Marketing Architects, MCG pair AI TV buying with optimized CTV supply

August 16, 2026 · aol.com

Marketing Architects, a Minneapolis-based TV agency that has spent 30 years developing its own buying technology, is pairing its proprietary AI system, Annika, with a new upstream supply layer from Media Consulting Group (MCG). MCG optimizes premium CTV and OTT inventory across the U.S. and Canada before the bid, structuring it around each buyer's objectives in near real time. Annika then buys against that curated supply and applies full-funnel measurement to the results. 'Performance TV relies heavily on the quality of what you're buying,' said Nikki Erkkila, VP Media Partnerships at Marketing Architects, adding that MCG's supply-side view adds a layer of trust that shows up in client results.

Campaigns that run through Annika now draw on inventory MCG has already screened for reach and match rate, cutting the number of intermediaries between the bid and the impression. That upstream screening matters most for buyers who judge performance TV against digital benchmarks, since supply quality shapes both cost and attribution accuracy before a single dollar clears the auction. Agencies weighing AI-driven buying platforms against traditional TV placements gain a concrete example of how supply curation and buy-side automation are being built to work together, with measurement carried through from sourcing to result.