New York City is one of the most expensive and competitive places in the world to buy media. NYC agencies handle roughly 40% of all national media billings, within a creative economy worth over $110 billion.
That also means cost per thousand impressions (CPM) here is among the highest in the country. And, buying media without the right partner means you're paying premium rates for placements that may not perform as expected.
The right media buying agency changes that. They know which NYC placements are worth the premium, how paid channels fit into your larger marketing strategy, and how to give you reporting that connects spend to real business outcomes.
In this article, you’ll discover:
- Top 15 media buying agencies operating in NYC
- The channels and industries each one specializes in
- Relevant client results and campaign examples
- A practical framework to help you pick the right fit
- What’s shifting in NYC media buying in 2026
| Agency | Best For | Key Differentiator | Notable Clients |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9AM (Nine.am) |
Performance-driven DTC & growth brands | Full-funnel system tying creative + media + analytics to profitability | Bumble, Abbott, The Farmer’s Dog, Hopper |
| Noble People | Brand repositioning + upper-funnel campaigns | Creative-first media planning with no rebate model | PayPal, Slack, Jira, Klarna |
| Direct Agents | Mid-market to enterprise scaling with AI | Proprietary AI platform for audience intelligence + cookieless targeting | Samsung, BBC, Carhartt, Colgate |
| Tinuiti | Large-scale eCommerce & marketplace brands | Proprietary measurement stack for incrementality + revenue attribution | Etsy, Bombas, e.l.f. Cosmetics |
| Amsive | Data-heavy, audience-driven performance marketing | Audience Science platform with 250M+ IDs for deep segmentation | Commerce Bank, Hiscox, Fast Company |
P.S. If you want to go beyond media buying and look at the full performance marketing picture, our breakdown of the best performance marketing agencies in NYC covers that.
How We Evaluated the Best Media Buying Agencies in NYC
We looked at agencies with a proven track record in media buying and media planning across New York City. The factors we weighed include:
- Demonstrated results, including ROAS, conversions, and campaign performance metrics that clients can actually verify.
- Channel depth across paid social, programmatic advertising, connected TV, digital marketing, and traditional formats like billboard advertising and radio.
- Approach to media strategy, from audience segmentation to real-time bidding and campaign optimization.
- Transparency in reporting, meaning clear KPI tracking and analytics that tie spend to real business outcomes.
- Client diversity across industries like healthcare, retail, eCommerce, and entertainment.
We also factored in reputation, including client reviews, industry recognition, and how long these agencies have been operating at a high level in the NYC media market.
Top Media Buying Agencies in NYC: What Each One Does Best
1. Nine.am (9AM)
At 9AM, we create media strategies around profitability. We structure every campaign so that creative production, media buying, and analytics work together. That means that your budget decisions are guided by performance data from day one.
You can see the result in our work for GenomeLink, where we reduced CAC by 77% over three years. For Booksy, we drove a 1,700% increase in business registrations while cutting cost per registration by 92% in six months. We also hold Premier Partner status with Google, Meta, and TikTok.
Notable clients: Bumble, Abbott, Hopper, The Farmer's Dog, Hurom, NielsenIQ.
Core services: Media buying (paid social, search, programmatic, CTV, retail media), creative strategy, influencer partnerships, growth strategy, analytics and measurement.
2. Noble People
- Website: noblepeople.co
- Location: 96 Morton St, Floor 3, New York, NY 10014
- Rating: 5.0/5 (Clutch)
Noble People was built by people from some of the most awarded advertising agencies (Fallon, Wieden+Kennedy, Crispin Porter + Bogusky) who believed media planning should be a creative act. They cut out vendor rebates entirely and charge based on team time.
Their Jira campaign is a good one. Jira was always seen as a developer tool, and they wanted to change that. Noble People placed ads in airports, rideshares, and streaming platforms to reach knowledge workers in the right mindset. The result: +20 points in ad recall, 132% top of funnel growth, and +13 points lift in usage intent.
