We must change
I’m calling on the industry to once and for all move away from the rebate system. Here’s how we can do it:
Brands demand their share. Marketers must ask: Are my agency dollars contributing to any rebate, incentive, or volume-based benefit? If so, where does that value go? The only acceptable answer is, “back to you.”
Contract language gets tighter. Contracts should explicitly state that client funds may not be included in any rebate or incentive pool without full transparency—and that any such benefit must be returned to the client on a pro rata basis. Brands should also reserve the right to verify this directly with publishers.
Agencies honor their role. Agencies exist to serve clients, not arbitrage them. As stewards of client capital, we’re fiduciaries in the same way financial advisers are. Any reward we get for spending clients’ money needs to go back to those clients.
We return to fair, honest, and open compensation. The fact that some agencies would fold without rebate profit isn’t justification; it’s an indictment. It means both the client’s payment and the agency’s models are broken. That’s the vexing, underlying problem we need to finally confront head-on.
Some will claim it’s hopelessly complicated to untangle individual client totals from pooled investments. Don’t believe them. We have the analytical power; all it takes is the will to do what’s right.
The rebate economy didn’t emerge overnight, and it won’t disappear instantly. But as marketers demand accountability and regulators scrutinize media practices, the days of hidden profit pools are numbered.
We can lead change, or be forced into it.
