Why media agencies still matter and why talent, not tech, will determine media’s future (part 4)

We’ve explored the strengths that make media agencies indispensable, the weaknesses that have kept them undervalued, and the opportunities waiting to be claimed. So today, we turn to the threats. And they’re not just theoretical. They’re already knocking.

The biggest threat facing media agencies isn’t AI. It’s apathy.

It’s the slow, subtle erosion of strategic authority. The way the media function is being disaggregated, commoditised, and automated into irrelevance - not because the work isn’t important, but because the value hasn’t been properly framed.

When everyone thinks they can "DIY media" with dashboards and audience segments, they stop seeing the need for deep expertise. That’s the danger - and it’s already playing out.

Media’s superpower has always been a mix of logic, insight, and creative application. But that blend depends on one thing: sharp, curious, cross-skilled thinkers. And we’re simply not growing enough of them.

Consultancies, platforms, tech vendors - everyone wants a piece of the media pie. They’re pitching planning. Offering end-to-end solutions. Talking fluently about ROI, efficiency, audience intelligence. But behind the PowerPoint polish, the truth is: they’re borrowing media language without the media logic.

They don’t know the nuance. They don’t understand the trade-offs. They haven’t lived in the messiness of budget allocations, behavioural modelling, or cross-platform leakage. But clients, dazzled by speed and salesmanship, are buying in.

The internal threats are just as dangerous, and media agencies can be their own worst enemies when they, undervalue their thinking; lead with cost instead of craft, sell tools instead of ideas and stay quiet in strategy conversations... they become easy to overlook. They feed the perception that media is transactional. That it’s something you can plug in, rather than something you co-create. And in that vacuum, real strategic influence disappears.

But this isn’t a doom forecast. It’s a wake-up call.

Media needs to protect its IP - not just the tools, but the thinking behind them. It needs to build brand equity in the discipline of media itself. It needs to show up loud, early, and unapologetically in strategy conversations.

Media agencies need to remember what they’re really here to do: bring clarity, cohesion, and commercial value to an increasingly chaotic landscape.

The path forward isn’t just about rebranding media. It’s about rebuilding its role. Because if we want smarter marketing, sharper thinking, and stronger outcomes - we’re going to need media at the heart of it.

Still here. Still sharp. Stepping out of the sidelines.