58 countries across six continents - each dot a market where Alain has run pitches, audits, vendor management and/or training for advertisers.
These markets are home to ~5.9 billion people combined.
Middle East
Africa
Asia
Oceania
North America
Latin America
Writing
A structured guide to advertising in Ireland: TV, radio, print, OOH, digital, measurement, transparency and regulation. Updated with 2025-2026 data.
How to select and manage a media agency in Ireland: four test areas, four contract points and pitch timelines for the Irish market.
Belgium has two separate media markets, one spend estimate and strict gambling rules. Your guide to advertising in Belgium across every channel.
Selecting a media agency in Belgium means managing two language markets, a consolidating sell side and strict compliance rules. Here is what to test and contract.
The Benelux is four media markets, not one. A structural guide to advertising in the Netherlands, Flanders, French-speaking Belgium and Luxembourg.
How to select and manage a media agency across the Benelux. Four market-specific tests, four contract clauses and pitch timelines from Vendor-MGT.
A guide to advertising in France: market size, television, digital, radio, print, OOH, loi Sapin transparency rules and how to select a media agency.
How to select and manage a media agency in France: loi Sapin compliance, pitch criteria, contract essentials and relationship management explained.
How to select and manage a media agency in Germany: what to test candidates on, what the contract must cover, and how to govern the relationship after appointment.
A structured overview of advertising in Italy: TV, print, radio, OOH, digital, regulation and agency selection. Updated with 2025 and 2026 market data.
How to select and manage a media agency in Italy: four local test areas, four contract points, and what to demand on transparency and compliance.
The Dutch ad market in one place: digital, TV, print, radio, OOH, regulation and agency selection. Independent guidance for international advertisers.
How to select and manage a media agency in the Netherlands. Four test areas, four contract points and a guide to ongoing governance in a concentrated market.
A structured guide to advertising in Portugal: TV, print, radio, OOH, digital, regulation and media agency selection. Independent insight for international advertisers.
How to select and manage a media agency in Portugal: rate-card transparency, TV measurement, compliance rules and four contract points every advertiser needs.
A structured guide to advertising in Spain: TV, print, radio, OOH, digital and agency selection, with verified spend data and regulation.
How to select and manage a media agency in Spain: four pitch tests, four contract clauses and what to watch in a concentrated, fast-changing market.
A guide to advertising in Australia: TV, digital, radio, print, OOH, regulation and how to select and manage a media agency in a consolidating market.
How to select and manage a media agency in Australia: what to test candidates on, what your contract must cover, and how to manage the relationship.
A guide to advertising in Canada: TV ownership, Quebec rules, measurement, digital regulation and how to select a media agency.
How to select and manage a media agency in Canada: what to test in the pitch, what the contract must cover, and how to manage Quebec as a separate market.
A structured overview of advertising in China: TV, print, digital, OOH, regulation and buying transparency, with links to each channel in depth.
How to select and manage a media agency in China: what to test candidates on, what the contract must cover, and how to manage the relationship.
A structured overview of advertising in Hong Kong: TV, digital, print, radio, OOH, regulation and agency selection, with the local traps explained.
How to select and manage a media agency in Hong Kong: what to test candidates on, what the contract must cover, and how to run the ongoing relationship.
A structural guide to advertising in India: television, digital, print, radio, OOH, regulation, buying transparency and agency selection.
A practical guide to selecting a media agency in India: what to test candidates on, what the contract must cover, and how to manage the relationship.
A practical guide to advertising in New Zealand: TV, digital, radio, print, OOH, regulation and how to find and manage a media agency.
How to select and manage a media agency in New Zealand, what to test candidates on, what your contract must cover, and how to run an independent pitch.
The US and Canada share holding companies and platforms but operate as two distinct markets. A practical guide to advertising in North America.
How to select and manage a media agency across the US and Canada: what to test, what the contract must cover, and how to manage the relationship after appointment.
Australia and New Zealand share one ANZ mandate but two distinct media markets. Understand measurement, ownership, regulation and buying across Oceania.
How to select and manage a media agency in Oceania. What to test candidates on, what the ANZ contract must cover, and how to manage the relationship.
