Blog/Paid Media Strategy
How to brief a paid media agency — what to include and what to ask before signing.
Most agency relationships fail not because of the agency — but because the client gave them an incomplete brief and the wrong expectations. A great brief forces you to articulate your goal, your customer, and your current numbers. It filters out agencies who cannot engage with specifics. And it sets the relationship up for a fair evaluation rather than a 6-month debate about what success was supposed to look like. Below: exactly what to include, the 7 questions to ask before signing, and what good answers look like.
Ahmed Ashraf
Founder, Traffiy · April 2026 · Google Premier Partner
“The best predictor of a good agency relationship is the quality of the brief you give them. If you can't articulate your goal, your customer, and your current numbers — you're not ready to hire an agency.”
— Ahmed Ashraf · $100M+ in budgets managed
The brief
What to include — and what to leave out.
Include
- ✓Business context: What you sell, to whom, average order value or LTV
- ✓Target customer: Demographics, intent signals, where they search and scroll
- ✓Conversion goal: What counts as a conversion — purchase, lead, trial, call
- ✓Current performance data: Best available CPL, CPA, CVR — even rough benchmarks
- ✓Budget range: Monthly media spend + what you are willing to pay in fees
- ✓Timeline: Launch date, any critical peaks (product launch, seasonality)
- ✓Existing accounts: Grant read-only access — good agencies will audit before proposing
Do not include
- ✕"We want to go viral": This is not a paid media goal. Virality is not measurable.
- ✕"Best CPL in the industry": No agency can deliver an undefined benchmark
- ✕Vanity metrics as primary goals: Impressions, likes, and reach are not business outcomes
- ✕"We have a limited budget": State a number. 'Limited' means nothing to an agency
- ✕"Just do what you think is best": Agency needs direction — they serve your strategy, not invent it
100%
of clients should own their own ad accounts. No exceptions. Your Google Ads Manager Account and Meta Business Manager must be under your own login — agencies are added as users, not as owners. If an agency holds ownership, your historical data is held hostage to the relationship.
The 7 questions
Ask every agency before signing — and know what a good answer looks like.
| Question to ask | Green flag answer | Red flag answer |
|---|---|---|
| Who manages my account day-to-day? | Named individual, with their experience level and other accounts they manage | Vague answer ('our team'), or a senior person named who clearly won't do the day-to-day work |
| How do you structure reporting? | Monthly report with commentary, clear metrics aligned to your goals, access to live dashboard | Screenshots only, no commentary, or reporting decided entirely by the agency |
| What is your process when results drop? | Defined escalation: they detect it, notify you within X days, share a diagnosis and action plan | Vague ('we optimise') or defensive ('that sometimes happens') |
| Do I own my ad accounts? | Yes — unambiguously. Account ownership stays with the client | Any hesitation, or 'we typically set up the account for you' — that means they own it |
| What is your creative process? | Clear process: brief, production, testing, iteration — and who is responsible | No creative process described, or creative is entirely the client's responsibility |
| How do your fees change if my performance drops? | Flat retainer (unchanged) or performance clause that reduces fee if targets are missed | % of spend model where fee cannot decrease even if results collapse |
| Can I speak to current clients? | Yes, and they proactively offer references in your industry | Case studies only, no live references, or long delay before connecting |
The 30/60/90 day onboarding — what to expect.
Day 0–30
Setup and audit
Conversion tracking verification, account structure review, campaign rebuilds if needed, first new campaign launch. Expect higher CPAs — this is structural reset, not performance phase. Do not judge results yet.
Day 30–60
Learning and initial data
Smart Bidding begins to optimise. First search term reports reviewed and cleaned. Initial creative performance data. First strategy review call. CPAs should be stabilising — if still erratic, conversion tracking or budget may need review.
Day 60–90
Performance comparison
First meaningful comparison to pre-agency benchmarks. By now, there is enough data to see whether the direction is right. This is the review point: if targets are not trending toward goal, diagnose root cause before extending the contract.
Key insight
The brief you write before hiring an agency is the contract you are actually signing. If the brief is vague, the agency delivers vague results and defends them with vague explanations. If the brief is specific — target CPA, target audience, current benchmarks, success definition — the agency is accountable to something real.
30 days
Onboarding period — expect higher CPAs during setup; meaningful evaluation starts at day 60
100%
You should own your ad accounts — no exceptions, no agency should hold ownership of your account
7
Questions every client should ask before signing — the answers reveal agency quality before day 1
FAQ
Common questions about briefing a paid media agency.
What should be in a paid media agency brief?+
A complete paid media brief includes: business overview (what you sell, to whom, average order value or LTV), target customer (demographics, psychographics, where they spend time online), conversion goals (purchase, lead, trial, call — and what counts as a qualified conversion), current performance data (existing CPL or CPA benchmarks, conversion rates, best-performing channels if you have them), monthly budget range, timeline and any critical dates, and access to existing accounts for audit if you have them.
Should I give agencies access to my current ad accounts before signing?+
Yes — give read-only access to serious agencies during the proposal process. It allows them to provide a realistic assessment rather than generic promises. A credible agency will look at your account data and give you specific feedback on what they would change. An agency that makes promises without looking at your account is a red flag. Grant read-only access, not admin — no agency needs editing rights before they are retained.
How long should agency onboarding take?+
30 days for setup and initial campaign launch (conversion tracking audit, account structure review, first campaign live). 60 days for initial learning data and first optimisation round. 90 days for a meaningful performance comparison against pre-agency benchmarks. Expect CPAs to be higher in the first 30 days — a new agency needs to rebuild campaign structure, which temporarily disrupts the learning phase. Do not judge performance before day 60.
What happens if I don't own my ad accounts?+
If an agency holds account ownership and the relationship ends, you lose access to your entire account history — conversion data, audience lists, campaign performance, and historical optimisation data. Starting a new account from scratch adds 3–6 months of learning time. Your ad accounts should always be under your own Google Ads Manager Account and your own Meta Business Manager. Agencies should be added as users, not account owners.
Ahmed Ashraf — Founder, Traffiy
10+ years in paid media. $100M+ in budgets managed across Meta, Google, and TikTok. Google Premier Partner — top 3% globally. Every article on this blog is written from direct experience managing real campaigns.
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