Notable clients: PayPal, Jira, Slack, Marco's Pizza, Harry's, Klarna. Core services: Communications strategy, media planning and buying, broadcast TV, OTT, paid social, OOH, performance media, data analytics.
3. Direct Agents
- Website: directagents.com
- Location: 5th Ave & E 21st St (Flatiron District), New York, NY
- Rating: 5.0/5 (Clutch)
Direct Agents is an independent agency that has been running since 2003. They built a proprietary AI platform called Kanopy that integrates first-party data and audience intelligence into campaign planning. This is a great advantage as third-party cookies phase out.
Their Funimation campaign is a good example of what their AI-powered digital strategy looks like in practice. They cut CPA by 60%, averaged 20% month-over-month growth across all business units, and hit a 60% conversion rate within six months.
Notable clients: Samsung, BBC, Carhartt, Colgate, Morgan Stanley, Scholastic.
Core services: Paid media, search engine optimization, Amazon and commerce media, creative design, data and analytics, media mix modeling.
4. Tinuiti
- Website: tinuiti.com
- Location: 111 West 33rd St, New York, NY
- Rating: 5.0/5 (Clutch)
Tinuiti is one of the largest independent marketing agencies in NYC, with $4 billion in digital media under management.
Their edge is Bliss Point, a patented measurement platform used by 300+ brands to see exactly which media spend is driving revenue. It includes rapid media mix modeling, incrementality testing, and brand equity tracking, all in one system.
Forrester has called out their Amazon ad strategies as some of the strongest in the field.
Notable clients: e.l.f. Cosmetics, Bombas, Etsy, Eddie Bauer, Ancestry.
Core services: Paid search, paid social, Amazon and marketplace media, streaming TV and audio, influencer marketing, lifecycle marketing, analytics.
5. Amsive
- Website: amsive.com
- Location: 915 Broadway, Suite 501, New York, NY 10010
- Rating: 4.5/5 (Clutch)
Amsive's biggest differentiator is their proprietary data platform, Xact, which covers 250 million universal IDs with over 70,000 custom attributes.
That means they can build audience segments from their own data, even if you show up with zero first-party data to start with. They call this approach Audience Science, and it drives everything from channel selection to creative messaging.
Notable clients: Fast Company, Commerce Bank, Hiscox, Keene State College.
Core services: Paid search, programmatic, SEO, direct mail, performance creative, audience science and data analytics, and social media.
6. Involved Media
- Website: involvedmedia.com
- Location: 470 7th Ave, New York, NY 10018
- Rating: 5.0/5 (Clutch)
Involved Media is an NYC media planning and buying agency backed by a global parent company with over $1 billion in buying power. That gives them the negotiating power of a large network with the agility of a smaller team.
For their Jackson Hewitt campaign, they secured the lowest TV CPM in the category (per iSpot.TV) and beat the #2 advertiser's share of voice by 9 points while spending 71% less.
Notable clients: U Beauty, Jackson Hewitt, Quicken.
Core services: Media strategy, tactical planning, research and analytics, programmatic, CTV, broadcast, radio, OOH, digital media.
7. The Charles
- Website: thecharlesgrp.com
- Location: 401 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, NY 10013
- Rating: 5.0/5 (Clutch)
This ad agency focuses on luxury and heritage brands that need premium campaigns.
Their team handles everything from paid media to website design, which gives them tight control over how a brand shows up across every touchpoint.
In their Birkenstock campaign, they repositioned the brand as recovery footwear for runners. They built the entire narrative around ultramarathoner stories and ran it across paid media, social, and the Birkenstock website.
Notable clients: Birkenstock, Marriott Bonvoy, Cartier.
Core services: Media buying and planning, brand strategy, content marketing, digital marketing, web development and design and, analytics and measurement.
