Global media auditing in peril?

The World Federation of Advertisers has conducted a survey based on responses from its multinational members that, together, spend $35 billion each year. Generally, the sophistication of auditing services varies considerably by market. This is often a reflection of the data that is available, which restricts what auditors can do. 

Many of the data challenges relate to digital, which represents a major test of the auditing model. Our survey found that the percentage of digital spend being audited is actually declining in major markets, including the US, Canada and Latin America.

The digital space puts the traditional pool of prices and the benchmark model under pressure. As the range of sites, formats and approaches increases, it can be increasingly difficult to find a genuine and robust like-for-like norm to benchmark against.

While clients believe in its value, market trends and lack of transparency might be putting media auditing at risk.