Compare the models. Then decide.
Most agency marketing is designed to blur distinctions. These pages do the opposite: side-by-side, dimension-by-dimension comparisons of the compensation models and disciplines we get asked about most — including the cases where the answer isn't us.
Pinstorm vs a traditional retainer agency
How Pinstorm's outcome-based model compares with a traditional retainer agency — who carries the risk, how each gets paid, what gets measured, and when each makes sense.
Outcome-based marketing vs performance marketing
Performance marketing measures actions — clicks, leads, installs. Outcome-based marketing ties agency pay to business results — revenue, CAC, ROAS. Here is the difference, dimension by dimension.
Agency retainers vs revenue-share agreements
A retainer buys agency capacity; a revenue share buys agency commitment. How the two compensation models compare on risk, incentives, cost, and when each one makes sense.
Is performance & brand marketing the same as Google & Meta advertising?
Google and Meta are two channels, not a marketing strategy. Byron Sharp's evidence — mental availability, reach over targeting, light buyers, the 95:5 rule — explains why brands that only buy Google and Meta ads stop growing.
SEO vs AEO vs GEO: what's the difference?
SEO optimises for search rankings. AEO optimises for being the direct answer. GEO optimises for being cited by AI engines like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini. What each one is, how they differ, and why you need all three.
Building an in-house marketing team vs hiring an outcome-based agency
An in-house team costs salaries whether it performs or not; an outcome-based agency is paid from results. Fixed cost vs variable cost, specialist depth vs institutional knowledge — and why the honest answer is usually both.
Pay-for-performance vs outcome-based marketing: same words, different deals
Pay-for-performance usually means a bonus on top of a retainer, or an agency chasing cheap conversions. Outcome-based marketing ties the whole engagement to business results. How to tell which deal you are actually being offered.
ROAS vs contribution margin: which number should run your paid media?
ROAS tells you what a platform claims it sold. Contribution margin tells you what the business actually kept. Why D2C brands optimising to ROAS quietly lose money, and how blended, marginal and new-customer ROAS fit in.
Hiring a D2C agency vs building an in-house growth team
The real question for a D2C brand is not agency versus in-house. It is why growth stalled. Usually the answer is a retargeting loop that in-house teams fall into and the right agency is hired to break.
Still weighing it up?
Start with the definitions — what outcome-based marketing is and how evidence-based marketing works — or tell us the revenue number you're trying to move and we'll tell you honestly which model fits.