Europe's largest ad market mapped by channel: TV ownership changes, digital dominance, JIC measurement, transparency tools and agency selection in the UK.
How to select and manage a media agency in the United Kingdom: what to test at pitch, what the contract must cover, and how to manage the relationship.
How to select and manage a media agency in the United States: what to test in the pitch, what the contract must cover, and how to manage the relationship.
Selecting a media agency in Indonesia? Learn what to test candidates on, what the contract must pin down, and how to manage the relationship after appointment.
How to select and manage a media agency in Israel: what to test candidates on, what the contract must cover, and how to run the relationship after appointment.
Selecting a media agency in Japan requires testing for conflict disclosure, measurement fluency, regional planning and compliance. Here is what the contract must cover.
What changes when selecting a media agency in Malaysia: the four pitch tests, the contract clauses that matter, and how to manage the relationship after appointment.
What changes when selecting a media agency in the Philippines: partner-channel TV, provincial reach, retail media accountability and compliance. A practical guide.
How to select and manage a media agency in Singapore, what to test candidates on, what the contract must pin down, and how to manage the regional-local dynamic.
Selecting a media agency in South Africa? Learn what to test candidates on, how to handle B-BBEE, and what your contract must cover before the 2027 currency switch.
A factual guide to advertising in South Korea: media reps, TV measurement, digital platforms, agency structure, OOH zones and category regulations.
How to select and manage a media agency in South Korea, what to test, what to contract, and how to manage the relationship after appointment.
What to test, what to contract, and how to manage a media agency across Southeast Asian markets. A practical guide for regional advertisers.
What changes when selecting a media agency in Vietnam? Key tests for TV, digital, influencer compliance, and what the contract must cover, country-specific guidance.
A factual guide to advertising in Israel: TV measurement, audience segments, digital platforms, category rules and how to assess a media plan.
A structural guide to advertising in Japan: TV buying conventions, agency concentration, audience measurement ownership, digital platforms and regulatory rules.
A structured overview of advertising in Singapore: channels, measurement, regulation and the right questions to ask before approving a plan.
A guide to advertising in South Africa: TV, radio, digital, OOH, print, regulation and agency selection, including the 2026–2027 measurement transition.
Six markets, six measurement regimes. A structured guide to advertising in Southeast Asia, TV, digital, OOH, regulation and agency management.
A practical guide to advertising in Indonesia: TV, digital, OOH, radio, print and regulation, with measurement caveats and an agency selection checklist.
A structured guide to advertising in Malaysia: TV measurement systems, digital platforms, OOH, regulation and what to verify in any media plan.
A structured guide to advertising in the Philippines: television, digital, OOH, radio, print, regulation and how to verify a media plan.
What to test Thai agency candidates on and what the contract must pin down. Country-specific guidance for CMOs and media directors with a live review.
A practical guide to advertising in Vietnam: TV, digital, OOH, regulation and what to ask before you commit budget in this market.
A structured guide to advertising in Thailand: TV, digital, OOH, print, radio, regulation and agency selection, for international and local advertisers.
A gross rating point is one percent of your target audience reached by one insertion. Learn why equal GRPs produce different reach, and how to read the difference.
Reach vs frequency explained for client teams. Understand the trade-off, the three numbers that matter, and the questions to ask your agency.
Media mileage measures effective exposure against budget spent. Most waste is visible in the plan before it runs. Here is what to look for and what to ask.
Saving money and growing share of voice are different objectives. Understand why a budget cut can cost more than it saves, and what to do instead.
Media measurement explained: why the same budget can deliver very different reach, and how frequency distribution reveals where spend is wasted.
Frequency capping limits impressions per user, but cross-platform accumulation and budget displacement mean it rarely solves the problem it targets.
An agency of record coordinates your media portfolio, but does it provide independent agency oversight? Here is what the structural difference means in practice.
Trust and verification are not opposites. Learn why a verifiable media agency relationship protects both sides and makes good work visible.
Most advertisers receive plenty of data. The question is whether it can be assessed. Learn why definitions matter more than figures in media reporting.
A media performance management programme runs as a fixed annual cycle. Here is what happens at each stage, and why the sequence matters.
