Every day it seems that marketers are more and more focused on marketplace measures of the performance of their marketing investment.
MMM, MTA, ROAS, incremental studies, lift studies, etc.
The C-Suite expects proof of performance and marketers are scrambling to prove that their budgets are working.
Unfortunately, countless marketers are not holding themselves and their partner agencies accountable for their largest annual marketing investments. And without this oversight and accountability, many advertisers are failing to be good stewards of their company’s resources. How is that?
Let’s start with a basic truth: in most large companies, paid media represents the largest portion of a firm’s marketing budget. And many marketers, in companies of all sizes, are not safeguarding that investment in a disciplined fashion. To showcase that, let’s unpack some important industry data.
Are Marketers Regularly Auditing Media Agency Contract Compliance?
Unfortunately, no.
Industry experts and research suggest that over half of marketers are not regularly reviewing their media agency’s contract compliance.
- Only 46% revisit and audit contracts quarterly, half-yearly, or annually — leaving 54% who review less often, including 8% without comprehensively signed contracts. (WFA/Ebiquity Transparency Scorecard of 50 large multinationals)
- Over 40% hadn’t conducted a contract compliance audit in 2+ years.
(2025 Ebiquity/WFA Media Agency MSA Transparency Report of 83 senior media/procurement leaders)
Are Marketers Protecting Their Media Investment with Special MSA/SOW Clauses Governing Principal Media Purchases?
Unfortunately, many are not.
- Only 57% currently have company guidelines for principal media use at all (down from 62% in 2024). (ANA’s March 2026 Principal Media study)
- 55% lack clear penalties for agency non-compliance with agreed principal media workflows. (2025 Ebiquity/WFA MSA report)
Why is Greater Scrutiny of these Investments Critical?
What can an advertiser do to be a better steward of their firm’s investment?
- Review agency MSAs to ensure proper audit rights are clearly defined.
- Ensure your agency MSA has a clear “agent” clause that requires the agency to act in the best interests of clients.
- Safeguard your MSA and SOW with proper Principal Media usage guidelines.
- Regularly audit the agency for contractual compliance.
What is the $4 Billion Math?
Someone will ask! Here’s the rough math:
I used $4 Billion as a rough estimate. The real number is likely in the $3–7 billion per year range in the US (call it $4–5 billion). That’s the value sitting in agency-held money — rebates, unbilled media, inventory-media margin, unreconciled billings — that a compliance audit would surface but that never gets clawed back because nobody looks.
For an individual client, think of it this way: at a $100M media budget, a first compliance audit could easily surface as much as $3M. Best practice is a cycle of every one to two years, not one-and-done.
Want more detail? Just ask! We’re happy to share the math.
Steve Boehler, founder, and partner at Mercer Island Group has led consulting teams on behalf of clients as diverse as Ulta Beauty, Microsoft, UScellular, Nintendo, Kaiser Permanente, Holland America Line, Stop & Shop, Qualcomm, Brooks Running, and numerous others. He founded MIG after serving as a division president in a Fortune 100 when he was only 32. Earlier in his career, Steve Boehler cut his teeth with a decade in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble, leading brands like Tide, Pringles, and Jif.
Mercer Island Group helps marketers and agencies succeed. Company leadership is as much at home with marketers and their C-Suites as in an agency’s boardroom. With marketers, Mercer Island Group is a top 5 agency search consultancy covering all types of agency relationships (creative, media, web, PR, experiential) and assists marketers with marketing organization structure, workflow and critical skill development (briefing, creative evaluation & feedback, etc.). The company also supports leading and aspiring agencies with positioning, pitch and strategy training and pitch support.