Media Management

Marketing supply chain contracts under the microscope: Strengthening compliance

Shifting Landscapes

“The rapidly developing world of AI-fuelled platforms offered by the big digital players will add an extra layer of complexity for contract management and media governance”

Since the inception of media and marketing financial compliance auditing in 2000, the fundamental process has remained largely unchanged, despite radical shifts in the marketing landscape. 

Historically, advertisers have primarily focused their auditing efforts on their media agencies within major markets. However, as marketing has evolved with the rise of digital platforms, programmatic trading, and influencer marketing, the challenges associated with contract management and financial compliance have multiplied.

The Expanding Media Ecosystem

The media landscape has expanded far beyond the traditional channels such as TV, print, radio, and out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Global advertising revenue surpassed $1 trillion in 2024, driven primarily by digital media. Online platforms, social media, search engines, mobile ads and display networks dominate the industry, reshaping how brands connect with audiences.

This shift has introduced numerous technologies and an intricate, powerful web of ad tech and other suppliers, increasing the number of partners that advertisers must engage with and complicating the supply chain. Some of these suppliers are managed by multiple agencies, while others involve direct-to-client relationships, leading to a fragmented and difficult-to-track ecosystem.

Unmanaged and Unaudited Relationships

As a result of this expansion, Marketing Procurement professionals are now responsible for managing an exponentially increasing number of relationships – and with the growth of connected TV, Retail Media Networks and Digital commerce, it’s only going to get more complicated.

The rapidly developing world of AI-fuelled platforms offered by the big digital players will add an extra layer of complexity for contract management and media governance.

Stephen Broderick will be speaking at the Marketing Procurement & Financial Management Summit in Frankfurt. Find out more HERE

These trends have led to an increase in the number of contracts that Procurement must manage. According to an audience poll at ProcureCon Marketing in June 2024, contract management is largely viewed as Marketing Procurement’s responsibility, as reported by 87% of respondents, compared to only 13% who said Marketing assume responsibility. 

With Marketing Procurement under significant pressure to manage a fast-moving and complex category, while also delivering increasing value including savings to the business, finding enough time to manage contracts effectively is a major obstacle. 62% of the same audience said the biggest challenge for effective contract management was time pressure.

It is perhaps no surprise that auditing network media agencies within a brand’s major markets is often the primary focus. While media typically accounts for the largest proportion of marketing spend, billions of dollars are also spent on other marketing categories, some of which, for example Influencer Marketing, are growing considerably. 

Audits of non-media spend are far less common, resulting in an even larger share of marketing expenditure going unchecked.  However, advertisers stand to gain significantly by extending audits to non-media partners –after all, the process is fundamentally the same.  

The increasing investment in today’s complex digital campaigns necessitates engagement with a broader range of specialist partners, including ad tech partners, creative agencies, production houses, content creators, and other vendors. Each of these relationships comes with its own set of contracts, compliance requirements, and financial and data risks. 

The traditional focus on auditing agencies and vendors is often 12-24 months after the end of the period being tested-  in some cases even longer. Without proper oversight, businesses risk inefficiencies, financial and data leakage, and compliance breaches.

A Smarter Way to Manage Contracts

As an independent, global financial and data media and marketing contract compliance specialist, Media Marketing Compliance has long championed the need for greater accountability and transparency in the marketing supply chain.  To address these challenges, we have developed the Compli360 platform, bringing marketing contract management into real time.

Compli360 is a portal designed to provide clients with instant dashboard access to real-time financial and data information from multiple agencies and suppliers, bringing the marketing supply chain together. It can be tailored to manage all vendor relationships, whether transacted through an agency or directly between clients and technology, and other partners. A supplier’s financial compliance with the accounting and commercial terms of the marketing vendor contracts can be monitored and controlled. Marketing investments can be fully tracked, allowing any issues of concern to be identified so that owed funds can be recovered and reinvested, or returned to the bottom line  – all with minimal time commitment. 

Optimising Supplier Relationships

As the marketing ecosystem continues to evolve, Marketing Procurement teams must adapt to the increasing complexity of supplier relationships. Without a structured, real-time approach to contract management, organisations risk financial inefficiencies and missed opportunities for cost savings. By managing marketing supplier contracts effectively and transparently, procurement teams can ensure complete visibility, governance, and compliance across all agency relationships – creating a strong foundation for long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships.

About the author 

MMC conduct audits for advertisers across the globe to deliver financial transparency in the marketing supply chain by verifying that the amount spent on media and advertising is correctly applied according to the contract. MMC’s financial audits deliver a more robust service which leads to increased audit recoveries. Our audits further benefit advertisers by optimizing contract terms, giving increased protection, transparency and savings in the future.