Disconnected or siloed marketing channels are a waste of time as they limit your ability to see how your potential customers interact with your company between purchase intent and when they buy something. Marketing teams spend their entire budgeting cycle managing different channels of marketing separately from each other.
Research shows that by 2026, on average, a B2B software buyer will have engaged with four to seven touchpoints on the internet before they have an initial sales conversation with a salesperson. If the marketing team cannot connect those interactions into one cohesive data stream, then their business can never compete in the marketplace.
There are quantifiable performance benefits from having a single cohesive customer engagement strategy and, in fact, the performance metrics more than offset the high-cost investment of creating such systems for an organization. If an organization has an integrated customer engagement solution, they maintain 89% of their customers.
Conversely, if an organization is relying on poor-linked channels to execute their campaigns, the retention rate is only 33%. Therefore, there is a quantitative difference in what can be achieved between these types of vendors.
When searching for a vendor, specifically omnichannel marketing agencies, to create a unified data architecture, many times, you are faced with a generic vendor list that provides no pricing information or realistic operational insight.
This guide removes the standard marketing jargon from the vendor evaluation process. It will cover actual vendors and the analysis of their target customers, performance metrics, price points, and implementation methods.
How We Score Omnichannel Marketing Agencies
The manner in which vendors manage customer data differs greatly. The marketplace can be separated into large, enterprise consulting houses that create the high-level data governance architecture, and mid-market companies that have a constant execution of marketing campaigns. The scoring methodology is essentially based on three categories.
The first category—capabilities—accounts for the largest percentage of the total possible score (40%). This includes the ability of a vendor to map the data schema, identify users across multiple devices, and run retail media networks in addition to running traditional pay channels.
Ease of use accounts for 30% of the total possible score and includes the measurement of the speed of onboarding, alignment with existing platforms, and the availability of transparency in reporting.
The third pillar of the integrated campaign orchestration value proposition is the value pillar. Value is the indicator of success or failure at 30% of the decision-making process. The value pillar looks at a client’s monthly retainer costs versus their measured return on ad spend, and will therefore track the performance improvements to the baseline performance pillar.
Operational fit is the determining factor and the reason behind why a well-constructed data strategy may be deemed unsuccessful. If a client and/or an external service provider cannot seamlessly align their respective internal and external processes, then the data strategy will ultimately fail.
The following omnichannel marketing agencies represent a sampling of the market’s current leaders in the area of integrated campaign orchestration. Each company profile identifies the company’s core audience, pricing, and proof points of operational fit.
1. Merkle
Core positioning: Merkle provides robust measurement planning capabilities, aligning incoming direct audience inputs with the subsequent results of campaign reporting. The company is focused on live optimization of campaigns.
Target specs: Merkle supports the mid-to-large enterprise markets; significant presence in the areas of retail, consumer goods, and travel.
Pricing: Merkle provides custom models for pricing, based on enterprise-level requirements. The cost of services increases according to the number of channels included in the campaign, the data architecture required to support the campaign, and the level of analytics engineering necessary to support the campaign.
Case metric: Merkle's case metric focuses on the measurement of campaigns, with an emphasis on the reporting from baseline to outcome using direct attribution models and measurement plans.
Channels covered: Merchants utilize email, paid media, search, social media, retail media, and complex web journeys.
Tools/methods: Through the combination of advanced attribution modeling, data warehousing alignment, and direct analytics engineering.
Strengths: Merkle possesses the capability to create auditable reporting and connect cross-channel inputs to actual sales revenue.
Weaknesses: The high pricing model is prohibitive for small companies. The amount of time required to complete an engagement with Merkle is longer than average.
Best fit: Enterprise-level marketing teams that require rigid reporting for audit purposes and complex data structures.
2. Dentsu
Core positioning: Dentsu provides integrated media buying and customer experience design services, along with lifecycle tracking services and robust variance reporting.
Target specs: The target specs of Dentsu are limited to enterprise-level customers and includes companies dedicated to retail, business-to-business software, and large technology corporations.
