Blog

In digital advertising, connecting upper-funnel awareness to last-click results is critical for a successful campaign. While most brands are quick to measure success through lower-funnel, conversion-focused metrics, savvy advertisers know that high-performing Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) and Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) drive value across the entire customer journey, impacting those final clicks in ways that often go unseen. Here’s a look at some of the top DSPs and SSPs, and how they support these intangible, yet crucial, upper-funnel efforts.

Leading Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) for Upper-Funnel Success

1. The Trade Desk
   Known for its robust data-driven approach and high degree of targeting flexibility, The Trade Desk helps advertisers access premium inventory across the open web. With extensive measurement tools, it’s a top choice for marketers looking to drive awareness and consideration before consumers are ready to convert. The Trade Desk’s lookback windows and cross-device reach ensure that upper-funnel exposure does more than just drive brand awareness; it pushes users further down the funnel in a measurable way.
2. Google Display & Video 360 (DV360)
   As Google’s premium DSP, DV360 offers access to Google’s extensive ad network, YouTube inventory, and exclusive measurement tools. Its strong integration with Google Analytics allows advertisers to understand how early interactions impact conversions later on. DV360 is particularly useful for brands focused on both the visual and video-heavy upper funnel, with data that ties back to end-of-funnel results.
3. Amazon DSP
   Ideal for retail-focused brands, Amazon DSP is powerful for driving awareness with high-intent users. By leveraging Amazon’s unique shopper data, this platform creates a clear pathway from early impressions to final sales, bridging the awareness-to-purchase gap. Amazon DSP also shines in creating retargeting audiences based on upper-funnel interactions, allowing advertisers to re-engage users as they move closer to conversion.
4. MediaMath
   MediaMath is well-known for its advanced AI capabilities and rich data integration. With powerful predictive models, it helps brands reach customers at the discovery stage, ensuring early engagement translates into valuable data for future retargeting. MediaMath’s comprehensive reporting provides a clear view of how upper-funnel campaigns impact last-click results, giving brands insights into the entire customer journey.
5. AdRoll
   Specializing in retargeting, AdRoll is perfect for brands that want to drive top-of-funnel traffic and follow it through to conversion. With a broad reach and easy integration with e-commerce platforms, AdRoll combines upper-funnel awareness with effective retargeting campaigns. Its multi-touch attribution reports reveal how early engagements shape the user’s path to the final conversion.

Top Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) for Enhanced Upper-Funnel Engagement

1. PubMatic
   PubMatic’s strength lies in its high-quality inventory and emphasis on transparency. It offers access to premium publishers, ensuring your ads are shown to engaged audiences in trusted environments. Its robust data tools make it easy to understand how upper-funnel impressions impact user actions and drive value throughout the customer journey.
2. Magnite
   A major player in the SSP space, Magnite (formerly known as Rubicon Project) provides deep data insights and a wide selection of premium inventory. Magnite’s transparency and commitment to brand safety ensure upper-funnel ads appear in brand-safe environments, enhancing credibility and audience trust. Its reporting tools also help brands understand how these impressions later translate into lower-funnel actions.
3. OpenX
   OpenX stands out with its audience-first approach and high ad quality. Known for delivering high-impact formats, it is highly effective for brands aiming to drive awareness and consideration. OpenX’s data integration and audience insights enable brands to measure the ripple effect of top-funnel exposure, ensuring that awareness campaigns continue to pay off later in the journey.
4. SpotX
   For brands looking to break into video advertising, SpotX is a leader in video SSP solutions. Its reach across CTV and OTT platforms makes it a great choice for engaging upper-funnel audiences in premium video content. With its focus on brand-safe, high-quality placements, SpotX ensures that video impressions serve as the first step in a consumer’s journey, priming them for later engagements.
5. Index Exchange
   Index Exchange is known for its transparent, user-friendly SSP platform, offering direct connections to premium publishers. This transparency in inventory and bidding data allows brands to measure the full impact of upper-funnel campaigns, especially when layering in custom data or unique audience segments.

Why Upper-Funnel Exposure Matters for Last-Click Results

While DSPs and SSPs are primarily associated with targeting and data, their role in building brand affinity early on has a powerful impact on conversion metrics. By serving ads that focus on awareness and consideration, these platforms help brands plant a seed in the consumer’s mind—often without an immediate action. This initial exposure not only establishes brand presence but also builds trust and recognition, making consumers more likely to engage when they encounter a lower-funnel ad later.

