What does AdNode do?
We are an independent, NYC-based boutique media agency. We plan and buy advertising for finance, health and consumer brands, and we measure what it did against the objective you set. Analytics, visibility reporting and strategy are part of every engagement. Founded in 2018, at 17 State Street in the Financial District.
What is the minimum budget?
Most of our clients spend $2 million a year or more on media, and there is no ceiling: we have run $2.5 million in a single month for one client and million-dollar months for several. We will start smaller with a test, around $100,000 a month or $250,000 a quarter, when the fit is right. Below that, we will usually tell you we are not the right agency and suggest who might be.
How do you charge?
One fee, a percentage of the media we manage. It covers planning, buying, your reporting, the measurement check, visibility reporting, brand study design and strategy. Nothing is sold separately. There is no software seat and no retainer for analytics.
Which channels and platforms do you buy?
Programmatic display and video, connected TV, paid search, paid social, audio and podcasts, digital out-of-home, and direct deals with publishers. The Trade Desk, DV360, Amazon DSP and Search Ads 360 for programmatic and search; Meta, LinkedIn and Reddit for social; Vistar Media and direct deals for out-of-home. What we use each one for.
Who owns the accounts and the data?
You do. Campaigns run in accounts you can see and keep. Your analytics stay yours. We ask for the access the work requires and nothing more, and when an engagement ends you keep everything.
Do you make creative?
No. Bring your creative or your creative agency. We tell you which version to run, where, and why, and we show you the proof. When an ad needs live data in it, we build the integration that keeps it current.
What do you mean by "how we measure"?
Every campaign answers to the business objective you are measured on. We write it down first, choose the two or three numbers that stand in for it, and treat media metrics such as reach, frequency and CPM as diagnostics rather than results. Your reporting is organized in that order. The full explanation is here.
What is a measurement check, and why does it come first?
Before any media runs we review your tagging, your conversion definitions, your consent and privacy setup and your platform access. Reporting is only as correct as the measurement under it. We have found "purchase" conversions that fired on scheduling pages and one ticket sale counted nineteen times across fifteen accounts. Fixing that first is cheaper than discovering it in a quarterly review.
How do you use AI?
Everywhere, and under supervision. Our engineers build the agents that gather data, draft analysis and check reports. Our people review everything before it reaches you, make the calls and sign the work. We also measure how AI assistants describe your brand against your competitors, and we report it next to your media. More here.
Who will I work with?
Senior people only. Your client partners plan your media, buy it, read the results and answer your board's questions. Today that is Mike Rodov and Will Rand. Nobody learns the job on your account.
Can you work alongside our existing agency?
Yes. We regularly run media next to a creative agency, a PR firm or an in-house team, and we have co-pitched with partner agencies. What we need is a clear owner for each channel and shared access to the measurement.
How fast can you start?
The measurement check takes up to two weeks. A plan follows, and campaigns can be live within thirty days of a signed agreement, often sooner when the accounts and creative already exist.
Do you run brand lift studies?
Yes, and we design them to survive a CFO: a control group, one targeting method per study, at least five million impressions, questions asked the standard way, and the probability reported next to the lift. A sound study fits inside a $100,000 media budget.
Do you sell your reporting?
No. It exists so our people can run your media with more care, and it comes with every engagement. Nobody buys a seat.
How do we start?
Tell us what you are trying to accomplish and what you measure today, and a client partner will tell you whether we are the right agency for it. Let's talk.