Performance media ran campaign by campaign across markets, with agency fees and tech costs bundled, bidding logic opaque and tuned to volume rather than value, and budgets that could not flex to results in real time. Acquisition cost drifted up without a common always-on model.
VA built an always-on performance model that bids to value, not volume — unbundling FTE agency fees from tech costs on transparent rate cards, with a shared bidding and budget-flex framework optimising to high-value conversions across markets.
Head of Media, Head of Digital Transformation, CFO
The strategic problem
Performance media ran campaign by campaign across markets, with agency fees and tech costs bundled, bidding logic opaque and tuned to volume rather than value, and budgets that could not flex to results in real time. Acquisition cost drifted up while the group lacked a common, always-on operating model.
Diagnose & Design
VA ran a spend mapping & cost baseline analysis of performance-media investment across markets, unbundling agency fees, tech costs and working media to establish a true cost baseline; a marketing & production ecosystem audit reviewed bidding logic, budget-flex mechanisms and agency contracts, while market benchmarking compared fees and working-media ratios against sector norms. A gap & maturity assessment defined the distance to a value-based, always-on model, and governance design (RACI, KPI framework, scorecards) set the accountability structure for ongoing efficiency, with AURA/FRC (Fulltime Ratecard Calculator) supporting the fee analysis.
Ecosystem & Remuneration
VA designed an always-on performance operating model that bid to value, not volume — remuneration model design separated FTE-based agency fees from tech costs and introduced transparent rate cards; fee benchmarking & validation confirmed that renegotiated terms reflected market reality. Scoping & SOW design defined a shared bidding and budget-flex framework optimising to high-value conversions across markets, and the vendor scouting & shortlisting exercise drew on the VA 5,000+ supplier database to identify specialist performance partners where the incumbent model was underperforming.
Rollout & relationship management
Contracting & onboarding formalised the redesigned agency agreements with unbundled fee schedules, tech cost transparency clauses and performance-flex provisions; handover, rollout & commitment tracking ensured each market adopted the always-on model on schedule and that agency commitments on bidding and reporting were delivered. AURA/Planner back-planned the rollout to two dates — legacy contract expiry and always-on activation — and AURA/Dashboard consolidated every market and partner into one always-on view, while relationship management carried the governance rhythm across the full transition.
Execution Oversight
VA applied briefing & estimate review at every media-planning cycle, catching fee inflation and scope additions before they entered execution. Production cost validation & budget control monitored working-media ratios per market in real time, flagging deviation from the efficiency baseline. Bid governance applied double-award discipline to technology-stack and data-partner procurement, ensuring competitive tension was maintained across the media supply chain.
Performance Measurement
KPIs and scorecards from governance design — working-media ratio, cost per acquisition, fee-to-spend ratio — tracked via partner performance evaluation on a 90/180/360 appraisal cadence; cost saving and cost avoidance reported separately. Outcomes: 14% reduction in performance-media fees and tech cost, 12% cost avoidance from unbundled and renegotiated terms, 28% improvement in working-media efficiency (today closure reports; full performance measurement on the roadmap).
Why VA
Always-on performance needs an always-on model that bids to value, not campaign-by-campaign deals. VA builds it and governs the cost so that efficiency compounds quarter on quarter instead of resetting.
Common questions
What is an always-on performance media operating model?
A continuous model that bids to value rather than volume, with agency fees and tech costs unbundled and transparent and a shared bidding and budget-flex framework across markets — replacing campaign-by-campaign deals with opaque, bundled economics.
How does bidding to value cut acquisition cost?
Optimising to high-value conversions rather than raw volume, with budgets that flex to results in real time, lifts working-media efficiency and lowers cost per acquisition — while unbundled, benchmarked fees remove hidden tech cost.
How is the efficiency sustained quarter on quarter?
Working-media ratio, cost per acquisition and fee-to-spend ratio are tracked on a 90/180/360 cadence — so efficiency compounds rather than resetting with each new campaign.