According to the study, many clients are going beyond classic media auditing, where brands compare the price they pay based on an anonymous ‘pool’ of advertisers.

The survey of 56 advertisers, which also had input from media agency groups and advisor companies, found that nine out of 10 client respondents use media auditing and price benchmarking services. However, 73% of advertisers, 92% of agencies and 87% of advisors agree that ‘the industry needs to move away from outmoded media price judgments to focus on value-based assessments’. 

Ninety-six per cent of clients agreed that online and offline media require different assessment methodology, but only 23% agreed that the digital media evaluations offered by media advisor companies have improved in recent years.  

Matt Green, global lead, media and digital, at the World Federation of Advertisers, said: “There appears to be some frustration with the rigidity of the pool-based approach. Attempts to create new forms of value-based assessment for digital are clearly not as successful and more work needs to be done to give advertisers reassurance that they are paying the right prices in a biddable media landscape.”

The study also found that 81% of advertiser respondents say they use auditing services routinely or permanently, with Ebiquity the most used advisor in this space, used by 58% of respondents. When it comes to contract compliance auditing and verification, 75% use independent advisors, with FirmDecisions (part of Ebiquity) and Ebiquity used by 53% of respondents. Seventy per cent have turned to advisors for support in their agency management, with ID Comms the most used company ( 23% of respondents).

Green said: “The role that advisors play has become wider and more sophisticated as marketers seek to maximise the value of their media activity and align their external partners with their business goals.”