Media agencies have plenty to say about AI efficiency. Better tools. Faster campaign setup. Automated trafficking. Wonderful.
So why do holding company agencies still need two weeks to get an approved digital ad live? What, exactly, got faster?
Two weeks is half a month. Almost 4% of a year. To launch ads you’ve already approved on platforms that make it seamless to create and traffic an ad.
What were you doing two weeks ago? Probably not what you’re doing now. Your competitors have moved. Your priorities have changed. The promotion is ending, the cultural moment has passed, or the creative you wanted to replace is still spending your money. A ten-day SLA is like taking aim at a moving target, then waiting ten days to pull the trigger.
When I was on the client side, this was reason enough to find another agency or bring it in house. I didn’t need another explanation of the process. I needed the ads to run.
And how many times have you found yourself negotiating with someone to “squeeze in” a couple of hours of work somewhere inside a ten-day window? There’s an escalation. Someone checks with the team. You explain, again, why the deadline matters. Eventually, someone agrees to make an exception, and you’re expected to be grateful.
For getting approved work live. At the agency you pay to get approved work live.
Meanwhile, you’re losing twice. The existing campaign keeps underperforming, and the replacement keeps waiting. Every day it sits there is another day you learn nothing about whether it works.
This is why service-level agreements deserve more attention. The AI presentation tells you how fast an agency says it can work. The SLA tells you how fast it’s willing to promise.
If the tools have improved but the commitment hasn’t, the efficiency gains have stopped somewhere inside the agency. Congratulations to whoever is enjoying them.
At Supergood, we’ve committed to moving twice as fast and shortened our SLAs to reflect it. Our standard is digital ads live within 72 hours of receiving approved creative, subject to platform review. Human QA is included in that window. Our team checks the details and takes responsibility for the launch.
AI and better workflows help us get there by speeding up campaign setup while preserving those checks. Platform reviews can affect when ads begin running, but we’re accountable for everything we control. We don’t get to make the whole process leisurely because one part belongs to someone else.
If your agency is telling you how much faster AI has made it, ask to see the updated SLA.
One thing I’ve learned over the years: one person’s inefficiency is another person’s business model. If your agency can do the work faster but you’re still paying the same and waiting just as long, that arrangement is working for someone.
Is it you?