What Sage Media does

Sage Media Planning & Placement is a privately held, Washington, DC-based political media buying firm founded by Janet Katowitz in July 2009, serving Democratic and progressive campaigns, causes, and ballot initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels. The firm delivers omnichannel media planning and execution across linear television, connected TV (CTV), digital, YouTube, programmatic, and out-of-home (OOH), with claimed reach across all 50 states, 150M+ voters per cycle, and over $1B in cumulative managed media across 12+ political cycles.

The platform centers on three capabilities: (1) InsideTrack™, a proprietary competitive intelligence system that provides real-time visibility into opponent ad spend across CTV, YouTube, social, and digital; (2) an in-house programmatic trading desk built during 2022-2023 to control digital media inventory and pricing; and (3) full-cycle accountability covering vendor payments, post-flight reconciliation, and cross-channel spend reporting. The firm has expanded its data stack to include multiple voter data providers and AI-powered modeling for targeting optimization, and offers rapid campaign activation with in-flight reallocation. The team of approximately 22 includes seven partners, senior directors, and a bench of media strategists and digital strategists with experience on presidential campaigns, DCCC independent expenditure work, and Super PAC engagements.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees tied to media planning, buying, and post-flight reconciliation work performed directly for campaigns and advocacy organizations; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is direct sales through political operative networks and partnerships with consulting firms such as Sena Kozar Strategies, McKenna Media, Overton Political, and Ship Creek Group. The firm is founder-led and independent, with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or acquisitions to date, and it has accumulated industry recognition including multiple Reed Awards (2023, 2024, 2025) and AAPC Pollie Awards, plus AAPC 40 Under 40 honors for Bobby Mushroe (2020) and Casey Bessette (2025).

Name

Sage Media

Legal name

Sage Media Planning & Placement

Website

https://sagemediaplanning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sage Media is a Washington, DC-based political media buying firm serving Democratic and progressive campaigns and ballot initiatives with omnichannel media planning, the proprietary InsideTrack™ competitive tracking platform, in-house programmatic execution, and full-cycle campaign accountability across all 50 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Political Media Buying Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (54183), Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Media Planning & Buying (MPAAABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

PR, Reputation Management & Earned Media Platforms (BPAMALAO)

Keywords

• Political media buying
• Media planning services
• Competitive media tracking
• Campaign media strategy
• Omnichannel media placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Political Media Placement Services: Fees earned for planning, buying, and analyzing political media across channels for Democratic and progressive campaigns. Services include omnichannel strategy, execution at scale, competitive analysis, and full-cycle accountability.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sage Media Planning & Placement is a political media buying firm that plans, executes, and reconciles paid media campaigns for Democratic and progressive candidates, parties, and advocacy organizations. Its core offering combines omnichannel media strategy, multi-platform media buying (linear TV, CTV, digital, YouTube, programmatic, OOH), proprietary competitive intelligence via the InsideTrack™ platform, and full-cycle financial accountability including vendor payments and post-flight reconciliation.

Product overview

Sage Media offers a unified political media buying platform combining omnichannel planning, competitive intelligence, and full-cycle campaign management. The core offering integrates strategic media planning, multi-channel media buying (linear, CTV, digital, programmatic, OOH), proprietary competitive tracking via InsideTrack™, and comprehensive financial reconciliation. Services support both candidate campaigns and ballot measure initiatives, with capabilities spanning voter targeting, rapid campaign activation, and real-time spend optimization. The company has expanded into in-house programmatic trading and AI-powered voter data modeling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Omnichannel Planning & Media Buying Adaptive political media strategies using real-time data, platform expertise, and competitive intelligence to design plans from national campaigns to zip-code refined audiences. Built for Democratic and progressive political campaigns and advocacy organizations.
• Execution at Scale (Multichannel Media Buying) Media buying deployed across every major media environment — streaming, TV, digital, YouTube, programmatic, and OOH — optimized for budget, timing, and message saturation. Serves political campaigns at federal, state, and local levels.
• InsideTrack™ Competitive Analysis Proprietary competitive tracking platform providing real-time visibility into opponent ad spend across CTV, YouTube, social, and digital platforms, with side-by-side comparison dashboards and strategic insights for campaign pivots.
• Full-Cycle Accountability & Reporting Comprehensive media campaign bookkeeping including vendor payments, post-flight reconciliation, real-time spend breakdowns, and cross-platform performance reporting for political campaigns.
• Programmatic Trading Desk In-house programmatic trading capability providing control over digital media placements and inventory management, developed during 2022-2023 expansion.
• Voter Data & AI-Powered Modeling Expanded voter data providers leveraging best-in-class research and AI-powered modeling to optimize voter targeting for political campaigns.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached 150M+ voters each election cycle
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• McKenna MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership on political campaigns including Evansville mayoral race (Stephanie Terry), Virginia House of Delegates race (Phil Hernandez HD-94), and Boise mayoral race (Lauren McLean). Collaborated on media buying for first woman and first Black mayor in Evansville history.
• Sena Kozar StrategiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership on Virginia campaigns (Hala Ayala Lt. Governor, Michael Feggans HD-97, Aaron Rouse SD-22, Schuyler VanValkenburg SD-16, Danica Roem SD-30), New Jersey State Legislature defense, and Ohio ballot measures including reproductive rights initiatives.
• Ship Creek GroupsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting Boise mayoral campaign for Lauren McLean's reelection.
• Overton PoliticalsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Spokane mayoral race that resulted in Lisa Brown's victory over incumbent.
• StackAdaptcoreTechnology or IntegrationProgrammatic advertising platform partnership. Owen Barnard described as instrumental in setting the gold standard for digital political campaigns on StackAdapt. Luke Hartman from StackAdapt noted as deepening partnership under Sage's digital leadership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Putnam Partners: Political consulting and media firm working with Democratic campaigns, parties and progressive causes. Directly comparable on media planning and buying services in political cycles.
• GMMB: Long-standing Democratic-aligned political media and strategic communications agency that plans and buys advertising for federal, statewide and advocacy campaigns. Directly comparable to Sage in client base, services and political-cycle focus.
• Murphy Vogel Askew + Ricci: Democratic political media buying and consulting firm working on federal, statewide and ballot measure campaigns. Closely matches Sage's omnichannel buying model and progressive clientele.
• Squier Knapp Dunn Communications: Strategic communications and political media agency serving Democratic campaigns, causes and corporate clients. Directly comparable on media strategy, planning and buying services for progressive causes.
• The Strategy Group: Democratic political media and consulting firm offering paid media, research and digital services to campaigns and progressive organizations. Overlaps directly with Sage's core services and client segments.
• Mothership Strategies: Progressive political media and digital firm providing media planning, buying and analytics for Democratic campaigns and causes. Comparable size and scope with similar omnichannel approach.
• Bully Pulpit International: Democratic-aligned political media and communications firm offering paid media strategy and creative for campaigns, advocacy and corporate clients. Comparable services and clientele to Sage.
• Precision Strategies: Democratic political consulting firm providing paid media, research and digital services for campaigns and progressive organizations. Comparable in scope, clientele and cycle-driven model.

Broad incumbents

• GroupM (WPP): World's largest media investment group, offering media planning and buying across all channels. While not politically specialized, it competes for digital/CTV political budgets and employs Sage alumni (e.g., GroupM Universal Studios retail buying).

Others

• StackAdapt: Programmatic advertising platform partnered with Sage for political campaigns; functions as enabling technology vendor and potential competitor if it expands direct political agency services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/home

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sage Media