Daily Mail discloses £24m cost of advertising discounts and rebates

Campaign reported in October 2019 that Telegraph Media Group had disclosed rebates for the first time in its accounts. Rebates are common in UK advertising, but the practice of media owners making such payments to agencies in return for agreed volumes of spend is rarely discussed openly.

Stephen Broderick, chief executive of FirmDecisions, said greater openness about rebates will be good for the media industry. He said:

"Rebates – or ‘benefits’, as they are now more widely known – are not a new thing within the UK market. They are widely acknowledged, and this story is simply indicative of market trading dynamics. What is crucial is that advertisers are made aware that benefits do not just come in the form of cash any more. Advertisers need contractual clauses that cover them for other iterations, including free [advertising] space, but also newer ones such as value pots or service-level agreements.”

Adding that "the technical language used is constantly shifting and evolving and, in order to curtail issues before they happen, it is vital advertisers know that and adapt their contracts accordingly."

Read the full article in Campaign here.