Top 10 SiriusXM Advertising Mistakes to Avoid in 2026

Reviewed by Peter Berk, President and Chief Media Strategist, Berk Marketing · Last updated 5 September 2026

TL;DR

SiriusXM reaches 33 million paying subscribers you can’t find on AM/FM, but first-time campaigns fail for predictable reasons. The biggest mistakes: treating it like local radio when it’s national-only, underspending below the $10K/week minimum needed for frequency, picking the wrong channels for your audience, and skipping call tracking entirely. This guide covers all ten mistakes with real budget numbers, practitioner insights, and specific fixes for each.

Quick Answer: What Are the Biggest SiriusXM Advertising Mistakes?

The biggest SiriusXM advertising mistakes are choosing the wrong SiriusXM Media inventory, misunderstanding geographic targeting, budgeting without enough reach or frequency, mismatching channels and audiences, reusing unsuitable radio creative, launching without attribution tracking, testing too few creative variants, using multiple competing calls to action, judging radio only by last-click conversions, and buying media without understanding rates and placement options.

The most important 2026 lesson is that “SiriusXM advertising” is no longer one simple product. SiriusXM Media offers advertising across SiriusXM satellite, streaming, podcasts, Pandora and other audio inventory, with different targeting, creative and measurement capabilities. Advertisers should define the exact inventory they are buying before comparing costs or expected results.

Why SiriusXM Advertising Mistakes Are So Expensive

SiriusXM advertising requires a minimum weekly spend of $10,000 and a $20,000 order minimum. That’s not a suggestion from an agency trying to upsell you. It’s the platform’s floor. Get your strategy wrong, and you’ve burned $20,000 before you learn a single useful thing about your audience.

The opportunity is real. SiriusXM reaches roughly 170 million total listeners, with 65% of in-car subscribers never tuning to AM/FM. The average listener is 54, earns a household income above $102,000, and over 71% have attended college or hold advanced degrees. For direct-response advertisers in insurance, legal, home services, and financial products, that’s a dream demographic.

But the platform has quirks that catch first-time buyers off guard. It’s national-only. Its talk channels carry different advertisers than their TV counterparts. Its attribution data is spotty unless you build your own tracking infrastructure. And the minimum spend means a poorly planned test doesn’t just underperform, it wastes five figures.

Here are the ten SiriusXM advertising mistakes that drain budgets, and how to avoid every one of them.

What Is SiriusXM Advertising in 2026?

SiriusXM advertising can refer to several different advertising environments sold through SiriusXM Media, including SiriusXM’s satellite service, streaming audio, podcasts and other digital audio inventory. These products should not be treated as interchangeable because they differ in targeting, audience behavior, ad formats, measurement and geographic capabilities.

For example, SiriusXM Media currently offers targeted advertising based on factors such as content category, audience characteristics, inventory, show, ad break and daypart. Its broader streaming advertising products also support location and audience targeting.

That distinction matters when evaluating advertising costs. A campaign running on SiriusXM satellite inventory is not necessarily comparable with a geographically targeted streaming campaign or a podcast host-read campaign.

Before buying, ask three questions:

1. Which SiriusXM Media property am I buying?

2. What audience and geographic targeting does that inventory support?

3. How will impressions, conversions and incremental lift be measured?

Answering those questions first prevents many of the mistakes covered below.

SiriusXM Media currently lists brand spots, host reads and custom offerings for SiriusXM, while its streaming and podcast businesses offer substantially different formats.

Who Should Advertise on SiriusXM?

SiriusXM advertising is most attractive to businesses that can benefit from large-scale audio reach, audience targeting, strong content alignment or personality-driven advertising.

It can be particularly relevant for:

• National consumer brands

• Financial services

• Insurance

• Automotive

• Travel

• Technology

• Home services

• Healthcare and wellness brands

• B2B companies targeting executives or professionals

• Premium products with higher customer values

• Brands using audio as part of a broader media strategy

However, category alone does not determine whether SiriusXM is a good fit. The more important questions are whether the available audience matches the buyer, whether the campaign can support sufficient reach and frequency, and whether conversions or incremental lift can be measured.

SiriusXM Media says its audience includes affluent and highly educated listeners, while its current advertising portfolio spans satellite, streaming and podcast environments.

Who Should Not Advertise on SiriusXM?

