Ad agency discussions on Reddit provide unfiltered industry perspectives. From r/advertising to r/PPC, professionals share experiences, insights, and opinions on the evolving advertising landscape.
This guide compiles insights from Reddit on working with and understanding ad agencies.
Reddit advertising discussions reflect the industry's rapid evolution and challenges.
Strategic expertise: Reddit users acknowledge that experienced agencies bring campaign strategy knowledge beyond basic platform operation. Strategic thinking distinguishes quality agencies.
Multi-platform integration: As advertising fragments across more platforms, Reddit discussions highlight the value of agencies that coordinate cohesive campaigns across channels.
Creative capabilities: Strong creative remains essential for advertising success. Redditors note that agencies with genuine creative talent produce meaningfully different results.
Industry relationships: Agencies often have platform relationships, early access to features, and industry connections that benefit clients. Reddit discussions note these access advantages.
Outdated models: Reddit threads frequently criticize traditional agency billing models. Hourly billing and long campaigns face skepticism in the performance-driven digital era.
Misaligned incentives: Some Redditors note that traditional commission models may not align agency and client interests. Discussions favor performance-based arrangements.
Slow adaptation: Large agencies sometimes struggle to adapt to platform changes. Reddit discussions describe frustration with agencies slow to adopt new channels or features.
Transparency issues: Concerns about markup, media buying margins, and hidden fees appear regularly in Reddit discussions. Users advocate for clear cost transparency.
Reddit's advertising community shares selection advice.
What Reddit recommends evaluating:
Red flags from Reddit discussions:
| Model | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage of spend | Aligned with scale | Incentivizes higher spending |
| Flat fee | Predictable costs | May not align with results |
| Performance-based | Results-aligned | Complex attribution |
| Hourly | Flexible | Unpredictable costs |
Reddit itself has become an increasingly important advertising platform.
According to Adweek reporting, performance agency Tinuiti reports ad spend on Reddit climbing steadily—up 40% year-over-year in Q3 2025, following gains of 33% in Q1 and 55% in Q2.
From Reddit discussions:
Unique considerations:
Reddit discussions reveal advertising industry trends.
Reddit threads extensively discuss AI's impact on advertising:
Ongoing discussions about:
Reddit users note increasing complexity:
Reddit helps distinguish agency approaches.
Strengths:
Challenges:
Strengths:
Challenges:
Strengths:
Challenges:
Opinions vary widely. Reddit users respect agencies with genuine expertise and transparent practices while criticizing those with outdated models, hidden fees, or cookie-cutter approaches.
Reddit recommends requesting case studies with measurable results, checking references, understanding team structure, and starting with limited engagements before major commitments.
Reddit consensus suggests agencies provide value when they bring expertise you lack and when results clearly justify costs. Poor agency selection wastes significant budgets.
Reddit's role in AI search verification, strong user intent, and unique community access make it increasingly valuable. Agency Reddit spend grew 40% YoY in Q3 2025.
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