The German media agency market barely grew in 2025. RECMA recorded an overall activity volume of €22.49 billion, up just 0.6%, according to Horizont. In a flat market, agencies compete for share, and clients get more choice than ever.
At the same time, one part of the media mix keeps growing fast. Amazon generated an estimated €3.62 billion in advertising revenue in Germany in 2024, up nearly 24%, according to Pacvue. For consumer brands, any integrated media strategy in the DACH region now has to answer a question it could ignore five years ago: how does retail media, and Amazon in particular, fit in?
This guide covers eight integrated media agencies across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and explains where an Amazon specialist fits alongside them. Agencies were assessed on:
- Billings and market position, using Comvergence and RECMA rankings
- Independence versus network ownership
- Quality and innovation recognition from RECMA, WARC and client ratings
- Coverage across Germany, Austria and Switzerland
- Ability to integrate media, creative, data and retail media
What “integrated media strategy” means in DACH today
An integrated media agency plans and buys across channels as one system: TV and streaming, out-of-home, search, social, programmatic, audio and, increasingly, retail media. The goal is that every channel supports the same objective instead of competing for budget.
Mediaplus, one of the agencies below, describes integration on its own site as closely linking media, creation, data and technology. In DACH, that integration has three regional wrinkles.
1. Three markets, several languages
Germany and Austria share a language but not a media landscape. Switzerland adds German, French and Italian-speaking regions with different media habits. Rolf Suter, CEO of the independent Swiss agency Mediakanzlei, put it simply:
“Durch die Mehrsprachigkeit der Schweiz haben wir noch eine zusätzliche Herausforderung.” (“Switzerland’s multilingualism gives us an additional challenge.”)
— Rolf Suter, CEO, Mediakanzlei
Source: Horizont Schweiz
The same Horizont analysis notes that in smaller markets like Switzerland and Austria, references and local knowledge often count for more than size.
2. Retail media has moved into the core plan
Worldwide retail media spend passed $178 billion in 2025 and overtook television for the first time, according to WPP Media figures cited by IntoTheMinds. In the US, Amazon accounted for 80.5% of retail media spend in 2024. In Europe, IAB Europe put retail media spend at €14.3 billion in 2024, of which €10.5 billion went to Amazon.
Corinna Hohenleitner, Vice President of the German digital economy association BVDW, argued that retail media now belongs above the bottom of the funnel too:
“Retail Media offers enormous potential, especially for upper-funnel campaigns.”
— Corinna Hohenleitner, Vice President, BVDW
Source: DMEXCO Column
3. Amazon’s DACH footprint is uneven
Amazon.de serves Germany and Austria directly. Switzerland has no Amazon store of its own: typing amazon.ch redirects to Amazon.de, and Swiss shoppers order mainly through Amazon.de, with French and Italian speakers also using Amazon.fr and Amazon.it, according to Preispirat and SRF.
An integrated plan therefore treats Amazon very differently across the three countries. Germany is one of Amazon’s largest markets, with €94.0 billion in German B2C e-commerce turnover in 2024 according to the European E-commerce Report 2025.
4. Retail media and streaming are converging
From Q4 2025, Netflix inventory in Germany became bookable programmatically through Amazon DSP, as reported by W&V. Amazon’s data now reaches beyond its own store into premium video, which blurs the line between retail media and traditional TV planning.
Market snapshot: Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Germany: a flat market with big swings between agencies
Overall growth was minimal, but individual agencies moved sharply. In the Comvergence ranking, Dentsu’s Carat fell 15.6% to $784 million, sharing ninth place with Initiative at around 6% market share each, while Mediaplus climbed to third (New Business). Crossmedia, Pilot and Mediaplus were among the agencies that added the most billings.
Sources: Horizont, Meedia and New Business, all based on Comvergence. Currencies are shown as published.
Austria: independents score well on quality
Austria is a smaller market where network agencies are strong, but independents perform well on quality. Horizont notes that Austrian independent agencies receive very good marks in the quality-based Focus Xpert ranking (Horizont). Mediaplus Austria describes itself as the most-awarded media agency in Austria according to RECMA 2025, while Mindshare describes itself as Austria’s third-largest media agency (RevenueBase).
For Amazon, Austria is served by Amazon.de, so Austrian retail media planning usually runs through the same German Amazon accounts and campaigns.
Switzerland: different buying rules and a stagnating market
Swiss media buying works differently. Media is traditionally bought in the client’s name and on the client’s account, according to Horizont. Mediaschneider CEO Manfred Strobl has described the Swiss advertising market as broadly stagnant, with rising pressure on efficiency, shorter-term decisions and a clear trend towards in-housing (Horizont Schweiz).
That makes transparency and flexibility as important as buying scale when choosing a Swiss agency.