SiriusXM may be a poor fit when:

• The business has an extremely small service area and no suitable geographic targeting option is available for the selected inventory.

• The average customer value is too low to support audio acquisition costs.

• The campaign budget cannot generate a measurable test.

• There is no way to distinguish SiriusXM-generated leads from existing demand.

• The advertiser has no dedicated landing page, phone tracking or other attribution method.

• The product requires visual explanation that audio cannot communicate effectively.

• The campaign has no clear audience or positioning.

• The advertiser expects immediate results from a short flight.

The correct decision is not “SiriusXM is expensive” or “SiriusXM is cheap.” It is whether the expected customer value and measurable incremental response justify the media investment.

At-a-Glance: The 10 Mistakes and What They Cost You

#	Mistake	What It Costs You	Difficulty to Fix
1	Treating SiriusXM like local radio	Entire budget wasted on wrong medium	Easy (go/no-go decision)
2	Underfunding your first test	False negative kills future tests	Medium (budget planning)
3	Picking the wrong channels	Low response rates despite good creative	Medium (audience research)
4	Reusing terrestrial radio creative	Jarring ads that listeners ignore	Medium (creative adaptation)
5	Skipping call tracking and attribution	Campaign looks like a failure even when it works	Medium (setup before launch)
6	Running one ad without testing	No way to optimize, creative fatigue	Medium (rotation planning)
7	Burying or splitting the CTA	Listeners interested but unable to act	Easy (script rewrite)
8	Using SiriusXM in isolation	Missing cross-channel lift effects	Medium (media mix planning)
9	Quitting after one week	Never reaching frequency threshold	Easy (patience + commitment)
10	Buying direct without negotiation expertise	Paying rate card, getting no added value	Easy (hire a buyer)

1. Treating Every SiriusXM Advertising Product the Same

Best for understanding: Advertisers comparing SiriusXM satellite, streaming and podcast advertising.

One of the biggest SiriusXM advertising mistakes in 2026 is assuming that every SiriusXM ad buy works the same way.

SiriusXM Media now sells advertising across multiple audio environments, including SiriusXM satellite, streaming audio, podcasts and Pandora. Each has different targeting capabilities, formats, audience behavior and measurement options.

This matters because an advertiser may hear that SiriusXM is a national audio platform and assume that every campaign has to be purchased nationally. That is no longer an accurate description of the entire SiriusXM Media advertising ecosystem.

SiriusXM Media’s current targeting capabilities include geographic, contextual, inventory, audience and daypart options, depending on the product being purchased.

The fix

Before requesting rates, specify the exact product you want to buy:

• SiriusXM satellite

• SiriusXM streaming

• SiriusXM Podcast Network

• Pandora or other streaming inventory

• A cross-platform SiriusXM Media campaign

Then ask what geographic, audience, contextual and inventory targeting is available for that specific product.

Bottom line: Don’t ask only, “How much does SiriusXM advertising cost?” Ask, “Which SiriusXM Media inventory am I buying, who can I target, and how is it measured?”

2. Underfunding Your First Test

Best for understanding: Budget planning and minimum spend requirements.

SiriusXM’s minimum weekly spend is $10,000, with a minimum order of $20,000. That gets you on the air, but it may not get you the channels you want or the spot volume you need. Some channels cost more than others, and $10,000 per week might deliver thin frequency on premium talk or news programming.

The $10,000 floor exists for a reason. Without sufficient frequency, your message never reaches the repetition threshold where listeners start to act. Multiple agency sources recommend a three-month commitment for realistic results. SiriusXM budgets are set weekly and paid in advance.

Practitioners on Reddit’s r/smallbusiness and various radio advertising forums consistently echo the same point: most advertisers who declare “we tried radio and it didn’t work” were running at levels too low to produce any meaningful signal. A two-week, minimum-spend test can tell you if the phones ring at all, but it can’t tell you whether the channel will be profitable at scale.

The fix: Plan for a $20,000 to $30,000 initial test over two to three weeks, with budget reserved for a full three-month run if early signals are positive. If that’s beyond your budget, explore remnant radio advertising on terrestrial talk stations, which can deliver similar demographics at a lower entry point.

3. Picking the Wrong Channels

Best for understanding: Audience matching and demographic targeting on SiriusXM.