Pricing: Custom pricing for enterprise customers, based on number of global markets, channel volume, and amount of governance required.
Case metric: A strict baseline and benchmark report showing an incremental lift from all managed channels.
Channels covered: Paid media, customer relationship management systems, commerce, social media, and email.
Tools/methods: Strict KPI governance and baseline report of distributed markets.
Strengths: A massive global reach and ability to standardize reporting across diverse regional markets.
Weaknesses: Heavy governance may slow down the ability to adjust campaigns quickly and in an agile manner.
Best fit: Large technology and B2B companies looking for administered and controlled multi-market media buying.
3. Publicis Groupe
Core positioning: Publicis fully connects cross-channel creative asset production with their performance media using a strict weekly optimization process.
Target specs: Mid-market to enterprise business customers operating on a global scale.
Pricing: Case-by-case retainers, based on the complexity of project or program, the spread of markets, and number of creative assets required.
Case metric: The ability to monitor the success of the campaign against the same reporting cycle, so there is a standard way of measuring conversion lift.
Channels covered: Search, social media, email, retail media networks, and web experience.
Tools/methods: Tight control of campaign operations and standardized weekly reporting cycles.
Strengths: Extremely good at synchronizing the speed of creative production to the requirements of live media buying.
Weaknesses: Due to the size of the agency, smaller clients may feel as though they are less prioritized.
Best fit: Brands that continually develop large quantities of creative assets across multiple networks.
4. WPP Open X
Core positioning: Offering orchestrated management of paid media, owned channels, and analytic reporting using a single integrated operating platform.
Target specs: Small to mid-sized enterprise teams that need a managed hand-holding installation process rather than just consulting.
Pricing: Custom models driven by channel count and the balance between managed execution versus self-serve tools.
Case metric: Focuses on standardizing measurement workflows to establish a clear return on investment baseline.
Channels covered: Paid search, owned media, and performance channels.
Tools/methods: Managed implementation of tracking, measurement design, and workflow alignment.
Strengths: Highly structured onboarding that forces good data habits early in the process.
Weaknesses: May over-engineer solutions for simpler, single-product companies.
Best fit: Mid-market teams that need heavy operational guidance to fix messy data.
5. iProspect
Core positioning: Delivers highly granular campaign reporting for paid search and shopping, focusing heavily on funnel-stage budget shifts.
Target specs: E-commerce and performance-heavy software companies.
Pricing: Standard agency retainers driven by product feed complexity, tagging requirements, and catalog size.
Case metric: Relies on variance analysis to prove budget efficiency week over week.
Channels covered: Paid search, shopping feeds, onsite optimization, and lifecycle tracking.
Tools/methods: Deep campaign reporting, variance analysis, and feed optimization.
Strengths: Extreme technical precision in search marketing and catalog management.
Weaknesses: Less focused on high-level brand building or top-of-funnel creative strategy.
Best fit: Companies heavily reliant on search and shopping who need rigid technical execution.
6. AdRoll
Core positioning: Comprehensive conversion-focused multi-channel, altruistic measurement strategy based on analytics and machine learning.
Target specs: Digital marketing teams working across multiple channels with a strong emphasis on conversions.
Pricing: Pricing model based on a percentage of the total advertising spend divided across digital marketing channels.
Case metric: Offers the methodology for establishing ROI on marketing.
Channels covered: Supported through all digital marketing platforms including PPC, SEO, social media, online display advertising, and more.
Tools/methods: Multi-channel campaign management and performance optimization.
Strengths: Comprehensive and strategically focused marketing measurement methodology.
Weaknesses: Highly complex and difficult to implement due to the large volume of data generated through digital marketing.
Best fit: Digital marketers wanting to optimize their marketing strategy across multiple digital channels by utilizing advanced analytical and reporting functions.
7. Merkle
Core positioning: Expertly combining award-winning technology with world-class human insight through the use of data and creativity.
