Media buying plays a critical role in digital marketing performance. It determines how effectively your brand reaches the right audience, in the right place, at the right time. 

The choice between managing media buys in-house or outsourcing to an agency is one of the most important decisions for growing brands in 2025.

Each approach has its strengths and trade-offs. What works for one company may be inefficient or risky for another. The right choice depends on your business goals, internal capabilities, budget, and timeline.

This post outlines the advantages and limitations of both models and offers a clear framework to help you decide.

Key Responsibilities in Media Buying

Before comparing in-house and agency models, it's important to understand the core functions media buyers manage

Responsibilities include:

• Platform selection and budget allocation
• Campaign setup, audience targeting, and testing
• Performance analysis and daily optimizations
• Creative strategy integration
• Tracking, reporting, and attribution setup
• Negotiations with publishers (for direct buys)
• Scaling and refining based on ROAS

These tasks require both strategic insight and technical skills. Without the right execution, even the best ad budget will underperform.

Benefits of Managing Media Buying In-House

For some brands, building an internal media buying team creates more direct control over marketing performance

Advantages of in-house media buying:

• Full alignment with brand messaging and product strategy
• Faster communication between creative, content, and media teams
• Tighter control over budgets and approval processes
• Greater access to first-party data
• Easier adaptation to sudden market changes or product pivots

In-house is often a good fit for:

• Startups with lean budgets and tight feedback loops
• Large brands with mature internal teams and analytics infrastructure
• Companies running few platforms with predictable offers

However, in-house teams may struggle to stay updated with constant platform changes. Media buying in 2025 requires ongoing training, advanced tooling, and deep cross-platform knowledge.

Challenges of Keeping It In-House

Running campaigns internally means you're fully responsible for performance and problem-solving. Without dedicated specialists, campaign optimization can fall behind.

In-house limitations include:

• Limited exposure to new strategies and platform tests
• Hiring and retaining top media buyers can be difficult
• Risk of tunnel vision from operating in one vertical
• Slower troubleshooting if data or tracking issues arise
• Difficult to scale quickly across new platforms

Brands that lack an experienced internal media buyer often miss out on profitable campaign structures or waste budget on under-optimized targeting.

Advantages of Hiring a Media Buying Agency

Agencies bring outside perspective, tested frameworks, and cross-industry experience. A specialized team can execute campaigns faster and more efficiently than most in-house setups.

Benefits of hiring a media buying agency:

• Proven strategies from multiple client types and verticals
• Advanced tracking and attribution models already in place
• Access to higher-tier platform support (e.g. Google or Meta reps)
• Built-in creative and copy feedback loops
• Speed of scaling, launching, and testing new channels

Working with a team like Buzzz can help eliminate the guesswork. Agencies often come with pre-built systems, reporting dashboards, and tested campaign structures that would take months to develop in-house.

Common Concerns with Agency Partnerships

Despite their advantages, agencies also present concerns that must be managed

These include:

• Communication gaps or delays in approvals
• Learning curve for agency to fully understand your product
• Monthly retainers or management fees that exceed internal costs
• Conflicts with internal marketing team ownership
• Potential for over-reliance without developing internal skill

To avoid these issues, brands should establish clear KPIs, transparent reporting access, and bi-weekly strategy syncs.

Cost Comparison: In-House vs. Agency

Cost should not be the only factor, but it's a relevant part of the decision. Both options carry direct and hidden costs

In-House Costs

• Salaries for buyer, analyst, and designer
• Ad tech tools and tracking platforms
• Training and certification costs
• Time investment from leadership
• Hiring and onboarding delays

Agency Costs

• Retainer or percentage of ad spend
• Onboarding and setup fees
• Time required to align on messaging
• Possible upsells on creative or strategy add-ons

Agencies often reduce waste and improve ROAS faster. In-house teams may save money upfront but spend more through inefficient testing or missed scaling opportunities.

Which Option Scales Better?

Agencies are generally more scalable, especially for brands entering new markets or channels. They can deploy resources quickly and replicate proven frameworks across platforms.

Scenarios where an agency scales better:

• Launching on multiple platforms simultaneously
• Expanding internationally
• Running seasonal campaigns with high spend
• Building integrated funnels across Google, Meta, and YouTube

In-house teams can scale, but they require consistent hiring and process development. Scaling often reveals bottlenecks in content production, testing speed, or data visibility.

Hybrid Models: Best of Both Worlds

Some brands choose a hybrid setup. They keep strategy or creative direction in-house and outsource execution, testing, and optimization to an agency.

Hybrid model strengths:

• Retains internal ownership over voice and goals
• Uses agency bandwidth for testing and reporting
• Builds internal team knowledge through agency collaboration
• More agile in adapting to campaign data

This setup is common for Series A or B startups and enterprise brands building marketing centers of excellence.

How to Choose the Right Media Buying Model

Use the following criteria to decide between agencies and in-house:

1. Internal Expertise
   Do you have skilled media buyers and analysts?
2. Speed Requirements
   How fast do you need to launch or scale?
3. Channel Complexity
   Are you running one platform or integrating five?
4. Budget Structure
   Can you commit to a retainer or build a salary stack?
5. Team Bandwidth
   Does your current team have capacity for daily optimizations?
6. Learning Goals
   Do you want to build in-house knowledge or prioritize short-term results?

Review your priorities honestly. Many companies underestimate the workload and risk of going fully in-house without a plan.

For businesses looking to scale through proven frameworks, working with a performance-focused team makes a measurable difference. This detailed guide to picking a media buying agency outlines the questions, contracts, and red flags every brand should consider before committing.

Final Thoughts

Media buying is a growth-critical function. Whether you run campaigns internally or partner with an agency, the most important thing is ownership of performance. Tools and talent must align with business goals.

In 2025, media channels evolve faster than ever. What worked last quarter may not work next. If your team is structured for agility and testing, in-house can succeed. If not, agencies bring immediate systems and scale.

There is no perfect model, only the best fit for your current stage.