Market Better Shifts to Agency Model With Legacy Media Acquisition

A B2B marketing show just crossed into agency territory, and it did it by buying a production company.

Market Better, a show trusted by more than 10,000 marketing leaders including CMOs and growth operators, announced on April 22 the acquisition of Legacy Media, a video-first production company. At the same time, it launched Market Better Studio, a full-service growth marketing operation aimed at small and mid-sized B2B service businesses.

The move is a clear signal of where media-native brands are heading. Building an audience is now just the starting point. The real play is turning that audience into a client base.

Content as a Sales Engine, Not a Brand Exercise

The new studio runs on what the company calls the Content Funnel system. The idea is simple: instead of creating content to stay visible, companies use it to identify and convert potential buyers. The system layers behavioral data (signals that show who is actively researching a product or service) on top of organic content, turning engaged readers and viewers into warm sales leads.

"This isn't just about content anymore," said Mike McGrath, CEO of Market Better. "It's about building a real engaged audience, putting intent data to work, and helping B2B service companies grow in ways they couldn't before through the power of technology."

That gap between content production and actual revenue has frustrated B2B marketers for years. America Turner, Managing Director of Market Better Studio, put it plainly: "For a long time, those have been treated separately. We're bringing them together in a way that actually makes sense."

Teams using structured B2B content funnels report 3x higher conversion rates and 47% shorter sales cycles compared to those without a systematic approach. For mid-market companies that have been content to publish blogs and hope for the best, the numbers make the case for a different model.

Media Brands Moving Into Agency Services

Market Better is not the only brand making this transition. The broader pattern is visible across the industry, from small operators to holding company giants.

At the top end, Omnicom's US$13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group in 2025 (the largest deal in advertising history) created a combined group with over US$25 billion in revenue. In Southeast Asia, Publicis Groupe acquired HEPMIL Media Group, the parent company of SGAG, adding a media-content brand with strong regional reach to its agency portfolio. The Reuters Institute's 2026 report identifies this pivot from content platform to service business as one of the defining structural shifts in the media industry right now.

At least 105 brand marketing acquisitions were recorded globally between 2025 and 2026. JPMorgan's analysis of how advertising agencies compete in 2026 points to deals concentrating in influencer marketing, content, and connected TV, exactly the capabilities Market Better Studio now packages for the mid-market.

Why the Mid-Market Is the Right Target

Large holding companies compete for enterprise clients. Most small agencies lack the content production muscle or audience data to offer a full system. Mid-sized B2B service companies sit in the gap, and that is where Market Better Studio is planting its flag.

The timing also works in their favor. 62% of B2B teams plan to reduce the number of marketing tools they use in 2026, according to Martech Alliance research. Companies using five or fewer core tools report 23% higher pipeline generated per person compared to those running more than 10 tools, per Forrester research. Clients want fewer vendors, not more. An integrated system that handles content, production, data, and lead generation in one place aligns with that pressure.

Market Better had an audience. It acquired production capability. It now sells the system. For B2B brands watching from the sidelines, the question is whether this model expands across more media-native players, and whether the clients who sign up early get a head start before everyone else catches on.