The Speed Read

• TikTok CPMs dropped 93% ($21 → $1.45) while Meta/Google costs rose

• Platform arbitrage window is open but closing fast

• Why the single-person marketing model breaks at $5M+

• Agency partnerships cut total costs vs. in-house teams ($380K+ reality check)

• 80% of our 2025 clients migrated from failed in-house setups

The platform arbitrage window just cracked wide open.

Our Q1-Q3 2025 data across portfolio companies reveals massive CPM shifts that smart capital allocators need to see.

The dramatic changes: 
→ TikTok: 93% CPM decrease ($21.01 → $1.45)
→ Pinterest: 84% CPM decrease ($17.63 → $2.90)
→ LinkedIn: 45% CPM decrease ($7.79 → $4.30)
→ Meta: 4% increase (relatively stable at ~$13)
→ Google: 14% increase ($21.40 → $24.31)

Why these declines happened:

LinkedIn, Pinterest and TikTok CPM drops are a function of changing how we use the platforms from a funnel perspective. More upper funnel work equals cheaper costs and attention.

While everyone fights over expensive bottom-funnel inventory on Meta and Google, we shifted portfolio strategies to capture awareness and consideration on emerging platforms.

Brands stuck on Meta/Google are paying premium prices for saturated audiences. Meanwhile, platforms optimized for upper funnel work deliver 90% cheaper reach.

Portfolio companies testing multi-platform strategies captured this arbitrage. Single-platform brands missed the window entirely.

These CPM advantages won't last. As more advertisers discover the efficiency, costs will normalize. The time to diversify portfolio spend is now.

Now’s the time to ask: how are your brands positioned for this platform arbitrage opportunity?

Why the single-person marketing model breaks at $5M+

Here's a reality check most DTC founders don't want to hear: that scrappy marketing approach that got you to $5M? It's about to become your biggest liability.

We're seeing it everywhere. Brands hitting walls at $8M, $12M, even $20M because they're still running marketing like a startup. One person juggling Meta, Google, email, and "whatever else needs doing" isn't strategic, it's a recipe for stagnation.

The numbers don't lie: 4 out of 5 new Acceler8 clients in 2025 came to us after their in-house marketing hit a wall. Not because their people weren't talented, because talented people can only stretch so far.

Why Agencies Win the Scale Game

When you're ready to go from $5M to $50M, you need more than execution. You need infrastructure.

Immediate Expertise Advantage Think about it: hiring a senior paid media manager?

$120K+ base, plus benefits, plus equity. Now add a creative strategist, CRO expert, email specialist, and analytics pro. You're looking at $600K+ in salaries alone, before you factor in management overhead, tech stack, and turnover risk.

An agency partnership gives you that entire team for a fraction of the cost, with established workflows and platform relationships already in place.

Multi-Channel Reality Scaling beyond $10M requires channel diversification. TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, Connected TV—each platform has its own playbook. Your in-house team of two can't master them all while maintaining performance on your core channels.

The Continuity Problem Here's the nightmare scenario: your marketing manager leaves right before Q4. Now you're scrambling to hire, train, and rebuild institutional knowledge during your most critical sales period.

Agencies absorb that risk entirely. No more single points of failure in your growth engine.

The Real Cost of Going It Alone

Let's break down the true cost of that "lean" in-house team:

• Senior Marketing Manager: $130K fully loaded

• Paid Media Specialist: $90K fully loaded

• Creative/Email Support: $70K fully loaded

• Tech Stack (attribution, creative tools, etc.): $50K annually

• Recruitment, training, management overhead: $40K annually

Total: $380K+ for basic coverage

And that's assuming you can find and retain talent in today's market.

What Works Instead

The brands scaling successfully aren't choosing between in-house or agency, they're being strategic about what to own versus what to partner on.

Keep your brand strategy, product marketing, and customer insights in-house. Partner for channel execution, creative production, and performance optimization.

This isn't about replacing your team, it's about amplifying them 10x Your brand knowledge combined with agency expertise and infrastructure creates a multiplication effect that pure in-house teams simply can't match.

Last Word

The question isn't whether to invest in marketing expertise. It's whether to build it slowly and expensively, or access it immediately through proven partnerships.

Growth waits for no one.

Ready to scale beyond single-person marketing? [Let's talk →]