8. Horizon Media
- Website: horizonmedia.com
- Location: 75 Varick St, New York, NY 10013
- Rating: 4.5/5 (Google)
Horizon Media is one of the largest independent media agencies in the U.S., with $9 billion in billings and over 2,300 employees. Founded in 1989, they've built multiple proprietary platforms:
- Blu - their marketing data platform that brings together behavioral economics and media planning
- Neon - an AI retail media platform
- Mavin - a native short-form video tool
- Caliper - for digital media optimization and forecasting
All of that technology is built in-house, so your planning, buying, and reporting are connected from the start. They've also been named U.S. Media Agency of the Year by both Adweek and Ad Age.
Notable clients: Geico, A&E Networks, Burger King, Capital One, LG Electronics.
Core services: Media planning and buying, brand strategy, communications planning, programmatic advertising, connected TV, retail media, analytics and measurement, sports, and experiential marketing.
9. Ai Media Group
- Website: aimediagroup.com
- Location: 213 West 35th St, New York, NY 10001
- Rating: 5.0/5 (Clutch)
Ai Media Group is built around Atrilyx, their patented attribution platform that tracks every touchpoint in the customer journey and deduplicates conversions across channels. This removes platform bias from your reporting, so you see which campaigns are driving customer acquisition and which ones are just taking credit.
You can use Atrilyx as a standalone attribution engine with your existing team, or partner with Ai Media Group as a full-service media agency. The team boasts that most clients see stronger efficiency within 60 to 90 days.
Notable clients: Spectrum, Oscar De La Renta, Hilton, Ferrari, Lexus, Panasonic.
Core services: Paid search, paid social, programmatic advertising, connected TV, SEO, creative, CRO/CRM, analytics, and reporting.
10. Markacy
- Website: markacy.com
- Location: 199 Water St, New York, NY 10038
- Rating: 4.8/5 (Clutch)
Markacy is a financially-driven performance marketing agency. They connect every media investment directly to profit and loss outcomes, so your CFO and CMO are working from the same playbook.
They made a proprietary analytics platform called “Gather” that consolidates data across channels into real-time business intelligence. We like that the team also supports Private Equity firms with marketing diligence and post-deal value creation, which speaks to their financial rigor.
Notable clients: Microsoft Advertising, Scheid Family Wines, Hobo International.
Core services: Paid media (search, social, programmatic, television), SEO, email marketing, creative development, media mix modeling, incrementality testing, analytics.
11. OMD USA
OMD (Omnicom Media) is one of the largest media agencies in NYC, with $35.6 billion in global billings and over $11 billion in North America.
Their media planning and buying runs on Omni, Omnicom's marketing orchestration platform, which connects audience data, media planning, and creative activation. RECMA has ranked OMD the #1 global media network for 11 consecutive editions, one of the longest streaks of any agency.
Notable clients: PepsiCo, McDonald's, Apple, State Farm, Clorox, Gap Inc., Mercedes-Benz.
Core services: Media planning and buying, audience analytics, programmatic advertising, connected TV, search, social, content strategy, commerce media, measurement.
12. Good Apple
- Website: goodapple.com
- Location: 135 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
- Rating: 4.4/5 (Google Reviews)
Good Apple was founded by former Razorfish employees who wanted to cut the bureaucracy of big agency life. They improve partner efficiencies by 30% on average and assign specialists to each campaign, so your account is managed by someone who already understands your industry.
One culture that sets Good Apple apart is how they use third-party partners to evaluate campaign effectiveness. The team believes agencies shouldn't be grading their own homework. They buy across everything from paid social and programmatic to television and OOH.
Notable clients: Birchbox, PepsiCo, AGTC.
Core services: Media strategy and planning, media buying (social, programmatic, OOH, television, audio), search, analytics, campaign optimization.
What Separates a Great Media Buy From a Good One in NYC
Any advertising agency can set up a media campaign. The difference is how they handle measurement, creative decisions, and channel timing.
