What Should a CEO Expect From a Paid Media Agency?

A CEO does not need to know every bidding strategy inside Google Ads.

They do need to know whether paid media is helping the business grow profitably.

Expect the agency to understand the commercial objective

“ROAS 3.2” is not an objective unless the business has deliberately decided it is.

The agency should understand revenue targets, margin, customer acquisition, stock constraints and the role paid media plays alongside other channels.

Expect clear separation of demand capture and demand creation

Brand search, remarketing and existing customers can make results look strong.

That does not mean those activities are useless. It means leadership should understand how much of the account is harvesting existing demand versus finding new opportunity.

Expect the agency to talk about volume as well as efficiency

An agency can protect an excellent ROAS by becoming increasingly conservative.

That may be right when profit is the priority. It may be wrong when the business needs more profitable volume.

The trade-off should be explicit.

Expect recommendations to stop things

If every monthly review contains only new tests and additional spend, I get suspicious.

Good management includes stopping weak campaigns, simplifying structure and reallocating money.

Expect challenge

The best agencies do not merely execute instructions. They explain when the brief, target or landing page is creating the problem.

Expect transparent measurement

Platform attribution should be presented honestly, with awareness of overlap and incrementality.

What I would ask in a review

What changed materially?

What did we learn?

Where is marginal spend strongest and weakest?

What is happening to new-customer acquisition?

Which products or categories deserve more or less support?

What are we stopping?

What do you need from the business to improve the result?

A strong agency should make those questions easier to answer, not hide behind a more complicated dashboard.

If your agency reviews are not answering these questions, I can help you hold them properly accountable.