The Media Agency Report 2025: Challenges, Choices and the Road Ahead
The New Demands on Agencies
Agencies are stepping into a bigger role: translating audience data into activation-ready strategies, proving combined reach across on- and offline channels, and delivering one clear view of the customer across every touchpoint.
This evolution positions agencies as strategic architects, weaving together complexity into a single, accountable narrative that clients can act on with confidence.
The Expanding Role of Agencies
Agencies are stepping into a bigger role: translating audience data into activation-ready strategies, proving combined reach across on- and offline channels, and delivering one clear view of the customer across every touchpoint.
This shift elevates agencies as strategic architects, guiding clients through complex ecosystems and turning fragmented signals into cohesive, audience led media campaigns.
Audience Insight as a Strategic Driver
Audiences don’t just live in channels, they move across moments, contexts and cultures. Agencies are responding by:
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Tracking behavior seamlessly across platforms.
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Delivering personalization that resonates across diverse audiences.
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Connecting creative relevance with media precision.
The leaders in 2025 will be those who decode people in motion, capturing not just where audiences are, but why they engage and how messages align with cultural context.
Time, Tools, and Transformation
The responsibility media agencies carry today is investment-heavy. Delivering accountable strategies requires not only expertise, but significant commitments of time, talent and technology:
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62% of agencies spend more than five days building a cross-channel plan.
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85% rely on three or more planning tools to get to a result.
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77% invest over $100K every year in planning infrastructure.
These figures show the weight agencies are carrying to keep strategies precise and outcomes measurable. The commitment reflects the scale of client expectations, but it also highlights where efficiency gains matter most.
At TelmarHelixa, we believe those investments should work harder. By reducing fragmented toolsets, cutting planning time, and creating integrated workflows, agencies can focus resources where they have the most impact: driving strategies that demonstrate unified reach, resource efficiency, and tangible business results.
Priorities for 2025
The report shows a clear set of priorities guiding agencies this year:
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Campaign optimization - ensuring strategies deliver maximum value.
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Scenario planning - equipping clients to navigate uncertainty with confidence.
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Cross-platform measurement - presenting one unified reach and frequency view.
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Data integration - aligning multiple datasets into a consistent audience story.
Together, these priorities reflect a shift from fragmented planning to orchestrated systems that strengthen client trust and performance.
At TelmarHelixa, we designed Plan to meet agencies wherever they are on their data journey. Whether working without a syndicated dataset (by modelling bespoke media), with a single subscription or managing multiple survey sources, agencies can build cohesive media plans that deliver one combined outcome. That flexibility means every agency, regardless of its data maturity, can move faster, plan smarter and deliver accountable results.
TelmarHelixa’s Perspective
Every TelmarHelixa product is designed with these agency needs in mind:
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Unified data that creates one people-first audience view.
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Streamlined workflows that free strategists to focus on creativity and insight.
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Connected planning and activation so strategies translate seamlessly into measurable outcomes.
TelmarHelixa is built to bring systems together, turning fragmented toolsets into integrated workflows, and complexity into clarity for every agency team.
Closing Thoughts
The 2025 Media Agency Report highlights the scale of responsibility agencies now carry, balancing significant investments of time, talent and technology while delivering measurable outcomes for clients. By aligning data, planning, activation and measurement into one continuous flow, agencies are shaping a future defined by agility, transparency and stronger client partnerships.
At TelmarHelixa, we build with this future in mind. Our solutions transform fragmented toolsets into integrated workflows, giving agencies the ability to move faster, compare investment scenarios with confidence, and turn strategy into results clients can see and measure.
Download a copy of TelmarHelixa's 2025 Advertising Industry Research Review report today.
