What Game Plan Media does

Game Plan Media is a privately held, founder-owned broadcast advertising agency founded in September 2002 by Anne Sweeney, who serves as the lead practitioner under the title "Head Coach." The firm is headquartered at 117 Ridgefield Road, Lutherville, Maryland, and is built around a single senior operator rather than a layered team structure. Its purpose is to translate small and mid-sized business marketing goals into placed radio and television advertising in two regional markets.

The agency runs a full-service broadcast workflow: media research using industry-standard tools (Arbitron, Nielsen, Scarborough, Simmons, and the Maximizer CRM), rate negotiation with radio and TV stations, commercial production, contract processing, and post-buy reconciliation. It also offers sports marketing services that leverage local sports connections (including named figures such as Tom Davis and Nasty Nestor) to bundle sports sponsorships with broadcast placement. Pricing is anchored on cost-per-point (CPP) structures typical of spot broadcast buying. The technology stack is conventional — third-party audience research plus a CRM — with no proprietary platform or AI systems disclosed.

The business model is a professional services / commission model: the firm earns a spread on media spend placed on behalf of clients. Go-to-market is direct sales, with named testimonials across dental, HVAC/plumbing, restaurants, jewelry, and hardware — a deliberately diversified SMB portfolio spanning the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions of the United States. The company has no disclosed external funding, no institutional investors, no acquisitions, no partnerships, and no announced leadership changes since founding. Operationally it reads as a long-running lifestyle agency rather than a scaling business.

Name

Game Plan Media

Legal name

Game Plan Media, Inc.

Website

https://gameplanmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Game Plan Media is a founder-owned broadcast advertising agency in Lutherville, Maryland, placing radio and television advertising for small and mid-sized businesses in the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions. Founded in 2002 by Anne Sweeney, it offers media research, rate negotiation, commercial production, and sports marketing services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadcast Advertising Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (54183), Media Buying Agencies (541830), Media Representatives (541840)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Media Planning & Buying (MPAAABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Media Planning, Buying & Optimization (BPAFAAAC)

Keywords

• Broadcast advertising services
• Radio media buying
• Television ad placement
• Media research agency
• Local business advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Lutherville Timonium

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Broadcast Advertising Placement Services: The company generates revenue by placing advertising dollars for customers across radio and television broadcast media. Services include market research, demographic analysis, rate negotiation, contract processing, script writing, production coordination, and ongoing campaign optimization. The agency acts as an intermediary between advertisers and broadcast stations, earning fees or commissions based on media spend volume.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Game Plan Media is a broadcast advertising agency that strategically places advertising dollars for local and regional businesses across radio and television. The agency maximizes client budgets through creative campaign development, demographic research, rate negotiation, contract processing, and commercial production, using industry-standard research tools such as Arbitron, Nielsen, Scarborough, and Simmons.

Product overview

Game Plan Media operates as a traditional broadcast advertising agency offering a unified suite of services rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is strategic broadcast placement for radio and television advertising, supported by integrated market research services using industry-standard tools (Arbitron, Nielsen, Scarborough, Simmons), demographic analysis, rate negotiation, merchandising, contract administration, commercial production, market intelligence, community involvement coordination, and sports marketing. All services work together as a comprehensive advertising solution where research informs strategy, production creates content, and placement delivers campaigns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Broadcast Advertising Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies using radio advertising reported increased customer responses and sales leads within first month of campaign launch

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Billups: Independent media agency specializing in out-of-home and broadcast media planning and buying for advertisers. Comparable as a specialized media buying agency with similar buyer-side focus on traditional channels, though concentrated in OOH rather than radio/TV.
• Marketing Architects: Media buying agency focused on radio and television advertising for mid-market and direct-to-consumer brands. Highly comparable given the overlap in broadcast-focused media buying for non-endemic advertisers.
• Goodway Group: Independent media agency providing media planning and buying services with emphasis on data-driven optimization. Directly comparable as an independent media buying agency serving mid-market advertisers, though with stronger digital and programmatic capabilities than Game Plan Media.

Regional players

• Allen & Gerritsen: Philadelphia-based integrated advertising and media agency with Mid-Atlantic focus. Comparable as a regional Mid-Atlantic competitor pursuing similar local and mid-market advertiser accounts, with broader creative and digital capabilities than Game Plan Media.
• GKV: Baltimore-based advertising agency with integrated creative and media services. Comparable as a direct Mid-Atlantic regional competitor pursuing similar local and mid-market advertiser clients in the Baltimore market where Game Plan Media is headquartered.
• Tierney Communications: Philadelphia-based advertising and media agency with deep Mid-Atlantic regional roots. Comparable as a regional Mid-Atlantic competitor for local and mid-market advertiser accounts, with broader integrated capabilities than Game Plan Media.

Others

• Cox Media Group: Major media company operating broadcast television and radio stations across U.S. markets including Baltimore. Comparable as a key broadcast media owner that Game Plan Media negotiates with and purchases inventory from; relevant as a counterparty and indirect competitive context for the agency's positioning.
• Hubbard Radio: Broadcast media company operating radio stations and offering advertising solutions. Comparable as part of the broader broadcast advertising ecosystem, though operates on the media owner side rather than as an agency intermediary like Game Plan Media.

Broad incumbents

• Horizon Media: Large independent media buying and planning agency with full-service capabilities across broadcast, digital, and emerging channels. Comparable as a media buying competitor for advertiser budgets, though materially larger in scale and national in footprint versus Game Plan Media's regional focus.
• Mediahub: Global media planning and buying agency within the MullenLowe Group IPG network. Comparable as a media buying peer serving similar advertiser types, though significantly larger in scale and broader in channel coverage than Game Plan Media.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Game Plan Media