THE EFFICIENCY TRAP: RETHINKING VALUE AND COST IN MEDIA BUYS

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

In 2023, $10.8 billion was saved by addressing ad fraud, yet the focus on cost efficiency continues to sustain low-quality media practices. Cost pressure drives agencies to prioritize cheap impressions over meaningful engagement, reinforcing a cycle of inflated metrics and bot-driven fraud. Agencies end up prioritizing programmatic channels and MFA sites which sacrifice long-term brand value for short-term savings.