Media Agencies Want More Milestones and Measurement From Creative Agencies

Asier Carazo is the chief strategy officer at Atomic 212°, where he leads a multidisciplinary team of strategists and researchers. With over 14 years of experience spanning both creative and media agencies, Asier has worked with a diverse portfolio of local and global clients across Spain, France, the US and Australia.

Since joining Atomic 212° in 2020, he has built and scaled a high-performing strategy team, supporting clients across the agency's full roster. Beyond his role at Atomic 212°, Asier has been an active member of the Media Federation of Australia’s Advisory Council for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion since 2021, contributing to industry-wide progress on inclusive practices.

Let’s face it: over the years, media and creative agencies haven’t always been on the same wavelength. I’ve been in this industry for over 14 years, in different markets around the world, and many media agencies are still trying to figure out what creative agencies want from them. But in today’s landscape, where attention is scarce and return on ad spending is everything, we find ourselves working closer together more than ever. And if you ask me, media agencies and creative agencies now must think together collectively, aspiring for joint ideation, open-mindedness on collaboration and alignment on measuring the impact of work.

Milestones over constant togetherness

Let’s also be real: the truth is media and creative worlds operate differently. From process to pace, to how strategy is approached, creative and media agencies often speak different dialects. And that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s part of what makes each agency valuable. It’s in uniting with our equal strengths, that we can set ourselves apart in the market.

So how do you collaborate and bridge the creativity gap while still working together effectively? The answer lies in milestones.

Rather than forcing constant alignment, milestones create structured moments of collaboration. They’re checkpoints where both sides can show up with something meaningful, whether that’s audience insight, brand research, media behaviour analysis or creative territories. It’s a chance to tip the bucket, put everything on the table and have an open knowledge exchange. From there, you can find that point of connection, the place where media and creative come together.

Having worked on both sides of the fence, I’ve seen that this moment of connection doesn’t always land at the same stage in the process. Sometimes it’s during strategic planning, other times it’s deep in production or even post-launch during optimisation. That’s why having multiple milestones -- not just one or two big meetings -- allows those moments to happen more organically and meaningfully. It gives space for each team to do what they do best, while still creating opportunities to align and influence the work at the right time.

It’s about working together effectively at the right times.

Brainstorm together and often

Once there’s a solid creative platform in place, that’s the perfect time to open up the floor. Not to endless meetings, but to targeted, collaborative brainstorms. The trick is to keep them short, focused and well-timed. One of the most effective things I’ve seen is tacking a 15 to 20 minute ideation session onto the end of a milestone meeting. Everyone’s already in the zone, energised by the exchange of insights and primed with fresh perspective. That’s the ideal moment to explore how an idea could flex, adapt or expand across channels.

We’ve all sat through those long, aimless brainstorms in the past where silence is loud and the pressure to be brilliant is even louder. It doesn’t work. Structure and timing matter. Quick, contained bursts of thinking -- especially when everyone’s just been inspired by the strategic or media input -- open up far more room for natural, creative flow.

And here’s why it’s important: even the strongest creative platform won’t land if it doesn’t translate across platforms. It’s not enough to “adapt” an idea post-launch. We need to work in synergy and build with the end channels in mind, ideating with media and platform specialists in the room. These are the people who know what scroll-stopping looks like, who understand how sound-on versus sound-off changes a narrative, and who can spot when something will actually drive engagement.

This isn’t about box-ticking or forcing every idea through a media lens. It’s about enhancing creativity by understanding where it lives together.

Make measurement a forethought, not an afterthought

Every brief comes with a set of objectives. Sometimes creative and media share the same ones, sometimes they’re different. But regardless of what the goals are, there’s one non-negotiable: to ensure creative and media align on measurement from the very start.

One of the very first milestone meetings should be dedicated to answering one deceptively simple question: “What does success look like together, and how will we know we’ve hit it?”

Agreeing on key metrics upfront means everyone is rowing in the same direction. And it goes beyond just media metrics like CPMs or click-through rates. We need to consider real-world, tangible outcomes: brand health, market share growth, in-store foot traffic, actual sales. Think about bringing the clients’ research partner on the journey.

Measurement should never be a post-mortem. It should be a guiding force. When both sides align on what they’re driving toward upfront, the ideas become more intentional and the execution more aligned.