Agency Fees, Rebates and Principal Media
What our reporting found
Holding companies make a growing share of their money on media they buy and resell, through principal media, rebates and barter, and clients often cannot see the margin. ADOTAT's reporting runs from Omnicom's barter subsidiary, whose own website warned about the practice in 2010, to the ANA's finding that mid-tier advertisers spending $50 million a year can't see what they are paying for, to Acadia CEO Jared Belsky's $40 billion figure and the one rebate he won't attribute. MediaSense, the firm that referees the biggest agency reviews, put its own fees on the record and set no floor on what clients get to see. Two Field Kits list the disclosures and the numbers to demand before signing.
More coverage: Holding CompaniesOmnicomPrincipal Media
Every story on Agency Fees, Rebates and Principal Media
8 stories, newest first- Tuesday Thread: MediaSense Says Clients Must Understand Agency Margins. They "Can Ask But May Not Get."
The firm that referees the biggest agency reviews put its own fees on the record. On what clients get to see of agency money, it set no floor.
- MediaSense Picks Agencies for a Living. Ryan Kangisser Says Ignore the Demo.
The strategy chief behind the biggest agency pitches on the 11%, the vanishing junior planner, and a desert island run by Larry David.
- Omnicom Hears No Client Noise. The ANA Says Many Are On Mars.
Omnicom's head of media hears no complaints about principal media. The ANA says its mid-tier members spending $50 million a year can't see what they're paying for, and six holding companies won't say.
- Thursday Field Kit: The Eight Disclosures Your Agency Owes You Before Every Principal Media Buy
The advertiser trade body wrote the clause in 2023. Sixty-three percent of its members think their contract has it, and a quarter have no idea.
- Omnicom's Barter Shop Told Clients Agencies Couldn't Do This. Omnicom Sold It and Built Omnet.
The warning was on the subsidiary's own website in 2010. The ANA wrote it down in 2015. The WFA met about it seven times a year. The practice grew every year anyway.
- Jared Belsky Took One Rebate, Gave It To 53 Clients, And Won't Say Which Vendor Paid It.
Acadia's CEO opens Season 10 with the $40 billion, the float he refuses to touch, the zero vice presidents, and the one thing he still won't disclose.
- Thursday Field Kit: Five Numbers to Demand From Your Agency Before You Sign
And the formula that tells you whether the dollar that survived the tollbooth actually did anything.
- The Switzerland Of Data Was Paying Omnicom $50 Million A Year
An identity vendor wrote LiveRamp's obituary. Shame the corpse has been dead since 2018 and the eulogist sells caskets.
Stories link to the newsletter at new.adotat.com. Corrections and right-of-reply responses to pesach@adotat.com.
Read by the people who run the industry.
Investigations, executive interviews and the numbers the press releases leave out. Free in your inbox.