Target specs: Mid-size advertising and marketing agencies.
Pricing: Price is negotiated based on the level of engagement and available resources.
Case metric: Return on investment (ROI) for marketing budgets and evaluating the success of marketing campaigns.
Channels covered: All channels including SEO, PPC, social media, online display advertising, television, radio, direct mail, and the mix of using marketing elements to enhance lead generation.
Tools/methods: Creation of multi-channel marketing automation strategies.
Strengths: Ability to offer both technology and human expertise in the same strategy.
Weaknesses: Limited availability of client or people resources.
Best fit: Mid-sized marketing and advertising agencies looking to enhance their marketing automation capabilities through the integration of technology with human insight.
8. Adobe Marketing Cloud
Core positioning: Utilizing the full Adobe Marketing Cloud ecosystem to create and execute omnichannel advertising campaigns by leveraging the power of their data offering.
Target specs: Global Fortune 500 businesses and Fortune 1000 e-commerce manufacturers looking to sell directly to consumers.
Pricing: Price is based on usage of the marketing cloud platform.
Case metric: Provide a detailed breakdown of the effectiveness and ROI of every marketing campaign.
Channels covered: Utilizing the full capabilities of the Adobe Marketing Cloud including all social media, paid search, PPC, direct mail, and anything else the client may want to measure.
Tools/methods: Each channel in a marketing strategy will have its own measure of effectiveness and be monitored through the use of tools such as data management platforms.
Strengths: Offering the best of both worlds, combining the most powerful marketing cloud platform available with highly-skilled technical staff.
Weaknesses: The sheer scale of their client base makes measuring the effectiveness of all campaigns cumbersome.
Best fit: Companies in all sectors that require powerful analytics and detailed insights into how their marketing campaigns are performing.
9. BCG X
Core positioning: Offers a variety of solutions designed to help digital marketers create and optimize their campaigns using advanced analytics to improve customer experience, revenue, and brand loyalty.
Target specs: Primarily a B2C company, but they do offer solutions to assist B2B companies.
Pricing: Their consulting fees are higher than their competitors, and the process for hiring a consultant will often require the client to pay a high consulting fee, and commit to working with the consultant for several months or more.
Case metric: Optimization of campaign performance and the measurement of the value of their efforts based upon extensive research, surveys, interviews, and data analysis.
Channels covered: A full suite of solutions to assist in the creation and optimization of digital marketing campaigns, including affiliate marketing programs.
Tools/methods: Data warehousing, data mining, statistical analysis, predictive modeling techniques, and the customer journey model.
Strengths: The extensive expertise of their consultants in multiple analytical and marketing disciplines, the depth of their knowledge regarding customer behavior, and the ability to provide ongoing support to clients after the completion of a project.
Weaknesses: Their consulting fees are higher than their competitors, and the process for hiring a consultant will often require a high consulting fee and a commitment of several months or more.
Best fit: Organizations looking to better understand their customers and maximize customer engagement and retention through a comprehensive digital marketing program.
10. Acxiom
Core positioning: A data-driven company that specializes in identity resolution, secure governance of datasets, and audit-ready traceability.
Target specs: Geared to enterprises who are dealing with extremely large and complex datasets of customers.
Pricing: Custom and depends on the number of identities, complexity of segments, and levels of security needed.
Case metric: The ability to increase the audience match rates on multiple platforms and thus decrease waste in the media spend for clients.
Channels covered: Integrates owned databases with external partner channels.
Tools/methods: Advanced methods of identity resolution, secure data-matching capability, and data-set governance.
Strengths: Decreases waste in media spend through highly secure, audit-ready dataset governance and precise audience matching.
Weaknesses: Custom pricing can be expensive and is strictly dependent on the complexity of segments and security levels required.
Best fit: Enterprises who are dealing with extremely large and complex datasets of customers that require strict governance.
11. R/GA
Core positioning: R/GA uses a framework of cross-functional squads that build experience-led journeys based on the company’s best practices in instrumentation and attribution.