Top-performing DSPs and SSPs can help brands leverage unique, first-party data, retargeting capabilities, and cross-platform reach, allowing advertisers to reinforce messaging throughout the customer journey. These intangible benefits of upper-funnel investments result in higher quality last-click actions, giving advertisers a full-funnel approach to drive better overall ROI.

Conclusion

Working with the right DSPs and SSPs for upper-funnel advertising is essential to create a seamless path from awareness to conversion. Platforms like The Trade Desk, DV360, Amazon DSP, PubMatic, and Magnite bring an unmatched combination of quality reach, transparency, and data-rich insights that support each stage of the customer journey. While last-click metrics are key to campaign evaluation, upper-funnel activities power these final actions and can be a game-changer in driving brand growth.

In the last few years, media costs have climbed higher and higher, pushing brands to rethink and recalibrate their advertising budgets. Whether it’s digital or traditional, media prices have surged, driven by a complex set of factors from increased competition to shifts in consumer behavior. But why are these costs rising, and what can brands do to maximize their return on investment?

Understanding the Surge in Media Costs

Media costs aren’t just inching up—they’re skyrocketing. For many, this trend started around the pandemic, as brands moved to digital channels en masse, hoping to capture audiences spending more time online. Since then, the increase has been driven by a few key factors:

1. Increased Competition: With more brands competing for the same online ad space, the cost per click (CPC) and cost per thousand impressions (CPM) have steadily risen. The competition isn’t just coming from traditional brands either. Startups, small businesses, and even influencers have joined the mix, all vying for visibility.
2. Privacy and Tracking Changes: Privacy updates, such as Apple’s iOS 14.5 changes and third-party cookie deprecation, have shifted the way digital ads are targeted. With less precise targeting, brands often have to increase budgets to reach the same audience effectively, driving up the costs.
3. The Push Toward Premium: As media platforms continue to grow, they’re also segmenting their offerings into premium spaces with exclusive inventory, particularly on Connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) services. These premium placements come with premium prices, which can be hard to avoid as audiences shift to streaming.
4. Seasonality and Event-Driven Surges: The natural ebbs and flows of marketing budgets around peak seasons—holidays, sporting events, election cycles—amplify demand, increasing media costs for advertisers across the board. With global events happening almost year-round, these spikes are no longer occasional—they’re constant.
5. Inflation’s Role in Rising Media Costs: Media costs aren’t immune to inflation. As inflation rises, so do the operational costs of running ad platforms, from technology upgrades to employee wages. This increased expense often trickles down to advertisers in the form of higher ad prices.

The Impact on Brand Budgets

The cumulative impact of these cost increases can’t be ignored. Brands find themselves having to pay more to achieve the same reach and frequency they once did for less, which has led to tough choices:

• Scaling Back on Channels: Some brands are reducing the number of channels they advertise on, focusing their budgets on only the most efficient platforms.
• Seeking Better Attribution Models: Rising costs have made it more critical for brands to understand exactly where their dollars are going and which platforms are generating real value. Effective attribution helps make better decisions on ad spend, leading to higher ROIs.

Strategies for Brands to Adapt

While it’s true that media costs are rising, there are ways for brands to adjust and keep campaigns profitable. Here are a few strategies to help weather the storm:

1. Diversify Channels Thoughtfully: To reduce reliance on costly platforms, brands can explore newer, less saturated channels where competition is lower and CPMs are still affordable. Niche social media sites, podcast ads, and direct partnerships with smaller publishers can be viable options.
2. Invest in Organic Content: While it’s tempting to allocate every dollar to paid ads, organic content—such as social media engagement, SEO, and blogs—can offer a high return over time. A strong organic presence can lessen the reliance on paid ads, especially during times of peak competition.
3. Embrace Contextual Targeting: With privacy shifts making precise targeting harder, contextual ads offer a viable alternative. By placing ads in relevant environments (e.g., an outdoor gear ad on a travel site), brands can still reach high-value audiences without the costs associated with behavioral targeting.
4. Leverage Programmatic for Efficiency: Programmatic buying allows for a more efficient use of ad spend, often reducing costs through automation. Plus, programmatic platforms allow for real-time adjustments to bid rates, helping brands maintain control over rising costs.
5. Maximize Customer Retention: Acquiring new customers in this high-cost environment is challenging. Focusing on retention strategies—such as personalized email campaigns and loyalty programs—can help reduce customer churn and increase lifetime value, which offsets the rising cost of customer acquisition.