Measurement that proves lift, not just attribution
ROAS is still the most common metric agencies report, but it can't tell you whether a sale would have happened without the ad. A campaign might show a 5x ROAS, while 40% of those conversions were already going to happen organically.
That's why top NYC agencies use incrementality insights, with frameworks like geo-lift testing, which compares exposed audiences against control groups.
According to an eMarketer and TransUnion survey, 52% of U.S. brand and agency marketers already use incrementality testing, and 36% plan to increase spending on it over the next 12 months.
If your agency only reports ROAS, you're making budget decisions based on incomplete data.
Frequency management that protects every impression
NYC CPMs are expensive. If your agency isn't actively managing frequency caps, you're paying premium rates to show the same ad to the same person over and over again.
Watch for:
- Frequency distribution reports, not just averages
- Cross-platform frequency across Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and display
- Audience segments seeing the same ad 10+ times per week
At that point, you are likely paying for fatigue, not conversions.
Channel expansion backed by controlled testing
Agencies love recommending new channels, but the question is not “Should we be on CTV?”
It’s: “Will CTV beat reallocating that budget to a proven channel?”
A strong media buying agency tests new channels with controlled budgets and scales only when the data supports it.
Performance baselines that hold everyone accountable
Without a baseline, your results are missing context. A 3x ROAS means little if the account was already at 2.8x.
Before hiring an agency, define:
- CPA by channel
- ROAS by campaign type
- Organic traffic and conversion trends
- Revenue attribution by source
The best agencies set these baselines during onboarding. If yours does not, bring it up early.
What's New in NYC Media Buying in 2026
Programmatic, CTV, and retail media are changing media buying in New York City.
Programmatic now makes up 91% of all digital display ad spending, so agencies need a dedicated media strategy, inventory control, clean access to demand-side platforms, and ongoing campaign optimization.
CTV is also gaining budget. CTV completion rates sit around 90-95% compared to 40-60% for mobile video, and NYC brands target specific ZIP codes without buying a full metro-wide TV campaign.
Retail media is growing, too. Amazon, Walmart, and Target offer ad inventory tied to purchase data, which makes it useful for eCommerce brands that need clearer attribution.
Finding the Right Media Buying Partner in NYC
The agencies on this list represent a range of specialties and unique approaches. Some are built for enterprise-scale global campaigns, while others are built for growth-stage startups that need every dollar to perform.
The right fit depends on your budget, vertical, and how hands-on you want your agency relationship to be.
If you're looking for a media buying partner that ties creative, media, and measurement into one workflow, our team can help.
Book a strategy call today, and we’ll show you exactly how your budget can work harder in New York's most competitive market.
FAQs
What channels do NYC media buying agencies usually manage?
Most agencies handle a mix of paid social, search, programmatic display, connected TV, and sometimes out-of-home advertising. Many NYC agencies specialize in cross-channel media strategies, especially when paid media needs to support broader brand awareness goals.
How much do media buying agencies in NYC charge?
Most NYC agencies charge either a flat monthly retainer or 10 to 20% of your total media spend. The average hourly rate among top NYC media buying agencies is $100-$149 per hour.
Is a local NYC agency better than a remote one for media buying?
For campaigns that involve OOH, local broadcast, or NYC-specific inventory, yes. Local agencies have direct relationships with publishers. They know which placements perform in specific boroughs and can move faster on time-sensitive buys, which is why many digital marketing agencies still keep a strong local media network.
Appendix
- New York City Advertising Industry: Data Reports 2026
- OMNICOM MEDIA NAMED BEST PERFORMING GLOBAL MEDIA GROUP, EARNS #1 RANKING ACROSS ALL FOUR REGIONS
- Omnicom Media Named Best Performing Global Media Group, Earns #1 Ranking Across all Four Regions
- FAQ on incrementality: How to prove your ads actually work in 2026
- What is the average CTV CPM? (Q1 2025)
- The US Programmatic Advertising Market: Automation, Scale and Efficiency - TechBullion