SiriusXM’s overall audience skews 51% female and 49% male, with an average age of 54 and an average household income of $102,000. But those averages mask enormous variation across channels. The business and news channels (Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox Business) attract business owners and C-suite executives. The sports channels skew heavily male. The comedy and lifestyle channels pull younger listeners.

Here’s what many first-time buyers miss: SiriusXM talk channels carry different advertisers than their TV counterparts. A thread on RadioDiscussions.com explains why. The Fox News SiriusXM channel, for example, carries the audio of the Fox News cable channel. SiriusXM blocks the original TV ads and inserts ads it sells separately. The TV advertisers never bought the satellite inventory. So the “filler” ad spots attract a completely different advertiser base, mostly direct-response and niche brands.

This is actually an advantage for DR advertisers. You’re not competing with Fortune 500 brand campaigns for listener attention. Forum users noted that SiriusXM talk channels are populated by advertisers like Big Lou Insurance and Manscaped, not major national brand advertisers who avoid issue-based talk programming. Less competition means your spot stands out more.

The fix: Don’t just buy “SiriusXM.” Target by channel genre deliberately. If you want business owners, buy Bloomberg and Fox Business. If you want the older male demographic that indexes high for insurance and financial products, buy sports talk and news. Use SiriusXM’s Nielsen Report data to match your target demo to specific channels.

How SiriusXM Advertising Targeting Works

SiriusXM Media offers multiple targeting approaches, but the options depend on the specific advertising product and inventory being purchased.

Current SiriusXM Media targeting capabilities include contextual targeting, inventory targeting, daypart targeting, audience targeting and advanced approaches such as lookalike modeling and retargeting. Geographic targeting is also available within parts of the SiriusXM Media ecosystem.

Common SiriusXM targeting options

• Geographic targeting

• Audience targeting

• Content and category targeting

• Channel targeting

• Show-level targeting

• Daypart targeting

• Contextual targeting

• Behavioral targeting

• Lookalike modeling

• Retargeting

The mistake is assuming that every targeting option is available across every SiriusXM product.

Before buying, request a targeting matrix showing exactly which targeting capabilities apply to the inventory in your proposal.

4. Reusing Terrestrial Radio Creative Without Adapting It

Best for understanding: Why platform-specific creative matters on SiriusXM.

SiriusXM runs roughly 50% fewer ads per hour than terrestrial AM/FM radio. That’s a major selling point for the platform, but it changes the creative environment completely. Listeners are accustomed to a cleaner audio experience. A shouting, car-dealership-style spot designed to cut through AM/FM clutter will feel jarring and out of place on SiriusXM.

SiriusXM’s own Creative Director has stated publicly that repurposing terrestrial ads for their platform is one of the most common mistakes advertisers make. The listening environment is different. The audience expectations are different. A spot that works on a local AM drive-time slot, competing with six other spots in the same break, needs to be rethought for a platform where your ad might be one of only two or three in a break.

This doesn’t mean you need to start from scratch. It means adapting tone, pacing, and production quality to match SiriusXM’s less cluttered format. Host-read and endorsement-style spots tend to perform particularly well on talk channels because they match the conversational tone listeners are already engaged with.

The fix: Develop platform-specific creative for SiriusXM. Consider host reads and live endorsements for talk channels, and study what creative formats work best on talk radio before writing your script.

5. Skipping Call Tracking and Attribution Setup

Best for understanding: Why SiriusXM campaigns look like failures when they’re actually working.

This SiriusXM advertising mistake is the silent killer. Without call tracking, unique landing pages, and branded search monitoring, radio looks invisible. Many advertisers judge it by last-click digital standards, and that comparison will always make radio look bad. Radio drives a Google search, a direct website visit, or a phone call to the main number, not a trackable click.

SiriusXM’s own data is encouraging: 80% of campaigns produced statistically significant lift in conversion or app installs, and campaigns delivered 20-30% higher attribution rates compared to lower-cost audio buys. But the platform itself acknowledges a gap. One SiriusXM executive admitted that “until we go have a direct conversation with the brand, we often have no idea what they’re passing into their model.” The only data advertisers typically have on hand are billing or planning reports estimating digital audio impressions.

Radio can produce call spikes. If those calls go to voicemail or a front desk that doesn’t ask “how did you hear about us,” the campaign’s ROI appears to be zero even when it generated demand.