The Future of Media Margins

As digital media evolves, media costs may continue to rise, but so will the tools and techniques for optimizing spend. While brands might feel the pressure of rising margins today, those who are agile in their approach and committed to innovation will find ways to adapt. Brands that are smart with their budgets, open to exploring new platforms, and focused on efficiency will not only survive but thrive in this ever-evolving landscape.

Adapting to rising media costs isn’t easy, but with the right strategies, brands can maintain a competitive edge and continue reaching their audiences effectively. Whether it’s a pivot in channel selection, investing in organic reach, or using data for precision, proactive approaches will be essential in this challenging media environment.

In the fast-paced world of digital advertising, brands of all sizes are investing in specialized agencies to maximize their media buying strategy. Whether you’re a small business looking to grow, a mid-sized brand aiming to expand reach, or a well-established company fine-tuning a multi-channel campaign, knowing what it costs to work with a digital media agency is key.

Small and Mighty: Budgets for Small to Medium-Sized Brands

If you’re running a small to medium-sized business, digital media buying can be a game-changer. However, smaller brands often have to be strategic with budgets, especially when spreading spend across multiple channels like PPC, social media, and display advertising.

Average Cost: Agencies typically charge around $5,000 – $20,000 per month for brands in this category.

This budget generally covers core digital services, such as:

• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads
• Social media advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• Basic display advertising for brand visibility

By investing at this level, smaller brands can access professional media buying services and begin scaling their customer base with confidence.

Mid-Tier Budgets: Expanding Reach with Increased Spend

For mid-sized brands, the budget and strategic demands increase as they look to grow market share and expand brand reach. This usually means more robust targeting, broader platform selection, and a focus on measurable returns.

Average Cost: For a solid multi-channel approach, brands should expect to pay an agency $20,000 – $100,000 per month.

In this range, an agency can develop more integrated campaigns across:

• Advanced programmatic advertising for targeted reach
• Connected TV (CTV) and Over-the-Top (OTT) advertising on platforms like Hulu, Disney+, and Sling TV
• Data-backed social media and display ads with A/B testing and optimization

For brands with mid-sized budgets, the payoff comes in both reach and ROI, as agencies leverage data-driven strategies and refined targeting to maximize ad spend.

Enterprise-Level Budgets: Full-Funnel Strategies at Scale

Enterprise brands are the big players in the digital landscape, often running complex campaigns across multiple channels and regions. With a larger budget, agencies can tailor solutions that build awareness, drive conversions, and sustain customer loyalty at a grand scale.

Average Cost: For full-funnel digital strategies, enterprise brands usually invest $100,000 to over $1 million per month.

This spend covers top-tier services, such as:

• Full-service programmatic and DSP (Demand Side Platform) integration
• Customized CTV/OTT campaigns on premium streaming networks
• Data analytics and reporting for real-time insights
• Dedicated account teams, creative production, and high-level consulting

These clients often look for exclusive access to inventory, detailed audience segmentation, and a high degree of customization, all of which demand greater expertise and resources.

Performance-Based Models: Pay for Results

A growing number of agencies now offer performance-based pricing models, allowing brands to pay based on the results delivered. Agencies in this model may charge a percentage of the total ad spend (typically between 10% and 20%) or a mix of base fees plus performance incentives tied to campaign KPIs.

This model is ideal for brands that are laser-focused on metrics, with clear goals around lead generation, conversion rates, and customer acquisition. For brands that like to see direct returns on their ad dollars, performance-based pricing can offer peace of mind and measurable success.

Annual Retainers and Long-Term Partnerships

Many agencies prefer annual contracts or retainers, which create stability for both parties and allow the agency to plan long-term strategies with a minimum guarantee of ad spend. These retainers can range anywhere from $100,000 to several million dollars annually, depending on the brand’s needs, campaign scope, and monthly ad budget.

Retainers are particularly valuable for brands that need consistent support across multiple campaigns and channels throughout the year. With this model, agencies can dedicate time and resources to comprehensive planning, making for a seamless and efficient partnership.

---

Choosing the Right Agency Investment for Your Brand

In the end, the amount a brand invests in a media buying agency is a reflection of its goals, market size, and growth ambitions. For some brands, it’s about maximizing a modest budget to see strong returns. For others, it’s an all-in strategy to dominate their market with creative and targeted campaigns.

No matter where your brand fits, partnering with the right agency—and investing wisely—can elevate your digital advertising, connect you with your audience, and drive meaningful results. Ready to make the leap? Consider the factors above, assess your goals, and dive into the digital world with confidence.