On Amazon, Swiss demand is real but indirect. One Swiss marketplace integrator estimates that more than 4 million Swiss shoppers buy through Amazon.de, Amazon.fr and Amazon.it, with Swiss gross merchandise value above CHF 2 billion in 2024 (Zunapro); treat that as an industry estimate rather than official data. Amazon.com, by contrast, stopped shipping to Switzerland directly, as Blick reported, leaving the European stores as the main route.
Retail media in Germany: established, but reporting still lags
Germany marked roughly ten years of retail media in 2025, and BVDW’s research shows it has become established in the marketing mix. Yet reporting remains the biggest challenge advertisers cite, according to BVDW’s DMEXCO column. Within Amazon, Pacvue data showed Sponsored Brands delivering higher ROAS than Sponsored Products in Germany in Q2 2025 (Pacvue), a reminder that format mix matters as much as budget.
For an integrated media agency, the practical question is whether it can bring Amazon results into the same measurement framework as TV, search and social, or whether Amazon stays a separate silo.
How we evaluated DACH integrated media agencies
- Scale: Billings in the Comvergence ranking for Germany
- Quality: RECMA qualitative rankings, WARC Media 100 and client satisfaction ratings
- Independence: Owner-managed independents versus holding company networks
- Regional coverage: Germany, Austria and Switzerland
- Retail media capability: Ability to plan Amazon and other retail networks inside the mix
Comparison table: DACH integrated media agencies at a glance
German billings from Comvergence, as reported by Meedia and Horizont. Comvergence bases its figures on Nielsen gross advertising spend, so treat billings as estimates.
The best integrated media strategy agencies in DACH for 2026
1. Mediaplus
Mediaplus is the media arm of the independent, partner-managed Serviceplan Group, headquartered in Munich. In the Comvergence ranking it grew German billings by 8.6% to €1.642 billion in 2024, taking third place in the market (New Business).
Its recognition is unusual for its size. It has ranked first in the RECMA quality ranking in Germany since 2018, topped the WARC Media 100 as the world’s most innovative independent media agency, and has been named Media Agency of the Year five times, in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025 and 2026, according to House of Communication and Wikipedia.
The wider Mediaplus Group employs around 3,000 people (2025) and has expanded internationally, including taking full ownership of the UK’s Total Media Group, according to Wikipedia’s summary of trade coverage.
Key strengths
- Integration of media, creation, data and technology under one group
- Independent ownership with network-scale billings
- Presence in Austria, where Mediaplus Austria describes itself as the most-awarded media agency according to RECMA 2025
Considerations
- Best suited to brands with substantial budgets
- Retail media depth should be checked category by category
Best for
Brands wanting an independent, highly awarded integrated agency across Germany and Austria.
2. Pilot
Pilot is an independent Hamburg agency and part of the Local Planet network of independents. It grew German billings by €155 million, or 14.2%, to €1.245 billion in 2024, ranking seventh (Meedia).
The group has historically organised specialist units such as Perfaction for performance marketing, Screentime for digital screens and Consumer Activation for point-of-sale work, according to Horizont.
Key strengths
- Strong growth among the top ten German agencies
- Independent ownership with international reach through Local Planet
- Specialist units spanning performance and point of sale
Considerations
- Germany-centred; confirm Austrian and Swiss coverage
- Unit structure means checking who owns retail media
Best for
Brands wanting an independent German agency with performance and shopper capabilities.
3. Crossmedia
Crossmedia is an independent German media agency and the fastest-growing agency in the 2024 top 15, increasing billings by 17% to €478 million, according to Meedia.
Key strengths
- Independent and growing fast
- Mid-sized scale with senior attention
- Integrated planning across channels
Considerations
- Smaller billings than the network agencies
- Check depth in retail media specifically
Best for
Mid-sized and large brands wanting an independent integrated agency that is still growing.
4. EssenceMediacom
EssenceMediacom, part of WPP Media, is the largest media agency in Germany, with billings of $2.54 billion according to the Comvergence ranking reported by Horizont. WPP Media’s German agencies together reached €5.618 billion in billings in 2024, up 12% (Meedia).
Janett Zschunke led the agency through 2025 before moving to a group-level role, according to Horizont.
In 2025, broadcaster RTL consolidated its media consulting and buying with EssenceMediacom, according to W&V.
Key strengths
- Largest buying scale in Germany
- Global network resources and tools
- Large-advertiser experience
Considerations
- Global pitches can drive local priorities
- Smaller clients may get less senior attention
Best for
Large advertisers wanting maximum buying power in Germany.
5. OMD Germany
OMD, part of Omnicom Media, passed €2 billion in German billings in 2024, according to Meedia, making it one of the two largest network agencies in the market.
Key strengths
- Network scale and buying power
- Omnicom data and technology
- Long-standing position among Germany’s top agencies
Considerations
- Built for large budgets
- Retail media may sit in separate specialist teams
Best for
Large brands wanting a network partner with scale across Germany.
