‘They haven’t been given the receipts’: Why one brand is auditing its DSPs for greater transparency

“Marketers want the receipts, and they haven’t been given the receipts,” said Matt Wasserlauf, CEO at Blockboard. “All the demand-side platforms that are running these ads are giving them countless reasons why they can’t provide those receipts. And so, this audit represents a demand for that information, for that transparency.”

In this Q&A with Wasserlauf, the conversation focuses on how brands are ensuring transparency in their programmatic video campaigns, particularly as live sports streaming and AI change the playing field.

The audit is reviewing media quality, supply path efficiency, costs and transparency. Which of those areas do advertisers struggle to measure the most accurately?

Matt Wasserlauf: I came into all of this believing that transparency was the main reason that these companies were getting audited, and I do believe that’s a big part of it. But what I’m now learning is the hardest and most important aspect of these audits for advertisers is the costs. That’s what’s key now. 

Marketers have wanted access to log files, and they’ve been denied access to log files. They’ve been given countless reasons why. I’ve heard agencies say that it’s illegal to pass log files by their providers. I’ve heard others say it’s just not possible because there’s too much personal identifying information on those receipts, so they’ve been given these reasons and excuses. The challenge is getting your hands on it, and that’s what this auditor is doing. They’re demanding it because they understand it’s not illegal. They understand the PII can be removed; it doesn’t need to be part of those log files. So that challenge is being overcome for the first time in this audit.

Once advertisers are looking transparently at where their partners are running their ads, they’re getting a harder look at the costs and understanding the kinds of margins that they’re paying for these ads. Costs are becoming a bigger part of this, and that’s all because the industry operates in a black box. 

From the World Cup to the Home Run Derby, more live sporting events are shifting to streaming with programmatic inventory. What kind of unique challenges does that pivot present to advertisers?

Wasserlauf: That’s where marketers want to be: these live sports that get huge viewership and are in high demand. Quite frankly, for the past 15 years, marketers have been denied insights into exactly how their ads are being run in these events. 

I’ve spoken to buyers who have never seen the commercials they bought digital inventory for in big games run firsthand. Clients deserve to get what they pay for, and when it comes to these critical moments in live sports, that should be table stakes — not the exception. The fact that we’re at this tipping point here with this independent audit, where they’re actually demanding those receipts, is huge.

It’s a big game-changing moment for an industry that hasn’t had a view as to how these live sports and how these ads have been administered for all these years. And it’s not only 15 years; it’s hundreds of billions of dollars where the marketer has no idea how their ads have been run. This is a big moment, and I’m excited to be talking about it, and hopefully these things will change.

It sounds like the industry has reached a turning point. Have you seen these independent audits initiated by brands or agencies before?

Wasserlauf: It’s becoming more of a routine to bring an auditor into the mix who is demanding the right receipts and getting the real information. For the first time, brands are taking it into their own hands and running audits to make sure they’re getting what they paid for. This is only one audit from one beverage company, but the industry needs to stick the landing with this.

A couple of agencies have already audited major players, like The Trade Desk. I learned from a confidential source at the Cannes Lions Festival that another DSP was not providing the log files as demanded by the auditor for this campaign. It came to me as a surprise. 

It’s so critical as we embark on the age of AI, where more unknowns and more risks now come into play, for advertisers to have this transparency. It’s only going to get worse if it doesn’t get better. If your provider can’t give you the real transparency you’re looking for, you should find another partner. 

We know brands are under pressure to prove every dollar is working. Looking ahead to 2027, what do you think advertisers will come to demand and expect from their programmatic partners?

Wasserlauf: Marketers are demanding more loudly that they want the receipts. They should be asking for and demanding log files and timestamps to know that their precious ad spend is going into the live sports programs that they’re seeking and that all ad creative is actually running properly, because up to this point it has not.

When I spoke with one of my contacts at our client EssilorLuxottica at Cannes, she said you need to not only demand transparency; you need to find partners who are going to do right by you on outcomes. Her business is driving people into the Sunglass Hut stores, and so she worked hard to find a partner that drove efficiency on her ad spend. 

We’re seeing a 90% improvement over major demand-side platforms. When I say 90%, I’m talking about sales. I’m talking about foot traffic into Sunglass Hut stores and Jersey Mike’s stores. I’m talking about leads, which we deliver every day for major marketers from Dexcom to Proactiv Skincare. All of these are hard outcomes.

That is what all marketers must do. They must hold their partners accountable to drive those results.

Partner insights from Blockboard