Bravo to Group M for starting to shine the light on the adtech middlemen who reduce our working media to, at times, a pittance. Advertisers need to demand more of this behavior from our agencies. Here’s the report I want for every publisher and every placement, for a hypothetical $100 spend:

Net to publisher*                   $30   30%
Agency fees, variable            $10   10%
Agency fees, fixed                  $ 2     2%
Ad tech 1                                  $10   10%
Ad tech 2                                  $10   10%
etc.

Summing to 100%. Once you, as the advertiser, understand this exactly, you can begin looking at the best ways to slim the ad tech fees through a testing program. I’ll bet some of the tech you’re using either doesn’t work or can be renegotiated to a significantly lower rate.

Takeaway: If the supply chain isn’t transparent to you, you’re being taken. Demand proper accounting of how your dollars are being spent. Study the reports and test to see what value is added by each vendor. And win.

* Your agency agreement provides for no kickbacks to your agency, right?