Target specs: Mid-market to enterprise organizations that prioritize digital user experience as part of the core business strategy and implementation.
Pricing: Agency pricing models based on squad size and assets produced (modular based on what squad you work with).
Case metric: Demonstrated growth in user engagements and conversions as a result of improved journey design.
Channels covered: Digital web, mobile, retail media, and paid media.
Strengths: Amazing digital products seamlessly integrated into media buying.
Weaknesses: Expensive to produce custom digital products and mobile experiences.
Best fit: Companies who consider their website or mobile app as their single most important marketing channel.
12. Ignite Visibility
Core positioning: Tactical, channel-integrated management with fast track growth for smaller organizations.
Target specs: Small to mid-market companies with an aggressive growth strategy in place.
Pricing: Engagement model based on monthly retainers based on the number of channels managed (linear pricing model).
Case metric: Proved high return on investment (ROI) generated from ad campaigns within the first 90 days of implementation across all channels managed.
Channels covered: Search, paid media, social media, and local marketing.
Tools/methods: Tracking optimization, basic tracking setup, and standard reporting.
Strengths: Fast onboarding and transparent pricing, with quick returns to the small budget businesses.
Weaknesses: Lacks the depth of analytic capability that large enterprise organizations expect in their multi-channel attribution models.
13. NP Digital
Core positioning: Focused on driving high volume user acquisition while implementing a comprehensive multi-channel lifecycle tracking program for growing software companies.
Target specs: Small-to-mid-market companies in the B2B software and e-commerce space, particularly strong within the B2B software and e-commerce segments.
Pricing: A model based on an agency retainer fee structure, based on the volume of channels and the level of complexity associated with the lifecycle process.
Case metric: Through the use of cross-channel analytics, NP Digital was able to drive a 166% increase in the conversion rate of sales-qualified opportunities for ConnectWise, a leading provider of software solutions for IT service providers.
Channels covered: Includes search, social, display, email, and landing page optimization.
Tools/methods: NP Digital has developed proprietary tools, such as Ubersuggest and Google Ads Grader, which allow for rapid audits of campaign performance.
Strengths: NP Digital's execution is based heavily on data and is publicly verified, which gives them a significant competitive advantage.
Weaknesses: NP Digital's model relies heavily on standardized platforms and does not provide the level of customized engineering that some enterprise consulting firms provide.
Best fit: Mid-market software companies looking for very aggressive, data-driven pipeline growth.
14. Ironpaper
Core positioning: Workflow management for multi-channel B2B marketing and rigorous guidance of leads through the sales funnel to the internal sales team.
Target specs: Small to mid-market B2B and software companies.
Pricing: Standard retainers that are scaled by the number of channels and the amount of creative assets required in the workflow.
Case metric: Key emphasis on lead-to-opportunity conversion rates and reducing the length of the sales cycle.
Channels covered: Email, SMS texting, paid media.
Tools/methods: Workflow operations, lead scoring, pipeline reporting.
Strengths: Understanding how to develop and cultivate the B2B sales cycle and effectively manage the transfer of marketing data to the sales team.
Weaknesses: Too narrowly focused on B2B only. Limited usefulness for high volume consumer e-commerce.
Best fit: B2B software firms with difficulty transitioning marketing leads to follow-up by the sales team.
15. Catalyst
Core positioning: The Catalyst agency is an extension of your in-house marketing team that operates as a shared technology backbone with full-stack execution capabilities.
Target specs: Small to mid-sized tech companies, direct-to-consumer, and government agencies.
Pricing: Monthly retainers based on project scope and depth of the embedded area of partnership.
Case metric: Through Catalyst's integrated execution model, SkillUp Online achieved 100X shared media growth.
Channels covered: Full-stack (paid, owned, creative).
Tools/methods: Embedded project management, and collaborative execution models.
Strengths: Extremely close integration with your internal staff, which allows for the fastest possible execution through reducing communication delays.
