency has for planning, negotiating, and purchasing ad space and time.

You can also visit the DesignRush Agency Ranking Methodology to learn more about our ranking system.