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Dentsu Inc. said it will pay an estimated ¥230 million back to customers, including Toyota Motor Corp., that it overcharged for internet advertisements in a case likely to stoke concern that digital media transactions have lacked transparency.
Read More The Japan Times: Dentsu to repay ¥230 million in advertising overcharges
JPMorgan Chase & Co., GE, Sears Holdings and Nationwide are among the big brands that have recently initiated audits of their ad buyers, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. While JPMorgan has gone so far as to freeze its annual $250 million ad buying account, other companies like Heineken, Allstate and Fidelity Investments are allegedly vying for stronger auditing rights and tighter contracts with agents.
Read More MarketingDIVE: Agencies hit with audits as transparency issue strains brand relationships
Marketers who have been pouring huge sums into digital advertising are wrestling with several recent events that add to a troubling picture: some are finding they can’t be sure how well that money was spent or what they’ve received in return for it.
Read More The Wall Street Journal: Doubts About Digital Ads Rise Over New Revelations
Mediasmith, an independent digital agency based in San Francisco, has pulled out of the 4As, citing the trade association’s failure to support the Association of National Advertisers’ media-buying transparency recommendations.
Read More MediaPost: Mediasmith Drops 4As Membership, Issues ‘Client Bill Of Rights’
JP Morgan has paused its $250m annual ad-buying account in the face of a supposedly widespread undisclosed rebates from media suppliers.
Read More The Drum: JP Morgan pauses ad spend amid agency rebate row
Dentsu reported today that its ad scandal, first reported to have overcharged client Toyota, is much broader than that, affecting at least 111 clients and involving some 633 “suspicious” digital ad transactions.
Read More MediaPost: Dentsu Reports 633 ‘Suspicious’ Ad Transactions Affecting 111 Clients
For over a month, advertising giant Dentsu Inc. has quietly been investigating “inappropriate operations” at its digital ad businesses in Japan. On Friday, it announced some preliminary results: It tallied 111 clients affected, and 633 suspicious transactions amounting to $2.3 million.
Read More AdAge: Dentsu: 111 Clients in Japan Faced Overcharging, ‘Inappropriate Operations’
Dentsu Inc. will pay an estimated 230 million yen ($2.3 million) back to customers, including Toyota Motor Corp., that it overcharged for Internet advertisements in a case likely to stoke concern that digital media transactions have lacked transparency.
Read More Automotive News: Toyota’s Japan ad agency Dentsu to repay advertising overcharges
WHAT’S A FEW DECIMAL POINTS: Marketers and ad agencies are learning that their campaigns on Facebook may not have been nearly as effective as they thought. For two years, Facebook overestimated the average amount of time people spent watching video content on its platform. The social media giant disclosed in its online advertiser help center that the key metric was accidentally artificially inflated by only including videos viewed for more than three seconds. Facebook told ad buying agency Publicis Media that it likely overestimated average time spent watching videos by a whopping 60% to 80%, according to a letter Publicis sent to clients, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The miscalculation means marketers may have misjudged the performance of their video ads as well as decisions to move budgets into Facebook, while publishers who post videos on the platform are also affected. Facebook’s solution? A new name for a new metric for what was meant to be measured in the first place. Maybe it’s time for the internet’s so-called walled gardens to finally allow true third-party verification of their data.
Dentsu Inc. will pay an estimated 230 million yen ($2.3 million) back to customers, including Toyota Motor Corp., that it overcharged for Internet advertisements in a case likely to stoke concern that digital media transactions have lacked transparency.
Read More Bloomberg Markets: Dentsu to Repay Advertising Overcharges Flagged by Toyota