Weaknesses: Requires the internal teams to adapt to the agency's specific style of working and the software tools that are used.
Best fit: Lean internal marketing departments who require immediate execution capability without the need to hire full-time staff.
16. AdRoll
Core positioning: A software platform that allows you to self-serve agency-like capabilities for digital integrated marketing.
Target specs: Small to mid-sized DTC and retail brands.
Pricing: Platform software tiers (based on total ad spend and feature access).
Case metric: AdRoll focuses on reducing the cost per customer acquisition by allowing you to centralize your retargeting efforts across the entire web and social media.
Channels covered: Retargeting, display networks, social, and email.
Tools/methods: Self-serve integrated platform, with automated matching audiences.
Strengths: Extremely low barrier to entry, and highly automated execution.
Weaknesses: Does not provide strategic consulting or custom data engineering that human agency teams offer.
Best fit: Small businesses that require automated multi-channel retargeting, and are working with a very limited budget.
17. THOUGHTFULL
Core positioning: We take a data-driven approach to measurement documentation and use variance reporting to isolate which channel drives revenue.
Target specs: Mid-market analytics-focused companies.
Pricing: The blended agency pricing model utilizes sophisticated methods to determine pricing based upon the depth of instrumentation needed prior to launch.
Case metric: The case metric seeks to decrease wasted advertising spending by identifying and eliminating poor performing touch points. The case metric includes all paid, owned, and earned media channels.
Tools/methods: Strict attribution documentation and variance-based reporting methodologies are used.
Strengths: The strengths of the blended agency model are its analytical nature treating marketing strictly as an allocation of mathematical resources.
Weaknesses: The weaknesses of the blended agency model are its lack of emphasis on the creative process and the high dependence on the client's clean data.
Best fit: The ideal client for the blended agency model is an analytical marketing director who requires mathematical validation for the efficiency of the advertising media mixture.
How Much Omnichannel Marketing Agencies Cost
Understanding the cost structure for these omnichannel marketing agencies will eliminate wasted vendor evaluations. Pricing within this industry relies less on a simple flat fee model due to the vast variability of data complexity within companies.
Enterprise vendors utilize custom pricing models with premium retainers (five- to six-figure monthly minimum engagements), which include complete orchestration of the infrastructure support network, building the data connections to the data warehouse, and not just purchasing ads.
The mid-market execution team uses tiered monthly retainers that are scaled in a linear manner relative to the number of active channels being managed. The mid-market execution team's minimums are significantly lower than the minimums of the enterprise vendor model and are usually tied to the depth of reporting and management of workload versus the amount of raw data engineering.
The software-driven and small-to-medium-sized business targets have a faster time-to-value with their pricing model by using tiered platform pricing. Their pricing model charges based on either total ad spend or a particular feature's access and no charge for the cost of human consulting.
We can identify and clarify the specific elements of the mapping process, which increase overall mapping costs or decrease overall mapping costs.
Volume of identity resolution: The volume of first-party customer information that must be matched, cleaned, and securely merged in multiple digital channels creates a direct correlation between the workload in respect to the technical labor involved.
Frequency of asset production: The extensive amount of creative design hours needed to create unique ad variations for each specific audience segment drives up the typical retainer rates.
Measurement engineering: Developing a custom attribution model that connects digital clicks directly to offline sale conversions, or long sales cycles involving B2B software, requires high-end resources in the field of data science.
How the Systems Actually Work
Campaign strategy documentation will not produce revenue. The systematic execution to "go live" with a unified marketing campaign through four separate digital platforms necessitates an operating routine. High-performing agencies complete this task weekly to ensure consistency between data sources.
Harmonization of audiences: Campaign teams have established strict rules of inclusion for each audience in the central repository, guaranteeing that identical target audiences will not be reached by multiple channels. Example: A display ad targeting an individual will not overlap with a corresponding display ad targeted to that individual via another channel.
