What are media rebates – and why agency transparency is back in the hot seat

In a recent Ad Age video podcast on media rebates and principal buying, Ad Age writer Ewan Larkin broke down how these incentives work: agencies receive rebates or inventory from publishers when they hit spending thresholds using client funds, and sometimes retain that value rather than returning it to clients.

Ad Age also highlighted commentary from Acadia CEO Jared Belsky that if an agency’s profit model is overly reliant on indirectly monetizing client dollars, “then the model itself is broken,” reinforcing the importance of transparency and clear contractual agreements.