MARCUSANDMUSE
Consultative Strategy · Buying · Advisory

We've been on both sides of the transaction.

Two decades inside SSPs, connected TV platforms, and ad serving — and active buying today. We know how the machine actually works: where the money goes, where performance leaks, and how channels interact.

The difference

Most shops run one channel. We run the system.

Single-channel operators optimize their silo — that's the job, and plenty do it honestly. But your customer doesn't live in a silo. They see a streaming ad on Tuesday, a billboard on Thursday, and a retargeting impression Sunday night, and the channels either compound or cannibalize.

Planning across the whole system takes more than a seat on a buying platform. It takes working knowledge of the auctions in the middle and the sell side that decides what you actually get. We've operated all three, and it changes what you buy and what you pay.

The practice
Common questions
What does “both sides of the transaction” mean?
We spent two decades building and operating the sell side of programmatic — SSPs, connected TV platforms, ad serving — and we buy media today. Knowing how inventory is packaged, auctioned, and reported changes what you pay and what you get.
Do you replace our existing agency or work alongside it?
Either. Some clients hire us as their media team; others keep their agency and bring us in for strategy, channel expansion, or a second opinion on the plan. Advisory engagements are built to make your existing partners better, not to displace them.
Why plan channels together instead of hiring specialists per channel?
Because your customer sees one brand, not five channels. Budgets, frequency, and measurement interact across television, streaming, out-of-home, display, and social — a specialist optimizes a silo, while a system plan decides what each channel is actually for.
For publishers & platforms

The sell side gets its own practice.

Monetization, prebid, streaming ad ops, and supply-chain hygiene for publishers, streamers, and screen networks — with posted pricing and no agency conflicts. That work lives at the consulting practice.

Aaron Foley is the principal of Marcus and Muse, an independent programmatic advertising consultancy in Ottawa. He has spent two decades inside the programmatic supply chain — including roles at Sharethrough and Samsung Ads — and founded the Ottawa Ad Club.

Bring us the plan you have. We'll show you the system around it.

Curated · Consultative · Community

A 30-minute call is enough to tell whether your media is a channel problem or a system problem — and what that's costing you.

Book 30 minutes