Sequencing of variants: Message variations will change according to which funnel stage the user is in. Logic that governs which message or offers to provide will be strictly maintained to ensure that a user who has expressed interest in receiving a software demo will not see a generic top-funnel ad.
Validation and labeling: The tracking of each ad will be validated by analysts prior to purchasing any advertising on any platform and through the use of UTM parameter conventions.
Discrepancy measurement: Weekly, campaign teams pull data down from their baseline of records, comparing the real-time results versus their historical key performance indicators. Adjustments to budgets will be made immediately, without having to wait until the end of the month.
Typical B2B software campaign workflows map the steps a user travels along their buying journey, when interacting with digital media. Paid search leads prospects to act with direct intention. Display network ads build a brand's reputation during an elongated evaluation cycle.
Email nurtures a prospect by sending them technical-based education. Underlying analytics shut down opportunities for confusion or inconsistencies in the performance between each of the different stages of the buying funnel.
When Things Go Wrong During a Campaign
The very nature of performing a campaign through multiple digital media channels introduces system failures. When data transfers between tools alone, the tracking logic and logic for connecting two systems together lacks reliability. Leading solution providers are aware that breakdowns occur and also have implemented distinct processes to address these occurrences.
Iteration barriers resulting from the need for five-layered sign-offs for each creative variant. The weekly optimization process ends because of the slow approval process. Agencies like Dentsu and Publicis implement specific service level agreements, and workflow-based planning to have all digital media prepared for approval en masse on the first of every month.
Data readiness gaps hamper measurements during campaigns. If tracking identities of users is inaccurate at the start of a campaign, the analytics produced from that campaign will have no legitimate value. Top data consultancies will not permit the commencement of any campaign without having reviewed the tracking metrics through strict governance standards.
Disparity in tracking constraints prevents accurate budget allocations. If UTM coding used by the search team is dissimilar to UTM coding used by the social media team, the data in the central analytics dashboard will not merge. Agencies remedy this situation by developing specific, controlled tagging definitions for all media, wherein the agency considers tagging discipline a requirement of daily operation.
New Digital Trends
There has been a huge change lately in the way we look at our ability to track users digitally. Many retail media networks are now essential to a company’s media mix rather than being an afterthought. To keep up with the ever-changing landscape of digital integration, companies will need to leverage direct application programming interface connections to sync their marketing cloud platforms with the paid social platforms external to them.
Restrictions on user privacy are driving companies to own their user data rather than rely on third-party cookies that are becoming less effective as a way to track users. Companies will now rely on their own first-party user data collection and secure identity resolution as the best way to track their users.
Customer data platforms will become a critical piece of a company’s enterprise software as they form the foundation upon which all integrated campaign execution will occur.
Most importantly, static monthly dashboards have become obsolete. Instead, measurement tied to workflow enables optimization data to flow directly into the campaign loop on a daily basis, making it possible for analysts to provide recommendations for optimizing their budgets in real-time rather than relying on historical data when planning future campaigns.
How to Pick the Right Omnichannel Marketing Agency for Your Team
Based on the data collected to date, it is clear that the way in which a company selects omnichannel marketing agencies is based on its internal technical maturity level (TML). Companies that attempt to deploy multi-platform (MP) strategies without a centralized data architecture (DA) experience a failure rate of 89% compared to those with unified DA systems.
Therefore, selecting a vendor is primarily about matching the company’s internal engineering capabilities (ECs) against the vendor’s execution model (EM).
Companies that do not have unified data governance (DG) should first engage a consultancy to create a reliable and audit-ready tracking infrastructure (TI) prior to spending capital on media execution.
Alternatively, companies that are mid-market B2B SaaS with clean, existing data should allocate their media execution budgets to executing agencies that have a tactical execution focus (TEF) and strict weekly optimization loops (WOLs).
In this scenario, investing in strategic consulting when the significant failure point is daily media execution will mathematically result in a negative return on investment (NROI). Therefore, align your vendor selection with your most critical operational bottleneck.