No single interval fits every advertiser. Learn the two situations that shape audit frequency, and the occasions that trigger a review regardless of cycle.
Value leaks where media is bought locally but contracted globally. Understand the four structural gaps in network deals and how to close them.
A financial audit checks billing accuracy. A performance audit asks what the investment returned. Learn which question you're asking, and which audit answers it.
Media audit cost depends on scope: markets, brands, media mix, and whether the question is financial or performance. Learn how pricing works and where to start.
Vendor management applied to media: five building blocks that make your agency investment visible, comparable and steerable through the year.
A media audit examines a closed period. Vendor management applies independent scrutiny in real time. Learn what each catches that the other cannot.
A global media agency review is an architecture question. Learn the two selection routes, how to keep markets comparable, and what the process asks of your team.
A media audit examines what was planned, delivered and invoiced against an external benchmark. This overview explains how it works, what it covers and what drives the cost.
A contract compliance check tests whether your media agency delivers what was agreed. Learn what to check, how to read the findings, and what to do next.
Selecting a global media agency across ten or more markets is a structure question before it is an agency question. Overview and guidance for multi-market reviews.
No abstract answer: the right international media agency model matches where media is actually planned and bought. Four honest reasons to consolidate, and when not to.
Agency roster consolidation makes sense when governance costs outweigh local performance. Learn when, why and how to consolidate a historically grown multi-market roster.
Three is the ideal agency shortlist size, here is why the number is a fairness question, how the funnel narrows, and when four or two is the right call.
A checklist of the seven building blocks every media agency contract needs, with a test question for each one, so you can judge whether yours holds.
Media agency fee negotiation starts with the wrong number. Learn which commercial elements to negotiate first, and why the headline fee comes last.
A fair agency pitch attracts stronger respondents and makes differences visible. Here is what a level playing field requires, and what it returns.
No fee model is universally best. Learn which agency commission structure fits your budget, scope and market, and why fairness matters as much as fit.
Agree a lump sum with your pitch consultant - the scope is shaped by geography, media mix and process structure. The ROI: in our experience, a multiple of the cost.
A sign detected early is a correction. The same sign detected late is a crisis. The signs it is time to review your media agency - and the process that surfaces them in time.
An agency can prepare for anything it knows you will ask. These are the tests that show you the real agency behind the pitch - what to ask, when, and how to read it.
Not every agency problem needs a pitch. Learn when to audit, renegotiate, or replace your media agency, and how to sequence these interventions effectively.
What are media agency fees, how are they structured, and what should a rigorous agency selection deliver in return? A practical guide for advertisers.
The agency selection criteria that actually predict a strong media partnership, beyond pitch performance. A practical framework for advertisers.
Learn how to build and use an agency scorecard to compare media agencies fairly, criteria, weighting, and how to turn scores into a defensible decision.
A complete media brief checklist covering all seven elements agencies need to respond fairly and strategically. Avoid the gaps that weaken most briefs.
Media specialist knowledge spans planning, trading, econometrics and audit, too broad for a generalist role. Learn why media demands dedicated expertise.
A well-run agency review builds team knowledge, benchmarks costs, and sharpens strategy. Here is how to capture the full value of the process.
A strong media agency brief determines agency pool, comparability and negotiating leverage. Here is why the brief matters more than any presentation.
The senior marketing leader owns the media brief. Learn who contributes, in what order, and which common authorship mistakes cost you in the review.
A media brief defines what your business needs from a media agency. Learn what to include, who should write it, and why quality determines your outcome.
A media agency transition takes 8–12 weeks after contract signature. This guide covers data, timelines, incumbent management and day-one onboarding.
The agency chemistry meeting and case round reveal what no RFP can show. Learn how to run both stages and what to look for before the commercial round.
Including your incumbent in an agency review is almost always right, if the process is genuinely competitive. Here is how to make it fair and defensible.
A structured guide to the media agency selection process, from brief to contract, with every stage explained and common pitfalls addressed.
A pitch consultant guides advertisers through media agency selection, independently, from brief to decision. Here is what the role covers in practice.
Learn the difference between an RFI and an RFP in media agency selection, when to use each, and why the sequence matters for finding the right agency partner.