The fix: Set up dedicated tracking before your first spot airs. Use unique phone numbers, dedicated landing pages with distinct URLs, and monitor branded search volume increases during and after flight windows. Our guide on adding call tracking to radio campaigns walks through the full setup.

What Should You Measure From a SiriusXM Advertising Campaign?

SiriusXM should not be evaluated using a single last-click conversion metric. Audio can influence behavior before the final conversion, so a campaign should use multiple measurement signals.

Measurement	What it tells you
Calls	Immediate direct response
Qualified calls	Whether leads are commercially valuable
Dedicated landing-page visits	Direct response to the campaign
Branded search volume	Potential demand created by the ads
Direct traffic	Additional website response
Conversion rate	Quality of traffic generated
New customers	Business outcome
Revenue	Financial result
Cost per qualified lead	Acquisition efficiency
Brand lift	Upper-funnel impact
Incremental lift	Whether the campaign generated additional results

SiriusXM Media says it works with measurement partners including Veritonic for creative and brand-lift measurement and ArtsAI and LeadsRx for attribution.

The key question

Do not ask only, “How many people clicked?”

Ask:

“What changed after SiriusXM exposure that would not have happened without the campaign?”

That question produces a much more useful measurement strategy.

6. Running One Ad Without Testing Variants

Best for understanding: Creative testing cadence and avoiding fatigue.

Running a single creative on SiriusXM is one of the most common and most costly SiriusXM advertising mistakes for direct-response buyers. You have no way to know if poor results stem from the channel, the audience, or the creative itself. And even if the creative works initially, listener fatigue will erode performance over time.

A veteran direct-response copywriter put it bluntly: if you ask for an ad that sounds like all other ads, takes no risks, won’t stand out, and won’t offend anyone, the ad will bomb. Every time. The solution is testing, but testing requires discipline. Each variant needs enough frequency across enough days to produce a meaningful sample size. Plan for at least 15 to 20 airings per variant per channel during a test window.

The fix: Launch with at least two creative variants. Rotate them evenly for the first two weeks, then shift budget toward the winner. Refresh creative every four to six weeks to combat fatigue. For a step-by-step approach, see how to test multiple radio creatives quickly.

7. Burying or Splitting the Call to Action

Best for understanding: Why strong CTAs are non-negotiable in audio advertising.

Listeners cannot act on an ad if they don’t know the next step. This sounds obvious, but it’s one of the most persistent mistakes in SiriusXM advertising. Remember: most SiriusXM listeners are in the car. Roughly 90% of subscribers are in-car listeners. They can’t click. They can’t scroll. They might be able to remember one thing.

Every SiriusXM ad needs a single, crystal-clear call to action. Not two. Not “visit our website or call.” One action, repeated two to three times in the spot. A vanity URL or a memorable phone number works best. Promo codes are risky because drivers can’t write them down.

Don’t confuse listeners with multiple actions. Choose one: visit a website, call a number, or text a keyword. Then repeat it until it feels like you’re repeating it too much. That’s roughly the right amount.

The fix: Audit your current script. Count the CTAs. If there’s more than one, cut it down. For detailed guidance, review radio CTA best practices for offer wording that converts audio attention into immediate response.

8. Using SiriusXM in Isolation Instead of as Part of a Media Mix

Best for understanding: Cross-channel strategy and lift effects.

SiriusXM’s internal research claims that adding its inventory to social media buys can increase campaign reach by up to 34%, and that it can boost the reach of CTV or OTT campaigns by as much as 50%. Those numbers come from SiriusXM itself, so take them with appropriate skepticism. But the underlying principle is well-established: audio advertising lifts performance across other channels.

Consumers spend 31% of their media time with audio, yet audio receives only 9% of ad budgets. That gap represents opportunity, but only when audio is integrated into a broader plan. Radio exposure lifts all boats. It drives branded search, increases direct site traffic, improves conversion rates, and can raise the average ticket across all channels.

Using SiriusXM as a standalone channel, without coordinated digital, CTV, or terrestrial radio support, limits its impact and makes attribution harder. When someone hears your SiriusXM ad and then clicks your Google ad an hour later, the Google ad gets credit. Without a multi-channel view, SiriusXM looks like it did nothing.

The fix: Plan SiriusXM as one component in a broader media mix. Coordinate messaging across channels. Monitor for “hidden” value in overall web traffic lifts, higher conversion rates, and increased average order values during flight windows. A comprehensive radio advertising ROI guide can help you think through measurement across channels.

