90% of Marketers Question Whether Principal Media Recommendations Are in Their Best Interests

NEW YORK, NY — March 19, 2026 —  The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) today released new research showing a widening governance gap around principal media as its use expands across the advertising industry. According to the ANA’s 2026 report, The Continued Acceleration of Principal Media (and the importance of proper governance), only 57 percent of marketers say their companies have guidelines governing principal media, even as 90 percent say their top concern is whether recommended principal media is truly in their best interest, up from 79 percent in the ANA’s 2024 foundational study.

Principal media refers to the practice in which agencies purchase media inventory themselves and resell it to clients, rather than acting solely as agents. As the model becomes a more common part of the media marketplace, the ANA findings underscore the need for marketers to put stronger safeguards in place.

“Principal media is becoming a more common part of the media ecosystem, but marketers need to ensure they have the right safeguards in place,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “For our members, that starts with making sure agency contracts explicitly address principal media and establishing clear internal approval processes. Marketers should always understand whether their agency is acting as an agent or a principal in any media transaction.”

The Governance Gap Is Clear
Despite growing adoption of principal media, many marketers still lack the internal rules and contractual protections needed to govern it effectively.

• Only 57% of marketers say their companies have guidelines governing principal media
• 63% say their agency contracts address principal media, while more than one-third say their contracts either do not address it or they are unsure.
• The ANA recommends that marketers explicitly address principal media in agency agreements and establish approval and transparency requirements before such transactions occur.

Other Key Findings
The ANA survey of client-side marketers found that both principal media adoption and marketer concern are increasing:

• 90% cite uncertainty about whether recommended principal media is in their best interest as their top concern, up from 79% in the ANA’s 2024 study.
• 58% report their companies used principal media in the past year, up from 47% previously.
• 56% expect to use principal media in the coming year, compared with 41% in the earlier study.
• 37% say their company’s use of principal media increased in the past year, up from 24% previously.
• 76% cite reduced costs as the primary benefit of principal media arrangements

The study also found that principal media is most commonly used in large-scale environments such as television (74%) and the digital open web (43%), where agencies can purchase inventory in bulk and resell it across multiple clients.

About the Research
The study was conducted between October 2025 and January 2026 among ANA member client-side marketers. In total, 114 qualified respondents with working knowledge of their company’s media investment strategies participated in the survey, with additional qualitative interviews conducted to supplement the findings.

The report also provides detailed guidance for marketers on how to govern principal media transactions, including recommended contract provisions, approval processes, and transparency requirements.

The full report, The Continued Acceleration of Principal Media (and the importance of proper governance), is available for ANA members and will be a central topic of conversation at the upcoming ANA Media Conference on March 25–27, 2026 in Nashville, Tenn.

Press Contact
Jocelyn Weiss
[email protected]

About the ANA

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is the definitive voice of the marketing industry. Since 1910, we have set and advanced the agenda for marketing transformation, connecting over 1,600 member companies to an influential global network, insights and resources that drive growth. Our members represent 20,000 brands and $400 billion in annual marketing investment. Through industry-leading research, the CMO Growth Council, and our proprietary Growth Agenda and Practices, the ANA empowers marketers to shape the future of marketing and create lasting impact for their organizations and the industry.