Strong agency relationships don’t happen by accident. They’re built through structure, trust and the ability to deliver – consistently.

That belief sits at the heart of Reach plc’s recent performance in the IPA Digital Media Owners Survey, where the UK’s largest national and regional news publisher emerged as one of the most improved media owners, ranking in the top five overall and leading on cross-media planning capability.
But the story behind the score is not about perception or polish. It’s about deliberate operational change – and the commercial results that followed.

Why the IPA Survey Matters
The IPA Digital Media Owners Survey, run twice a year by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, is one of the industry’s most trusted benchmarks for how media owners work with agencies.

Based on feedback from media planners and buyers, the survey assesses performance across service, strategy, innovation and delivery. While there are no awards or trophies, the rankings are closely followed by agencies, advertisers and procurement teams as a real-world indicator of which partners deliver – and which don’t.
In the Autumn 2025 edition, Blis topped the rankings with a score of 91%, followed by GumGum, Reddit and Mail Metro Media. But it was Reach’s year-on-year improvement that stood out most, with ten-point gains across six service metrics and an overall score of 80%.

A Different Kind of Transformation
Reach’s progress wasn’t driven by rebranding or refreshed messaging. Instead, it came from reshaping how the business operates – starting with how it engages agencies.
To align more closely with agency ways of working, Reach restructured its commercial organisation around clarity, speed and specialism. Traditional divisions between national and regional teams were removed, replaced by three focused units:

• Digital Development, focused on unlocking new digital advertisers
• Key Client, supporting major and strategic accounts
• Strategy, designed to engage earlier with planners and shape briefs upstream

The aim was to reduce silos, improve accountability and present a more joined-up commercial front to agencies.

“We’ve sharpened our structure to allow clearer ownership, strong cross-team collaboration and laser focus on the communities we serve,” Emma Callaghan

That structural alignment had an immediate impact on how agencies perceived Reach’s value in the planning process. Survey scores for “quality of responses to brief” increased by 25 points, while “understanding of client strategies” rose by almost 19.

As Callaghan acknowledges, the shift required challenging long-held assumptions.

“It has meant significant change, including moving away from the old divisions of separate regional and national teams,” Callaghan said.

“We’ve had to challenge legacy perceptions. Agencies used to see us as a traditional newsbrand, but we’ve shown them something more strategic and creative,” Emma Callaghan

Investing in Capability, Not Complexity
Another key change was Reach’s approach to specialist access. While many publishers have simplified agency relationships through single points of contact, Reach intentionally increased access to subject-matter experts – prioritising speed and accuracy over convenience.

“The risk we took was doing the opposite of single-point contact models. But it paid off because agencies value speed-to-expertise,” Emma Callaghan

At the same time, Reach embedded video specialists directly into newsroom teams across its brands. This ensured video output reflected each title’s voice and audience, strengthening both editorial impact and commercial capability.

“By placing video talent directly within brand teams, we ensure video is the native language of our newsrooms,” Callaghan said.

The commercial impact has been clear, with YouTube revenue up 46% year-on-year and growing confidence from agencies in Reach’s digital and social video capability.
To support this shift, Reach also introduced tighter performance measurement — tracking brief volumes, win rates and campaign value more accurately to inform smarter commercial decision-making.

Turning Operational Change into Revenue Growth
The improvements recognised by the IPA survey have translated directly into commercial outcomes.

“We’ve seen very strong growth in both programmatic and social video revenues year on year,” said Callaghan.

The Digital Development team has been instrumental in opening Reach up to new advertisers, particularly those that previously wouldn’t have considered the publisher part of their plans.

“We are unlocking new briefs that we would previously have been excluded from. In one case, we won a significant cross-channel campaign from a client who had never worked with us before,” Emma Callaghan

Reach has also strengthened its partnerships with trading desks and agency teams, increasingly being seen as a strategic and reliable partner rather than a tactical add-on.

What This Means for Advertisers and Agencies
One of Reach’s strongest scores in the IPA survey was in cross-media planning — reflecting planning frameworks that better connect content, data, product and commercial teams.

That approach is now being further developed through Engine, Reach’s centralised system designed to unify planning data, audience signals and commercial metrics, making it easier for agencies to plan holistically across formats.

Trust is another defining factor. At a time when brand safety and AI-generated content are top of mind, Reach is leaning into the strength of its trusted news environments.

“We can prove that trusted environments lift ad effectiveness,” Callaghan said, referencing research with PA Consulting that demonstrated strong brand trust and purchase intent across local news brands.

Commercial teams are also more closely involved in product development — from shaping branded content franchises to launching new verticals in sport, finance and travel, including All Out Rugby League and Cash Queens.

Looking ahead, Reach is preparing to pilot digital subscriptions with the Manchester Evening News, while exploring new ways to commercialise its archives and expand ecommerce opportunities.

The Bottom Line
Reach’s journey offers a clear lesson for media owners operating in a complex and competitive market.

Commercial success doesn’t come from pitching harder — it comes from operating better. By aligning more closely with agencies, investing in real capability and making itself easier to work with, Reach has strengthened trust, improved planning outcomes and driven meaningful revenue growth.

For advertisers and agencies, the message is just as clear: when partnership works properly, performance follows.