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On a surprisingly regular basis I am asked what I think of media

auditors. Sometimes I am even asked by media auditors what I think of

media auditors. This is a bit like asking a horse what it thinks of

whips.

What am I, a media agency man, supposed to think of auditors, for

goodness sake?

Auditors are not active practitioners of media planning and buying, but

set themselves up in judgment over the results of our professional toil,

and offer comment to clients about airtime quality, schedule

construction and, of course, price.

Since these are things in which media agencies count themselves expert,

this can be a matter of some sensitivity. And I am supposed to applaud

the role of media auditors? I don’t think so.

And yet, and yet. The news that two of the auditors are getting together

- Billetts has acquired Barsby Rowe - is interesting in that what

started as a cottage industry in the outer reaches of advertising

20-plus years ago has moved ever closer to centre stage. Billetts has

become a highly visible operation, due in the main to its flamboyant

founder, John Billett, and one that a significant number of advertisers

rate highly for its input.

Barsby Rowe has also built a good name over the years.

In my days as a buyer, I found reporting on my own performance (or

’marking my own homework’ as one auditor put it to me) uncomfortable. In

the interests of credibility and honesty I knew I couldn’t downplay

problems and over-egg triumphs, so I probably veered the other way and

gave an unduly self-deprecating account of my achievements. But all my

natural instincts were to say how brilliantly, in the circumstances, I

had done. Even today the standing joke in the industry is that everyone,

but everyone, beats the average price.

Who can blame those clients that choose to ask for an objective second

opinion?

But media auditors are not for everyone. Some advertisers, jealous of

their buying performance, wouldn’t dream of letting a third party

anywhere near their prices. Others are happy to trust their agencies

implicitly or see no reason to pay extra for their media service. And

let’s keep all this in proportion: price is important, but it’s not the

whole media story.

Yet I welcome the Billetts/Barsby Rowe deal. It will sharpen up their

joint propositions. It should help make their market evaluation more

accurate.

It will improve the professionalism of their service to clients.

None of which, in my view, is anything for capable media agencies to

fear. I am perfectly happy for someone else to tell my client how

brilliantly we have done, and to listen to constructive suggestions.

Moreover, it suits my new business objectives that the top auditors, who

play a growing role in refereeing media pitches, know how well we stack

up against our competitors. I’m not quite so happy that they should

squeeze the last drop of blood out of agency fees and commissions, but

the fact remains that auditors with the scale, resource and

professionalism to act as credible benchmarkers are no bad thing.

Anything less, however, can amount to mischievous meddling, which serves

no one well - least of all the client.