9. Expecting Day-One Results and Quitting Too Early

Best for understanding: Realistic timeline expectations for SiriusXM campaigns.

In most cases, your brand and your offer will be completely new to SiriusXM listeners. The three to five message exposures needed for someone to take action may not happen for two, three, or even four weeks. That’s basic advertising frequency math, not a SiriusXM-specific problem. But SiriusXM’s higher cost floor makes the patience harder to sustain.

Advertisers who quit after one week are making one of the most expensive SiriusXM advertising mistakes because they’re paying the startup cost (getting creative produced, negotiating the buy, establishing baseline tracking) and walking away before the investment has a chance to compound.

A case study from the manufacturing sector illustrates the timeline: an established OEM spent $40,000 over three months and doubled their website traffic during that period, generating over 100 new leads online. Their online leads had been declining, and a single sustained buy reversed that trend by mid-year. The key word is “sustained.”

The fix: Commit to a minimum three-month test before declaring success or failure. Set weekly KPIs (call volume, branded search trends, landing page visits) to track progress, but reserve judgment on overall ROI until the full flight is complete.

10. Buying Direct Without Media Buying Expertise

Best for understanding: Why agency representation matters on SiriusXM.

SiriusXM doesn’t offer a lot of added value unless you are a consistent advertiser (three months or more) or a large advertiser with buys exceeding $100,000. If you’re running a one-time minimum flight, you’re not likely to get preferential rates, bonus spots, or strategic guidance from the platform’s sales team. Their job is to sell inventory, not optimize your campaign.

A media buying agency that specializes in radio and SiriusXM brings several advantages: rate negotiation across competing outlets, creative production expertise, experience with what channels and dayparts perform for your category, and tracking infrastructure that most advertisers don’t have in-house.

This is especially true for direct-response advertisers. The difference between a $15 CPM and a $22 CPM, multiplied across a three-month campaign, can amount to tens of thousands of dollars. An experienced buyer knows which channels are overpriced, when remnant inventory is available, and how to structure flights for maximum frequency without overspending.

The fix: Work with a media buying specialist who represents advertisers (not the media companies) and has specific SiriusXM experience. The right partner can secure better rates, produce creative at no additional charge, and set up tracking from day one.

Get a free SiriusXM media plan and consultation →

How Much Does SiriusXM Advertising Cost?

There is no single SiriusXM advertising rate that applies to every campaign. Pricing depends on the SiriusXM Media property, inventory, audience, targeting, placement, campaign length, creative requirements and buying arrangement.

Advertisers should therefore avoid judging a SiriusXM campaign solely by a quoted spot price. A $500 spot, for example, tells you very little without knowing the estimated audience, frequency, placement and total campaign reach.

What determines SiriusXM advertising cost?

Cost factor	Why it matters
Inventory	Satellite, streaming and podcast inventory have different pricing models
Audience	Highly sought-after audiences can command different rates
Placement	Channel, show, personality and other placement choices affect cost
Targeting	More specific targeting can change available inventory and pricing
Ad length	Production and inventory requirements can differ by format
Campaign duration	Longer campaigns may provide more planning flexibility
Frequency	Reaching the same listener repeatedly affects total spend
Creative	Production, host reads and custom executions can add costs
Measurement	Attribution or brand-lift studies may add requirements or costs

SiriusXM Media states that campaign pricing varies depending on where the campaign runs and says it works with advertisers of different sizes, budgets and objectives.

Best practice: Request a media plan that shows estimated impressions, reach, frequency, CPM, inventory and targeting rather than accepting a single “SiriusXM ad rate” as the basis for your decision.

A Note on SiriusXM’s Shifting Ad Landscape

One more thing advertisers should know: SiriusXM is in the middle of a platform shift that creates additional confusion. CEO Jennifer Witz has stated publicly that SiriusXM sees “a real opportunity to take share from AM/FM with the right price points and packages.” The company recently launched SiriusXM Play, a lower-cost tier at roughly $7/month that includes ads on music channels for the first time. Previously, only talk channels carried advertising.

This means the inventory you’re buying is changing. New ad-supported tiers are expanding the available listener pool but also introducing new placement types that didn’t exist a year ago. Advertisers need to understand exactly which inventory they’re purchasing: satellite talk channels, streaming music, or some combination. Each has different listener behavior, different demographics, and different creative requirements.