6. Havas Media Germany
Havas Media ranked sixth in Germany with €1.385 billion in billings in 2024 (Meedia). It has also been recognised in RECMA’s quality ranking, at one point sharing first place with Mediaplus, according to Horizont.
Key strengths
- Network scale with a quality track record
- Part of a group that has invested in commerce, including Amazon specialist Channel Bakers in the US
- Integrated media planning
Considerations
- Commerce capabilities vary by market
- Network processes
Best for
Brands wanting a network agency with recognised planning quality.
7. Mediaschneider
Mediaschneider was founded in Zurich in June 2001 by Urs Schneider and is the largest owner-managed media agency in Switzerland. The group includes Mediaschneider AG in Zurich, Mediaschneider Bern AG and Hoy AG, an advertising technology specialist launched in 2016, according to Horizont Schweiz.
In a Media.Research.Group survey of Switzerland’s top advertisers, Mediaschneider was rated the best Swiss media agency for digital competence, second only to Google overall (Horizont Schweiz).
By its 20th anniversary in 2021, the group ranked second among all media agencies operating in Switzerland and employed 85 people including Hoy AG.
Key strengths
- Fully integrated independent model in Switzerland
- In-house ad tech through Hoy AG
- Offices in Zurich and Bern
Considerations
- Swiss-focused; pair with a German partner for Germany
- Retail media for Swiss shoppers runs largely through Amazon.de
Best for
Brands whose priority market is Switzerland.
8. Mediatonic
Mediatonic was rated the best media agency in Switzerland by advertisers in 2024, with a score of 8.27, according to the Media Research Group survey published by Statista.
Key strengths
- Highest client satisfaction among rated Swiss agencies
- Independent Swiss agency
- Local market knowledge
Considerations
- Smaller than network agencies
- Switzerland-focused
Best for
Swiss advertisers that prioritise service quality and local expertise.
Independent or network agency?
W&V’s analysis of German new business notes that globally steered pitches weigh more heavily in Germany than local ones (W&V). If your brand is DACH-led, that is a reason to look closely at the independents.
Which agency type suits your brand?
Where an Amazon specialist fits in an integrated plan
Integrated agencies plan the whole media mix. Amazon, however, is a retail system as much as a media channel. Bids sit next to inventory, listings, Buy Box status, reviews and Seller or Vendor Central operations, and those levers rarely sit inside a media agency.
That is why many brands pair an integrated agency with an Amazon specialist:
Xneeti: the Amazon specialist alongside your media agency
Xneeti is a multi-marketplace AI platform built by ex-Amazon category managers and ex-Google engineers. It is not an integrated media agency: it does not manage Google Ads, Meta Ads or traditional media. It is designed to run the Amazon and Walmart side of the plan while your media agency runs everything else.
An honest note on geography: Xneeti’s primary marketplaces are Amazon.com and Walmart.com. It is the natural fit for DACH brands expanding into the US, where its AI and strategists run the account hourly.
- Hourly bid optimisation across Sponsored Products, Brands, Display and DSP
- Amazon Marketing Cloud reporting on new-to-brand rates, halo effects and purchase paths, useful for proving upper-funnel impact to your media agency
- Inventory-aware ads and demand forecasting
- In-house AI creative and Sponsored Brands Video
- Profitability tracking by ASIN
- Flat fee of $999 to $1,999 per month with no percentage of ad spend
Across 80+ managed accounts, Xneeti averages a 50% TACoS reduction and 30% revenue growth, with a 4.8 Google rating from 120+ reviews.
For more on the Amazon side of an integrated plan, read our Amazon Marketing Cloud guide and our list of the best Amazon DSP agencies. You can also see our Germany Amazon services page or book a demo.
How to brief your media agency on Amazon
- Share Amazon Marketing Cloud and Sponsored Ads data so upper-funnel media can be measured against Amazon sales, not just reach
- Agree which team owns Amazon DSP and which owns Sponsored Ads, to avoid bidding against yourselves
- Align promotional calendars, so TV or streaming bursts land when Amazon stock and listings are ready
- Agree one definition of success, such as total sales and new-to-brand customers, rather than channel-specific ROAS
- Set a shared reporting rhythm, given that BVDW research shows reporting is the biggest retail media pain point
Questions to ask a DACH integrated media agency
- How do you plan across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and who owns each market?
- How do you handle Switzerland’s German, French and Italian-speaking regions?
- Where does retail media sit in your plan, and who manages Amazon day to day?
- Can you connect Amazon DSP and Amazon Marketing Cloud data to your wider measurement?
- How will you coordinate with our Amazon specialist or in-house marketplace team?
- Are you independent or network-owned, and how do global pitches affect our account?
- How is your remuneration structured?
