Agency Management Fees vs Media Spend: What You’re Really Paying For

Quick take

If you can’t separate media spend from agency services, you can’t compare proposals properly.

A low “headline fee” often turns into higher costs elsewhere (changes, reporting, trafficking, production).

The goal is commercial clarity: line-by-line, plain English, and no surprises.

What is media spend?

Media spend is the money that goes to publishers and platforms to run your ads (TV networks, radio stations, outdoor suppliers, publishers, Google, Meta, etc.).

What are agency services?

Agency services are what you pay for the work around the media, such as:

planning and strategy

buying and negotiation

coordination and QA

reporting and insights

optimisation (where applicable)

Why small businesses get caught out

Common reasons:

proposals bundle everything into one number

“admin” or “service” lines aren’t scoped

fees appear later (changes, reporting, trafficking)

the business assumes media spend includes everything

The clean way to compare proposals (simple checklist)

Ask for a one-page commercial summary:

media spend (by channel)

agency services (what’s included)

production/creative (if any)

other costs (tags, trafficking, reporting, printing)
Then ask: what’s included vs excluded?

What does “management fee free” mean (where applicable)?

In some models, planning/buying/reporting is management fee free / no additional management fee for the agreed scope, because the agency is paid via standard publisher commission.

Always confirm:

which channels it applies to

what’s included in the scope

what is charged as extra

Red flags to watch for

Bundled totals with no breakdown

Vague “service” lines with no scope

Fees that only appear after you sign

Reporting that’s confusing and doesn’t lead to actions