Buying services and the media marketplace

Advertising research is being transformed by the emergence of giant buying services that operate outside of the traditional agency structure. Independent buying services arose for different historical reasons in the United States and in Europe, where their growth paralleled that of commercial television. The size of their billings gives them enormous leverage. Initially, these services stressed their ability, to negotiate better rates than agency media departments. Move recently they have touted their ability to plan media schedules move "scientifically," based on their proprietary research. Agency groups have defensively created their own autonomous media buying units, but it is doubtful that the seamless integration of media and creative planning can be maintained as in the past.