Media Management

The Transparency Tipping Point

“If advertisers don’t take transparency and governance much more seriously today, they may have very limited visibility in the near-term future, and they will have to trust their suppliers on cost, quality and safety.”

According to Dentsu, digital now represents almost 70% of global media spend.

Major  platforms such as Meta, Google and Amazon, and rapidly expanding retail media networks, dominate this landscape, with advertiser budgets increasingly flowing directly to these platforms rather than through traditional media agencies.

“Five years ago, agencies were encouraging clients to invest in these platforms,” Broderick notes. “Now those same platforms have developed their capabilities to the point where in many ways, they’ve eaten the agencies’ lunch.”

A Market Transformed
This has major commercial implications. Agency revenues are under growing pressure, leading to consolidation and restructuring across the sector.

Hot on the heels of the Omnicom/IPG merger at the end of 2025, in February WPP, announced it will be restructuring to become a “simpler, lower-cost, AI-enabled business.”

Simultaneously, the ecosystem itself is fragmenting.

Where once a network agency managed all channels, advertisers now work with specialist agencies across influencer marketing, retail media, programmatic, performance and content production.

In large markets such as the US and UK, some of these niche agencies control substantial budgets.

“Everything is becoming more digital, more automated and more complex,” Broderick explains. “Even traditional formats such as outdoor are now traded electronically. The entire supply chain has evolved.”

For marketing procurement professionals, this complexity raises the stakes. Transparency, governance and oversight are no longer optional safeguards, they are strategic necessities.

The Evolving Role of MMC

Broderick is without question, a pioneer in this area, co-founding the first specialist firm twenty-five years ago. While many of the issues they sought to solve are still present today, the rapid rise of digital has also bought new complexities.

MMC was founded in 2020, during a time of great change amid the global pandemic. Yet the firm’s founding mission took a longer-term view.

“The partners and I have worked in financial contract compliance since it was in its infancy,” Broderick says. “Our motivation has always been the same: to make the advertising industry more transparent and accountable.”

But as the market has evolved, so too has MMC’s offering. “Part of the reason for forming MMC was that we wanted to do auditing a little differently. With our bespoke technology, we can deliver all our audits remotely, and much faster than before.”

The challenge with auditing is that it tends to be retrospective. “If you wait 12 or 18 months, people may have moved roles, paper trails become harder to establish, and contractual leverage can weaken,” explains Broderick.

To address this, MMC developed Compli36O, a platform designed to extend compliance auditing beyond financial reconciliation and into operational performance, data governance and agency undertakings.

It means the full scope of contractual commitments can be assessed; not just how money flows, but whether obligations around data usage, media performance and transparency are being fulfilled.

“We believe compliance should cover the entire contract, including agency commitments on data management and performance standards. In some cases, money has been lost because the contract wasn’t strong enough to enable the client to secure recoveries.

The quicker you can identify trends and issues, the more chance there is to discuss these issues with the agency and put it right.”

There is a clear demand for broader capability. Following rapid expansion since its 2020 launch, MMC joined HW Fisher last summer, becoming part of the wider Sumer Group, a top 12 accountancy practice.

“For us, it was about scaling the business and professionalising further,” Broderick explains. “Within a larger group, we can access broader expertise, deeper resources and strategic investment to help us accelerate our growth.”

By tapping into the marketing-related financial advisory and licensing services offered by HW Fisher, MMC has been able to expand its remit for clients, which is becoming increasingly important as marketing budgets face heightened scrutiny.

Ten Years On: 

It has been 10 years since the landmark ANA Media Transparency Report exposed non-transparent practices in the US market, catalysing industry-wide debate around transparency.

“At the time, the US was considered relatively stable and transparent compared to other markets,” reflects Stephen, who advised on the study.

“The report highlighted issues that many in Europe had been seeing for years.”

A decade on, the industry has only grown more complex; according to ISBA’s latest guidance on proprietary media, issues around media transparency and data governance remain pressing.

“Ten years ago, we were identifying trends. What the ANA report did was almost predict the future,” says Broderick.

“Today we’re in a situation where there isn’t any more light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, it’s getting darker and longer.”

In Broderick’s 25 years in this field he believes now is the most pivotal time for advertisers to ensure they are protected.

There are two compounding risks:

• Increasing reliance on opaque technology layers and proprietary platforms.
• Short-term commercial pressures driving decision-making.

“Many marketing and procurement leaders have relatively short tenures, which can lead to short-term price focus rather than long-term value creation,” he explains. “When everything is driven purely by price, it doesn’t always encourage the right behaviours.”

Without robust governance structures, advertisers risk operating within a “black box” environment, dependent on trust rather than verifiable transparency.

Protecting Spend and Data: Practical Steps
There are four key practical steps advertisers can take to boost the transparency of their media.

1. Audit the full supply chain

Transparency risks extend beyond media agencies. Advertisers should examine the entire marketing supply chain from specialist agencies to tech intermediaries and data partners, as there are benefits in reviewing the whole ecosystem.

2. Move towards real-time oversight

Waiting until year-end to review compliance is no longer a sufficient way for companies to operate. Moving to continuous monitoring tools and shorter audit cycles reduces financial leakage and improves accountability.

3. Strengthen contractual clarity

Contracts must explicitly define transparency expectations, data ownership, performance undertakings and disclosure requirements. Ambiguity benefits no one.

4. Align marketing and procurement objectives
Commercial discipline and brand ambition must work in tandem. Short-term cost savings should not undermine long-term value or governance standards.

Audits should not be viewed purely as recovery exercises, Broderick emphasises. Clients can use audits to educate themselves, understand how the agency is managing its money, identify the use of related parties, and uncover roadblocks, or contractual loopholes.

“Better education means they can manage relationships more effectively and protect themselves long term,” notes Broderick.

A Defining Moment
The nature of the advertising industry means it is in a perpetual state of transformation, and in 2026 platform dominance, technological automation, specialist fragmentation and consolidation among holding groups will continue to reshape the landscape.

But amid the disruption, one constant remains: accountability matters.

“We’ve always believed that transparency builds stronger partnerships,” says Broderick. “This isn’t about being adversarial. It’s about ensuring clarity, fairness and long-term sustainability in an increasingly complex ecosystem.”

For Broderick, the next five years will be decisive.

“If advertisers don’t take transparency and governance much more seriously today, they may have very limited visibility in the near-term future, and they will have to trust their suppliers on cost, quality and safety.”

“The next phase of industry evolution will be shaped by continued platform dominance, technological automation, specialist fragmentation and ongoing consolidation.

“Complexity is unlikely to diminish,” he concludes. “Advertisers who strengthen contracts, enhance oversight and demanding genuine transparency will be far better positioned than those who wait.”

About the author

Stephen Broderick is COO of Media Marketing Compliance (MMC)