Part of the Fieldtrip family

Editorial Policy

9AM: How We Report on Performance Media and Analytics

9AM publishes insights for performance marketers and brand operators who are evaluating media strategy, creative systems, and the agencies and platforms that support growth. This policy explains what we cover, how a piece gets from research to publication, and how we handle it when 9AM itself shows up in the content we publish.

nine.am  |  Performance media, creative & analytics content  |  Part of the Fieldtrip network

  1. 01

    Coverage

    Our editorial content sits inside performance media: paid social, search, programmatic and CTV buying, creative testing and UGC systems, influencer whitelisting, and the analytics and attribution work that ties spend to revenue. We also cover the tools and agencies operating in that space, including comparison and roundup formats. Pieces are written by our team and occasionally by outside contributors who have direct hands-on experience with the subject.

  2. 02

    How a Piece Gets Made

    Research first

    • Every piece starts from a brief that names the specific questions it needs to answer and the sources it will pull from before a single sentence is written.
    • Numbers, benchmarks, and study results are pulled from the original publisher whenever we can get to it, not lifted from another blog's summary of that source.
    • If we don't have data of our own to back up a claim, the piece says so instead of dressing an estimate up as a fact.

    Case studies and results

    Performance figures we cite, ROAS lifts, CAC reductions, spend managed, and similar, are drawn from real, attributable client work. We do not composite results across accounts or round in a direction that flatters the narrative.

  3. 03

    When 9AM Is Part of the Story

    9AM is a performance media agency inside the Fieldtrip network, alongside sibling agencies including inBeat, Creative Milkshake, Bluethings, and Web Tonic. Two situations call for disclosure, and we treat them differently:

    • 9AM appears in our own roundup or comparison: we say so plainly in the piece, next to the mention, rather than letting readers assume they're reading a fully independent ranking. Where we sit in the list is never for sale, and no commercial relationship is required for a brand or tool to be included.

    • A sibling agency appears in our content: the same disclosure applies. Being part of the same network as 9AM does not earn a better placement, and we say so if a sibling agency shows up in a comparison we publish.

  4. 04

    Bylines and Credit

    • Every article carries a named author and a short line on why they're qualified to write it.
    • If a subject-matter expert shaped the piece substantially without being the credited writer, we name them too.
    • We're moving away from unattributed "Team" bylines; older posts are being updated as we get to them.
  5. 05

    Corrections

    • Reported errors are checked and fixed once we've verified them.
    • If a correction changes a ranking, a claim, or a recommendation, we log it at the bottom of the piece with the date.
    • Typos, dead links, and formatting fixes go in without a separate note.
  6. 06

    Keeping Content Current

    Platform features, pricing, and rankings move fast. Pieces covering those topics are revisited on a recurring basis and updated when the underlying facts change, rather than left as a snapshot of the day they were published.

  7. 07

    Questions

    Questions about this policy or a specific article can be sent to our editorial team through the contact page at nine.am.