As native advertising becomes more popular, many leading some brands are striking ad-development deals directly with publishers, rather than going through the agencies they use for other ad formats. "As native ads grow ... creative shops lose control and become less relevant to the clients," says one publishing exec. Digitas' Dave Marsey, however, says that agencies should still be in "the driver's seat" when crafting native ads. "With all due respect to my friends at the Buzzfeeds and Forbes and Mashables of the world, they don't have the ability to have the deep knowledge of our clients," he says.