• by Maarten Albarda , Featured Contributor, 3 hours ago

Trigger warning: my post this week is about agency contracts and digital media transparency. I totally understand  if that makes your eyes roll, that you yawn involuntarily and plan to stop reading. But stay with me -- your CFO will thank you if you implement some of what I propose.

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), in partnership with media consultancy Ebiquity, has shared fresh insights about agency contracts, specifically master services agreements, or MSAs. The key takeaway: A significant number of multinational brands want to change their agency remuneration models, moving away from traditional "time and materials" to more output or outcome-based pricing. This is planned not just to cut costs but to align the contract with business outcomes.

A major barrier is the lack of data and transparency to effectively track outcomes. And that is a problem, because the Association of National Advertisers just released its Q2 2025 Programmatic Transparency Benchmark, revealing that despite progress in cleaning up the digital supply chain, $26.8 billion in global media value is still lost each year to “inefficiencies,” per the press release.

In other words, fraud and theft are still alive and well in digital advertising (which is, after all, pretty much all advertising).

To start with a positive, the industry has significantly reduced exposure to made-for-advertising sites, which are now at a record low of 0.8% of sites. But according to the ANA: “The study showed the TrueCPM Index, a key measure of media efficiency, dropped from 37.8% to 36.5%, even as paid CPMs remained steady.”

So, how do you combat programmatic waste and maximize your return on ad spend? Step 1 is to shift your programmatic budget to prioritize private marketplaces, which today already account for nearly 88% of all programmatic spend. Meaning, marketers are happy to pay more to get something or real value, instead of cheap but worthless volume.

Then leverage real-time data and use tools to monitor your campaigns continuously to identify inefficiencies as they happen, rather than waiting for quarterly reports. Definitely audit your supply path, or hire someone to do it for you.

Work with partners that are transparent and have a clear, efficient path from you to publishers. Fewer intermediaries often mean less waste and more of your money going directly to media.

And address these shifts in the contract you have with your agency. Your contractual media language is the foundational document that governs your relationships and protects your investment.

The WFA/Ebiquity study highlights that the contract is your best tool to drive transparency. And the move away from traditional compensation models to outcome-based remuneration is an important consideration, as it aligns agency incentives with your business goals, ensuring they're focused on what truly matters: your results, not just their activity.

So most definitely also modernize your contracts. According to the WFA, best practice is to audit your contracts regularly—at least annually—to ensure they reflect the rapid pace of change in the industry. Ensure your contracts include strong audit rights, clear terms on data ownership, and a move toward outcome-based remuneration, if you can make that work.

It is sad we live in a time where all this is necessary to ensure your marketing budgets actually reach and impact real consumers. But not doing it means your money most likely won’t.