Also worth addressing: some agencies advertise “discounted SiriusXM remnant rates.” One competitor has stated bluntly that SiriusXM does not offer remnant advertising on its satellite inventory, and that anyone claiming otherwise “is just not telling the truth.” The distinction matters. SiriusXM controls pricing on its satellite inventory directly. However, broader talk-radio and network buys across terrestrial stations do involve standard remnant purchasing, where unsold airtime is available at significant discounts. Don’t confuse the two, and be wary of anyone conflating satellite remnant with legitimate terrestrial remnant buying.

SiriusXM Advertising Pre-Launch Checklist

Before approving a SiriusXM advertising campaign, confirm:

Strategy

• Campaign objective is clearly defined

• Target customer is documented

• Customer value supports the planned acquisition cost

• SiriusXM inventory matches the objective

Media plan

• Exact SiriusXM Media property is identified

• Channels, shows or inventory are listed

• Geographic targeting is documented where applicable

• Estimated reach is provided

• Estimated frequency is provided

• CPM or effective CPM is provided

• Total campaign cost is documented

Creative

• At least two creative approaches are available

• The opening seconds establish attention quickly

• The offer is easy to understand

• One primary CTA is used

• The URL or phone number is easy to remember

Measurement

• Dedicated phone number is configured

• Landing page is configured

• Conversion tracking is active

• Branded search is monitored

• Call quality is tracked

• Revenue or qualified-lead outcomes are recorded

• Incremental lift is considered where appropriate

Optimization

• Weekly reporting is scheduled

• Creative performance is compared

• Audience performance is reviewed

• Poor-performing inventory can be adjusted

• A defined success threshold exists before launch

FAQ

What is the minimum budget to advertise on SiriusXM?

SiriusXM requires a minimum weekly spend of $10,000 and a minimum order of $20,000. Most agencies recommend planning for at least $20,000 to $30,000 for an initial two-to-three-week test, with budget reserved for a three-month commitment if early results are promising.

Can I target specific cities or regions on SiriusXM?

No. SiriusXM is a satellite service that broadcasts nationally across all of North America. There is no geographic targeting available. If your business only serves one metro area, SiriusXM is almost certainly not the right platform. Consider local AM/FM radio instead.

What kind of businesses do best with SiriusXM advertising?

Direct-response advertisers with national or broad regional footprints tend to perform best. Insurance, financial services, legal services, home services franchises, and health/wellness brands are common SiriusXM advertisers. The audience skews older (average age 54), affluent (average HHI $102,000), and college-educated (71%+), which is ideal for considered purchases.

How long does it take to see results from a SiriusXM campaign?

Most advertisers need two to four weeks before the frequency builds enough for listeners to take action. A realistic test period is three months. Quitting after one or two weeks is one of the most common SiriusXM advertising mistakes and almost guarantees a false negative result.

Does SiriusXM offer remnant or discounted ad rates?

SiriusXM controls pricing on its satellite talk channel inventory and does not offer a traditional remnant buying model. However, terrestrial talk-radio stations and national networks do have standard remnant inventory (unsold airtime at discounted rates). These are different products and should not be confused.

How do I track ROI from SiriusXM ads?

Use unique phone numbers with call tracking, dedicated landing pages with distinct URLs, promo codes (when appropriate for non-driving contexts), and branded search volume monitoring. Without proactive tracking setup, your campaign will look invisible in analytics even if it’s driving real demand.

Which SiriusXM channels should I advertise on?

It depends on your target audience. Business owners and executives concentrate on Bloomberg, CNBC, and Fox Business channels. Male-skewing products do well on sports channels. Lifestyle and comedy channels reach slightly younger demographics. Match your demo to channel genre using SiriusXM’s published audience data rather than buying broadly.

Should I buy SiriusXM ads directly or use an agency?

Buying directly can make sense when a company has an experienced media buyer, internal creative resources and the infrastructure to measure performance. An agency can be useful when the advertiser needs help with inventory selection, negotiation, creative development, attribution, optimization or cross-channel planning.

The important comparison is not simply direct versus agency. Compare the complete media plan, including media cost, estimated reach, frequency, targeting, creative fees, measurement, optimization and any agency fees.

A lower media rate is not necessarily the better deal if the campaign reaches the wrong audience or cannot be measured.