Omnicom has commissioned a third-party audit of The Trade Desk (TTD), as revealed in a client memo, following the DSP’s public spat with Publicis last week. Publicis disclosed it had audited The Trade Desk and alleged hidden fees linked to unauthorised features and services, sparking wider debate around transparency and billing practices in programmatic advertising.
In a statement shared with Campaign Asia-Pacific, The Trade Desk confirmed the review as part of standard oversight processes between the two companies.
“The Trade Desk has a successful and long-standing relationship with Omnicom, which continues to grow stronger based on shared commitments to transparency, innovation, and performance. Omnicom maintains a rigorous and detailed approach to managing contracts, governing campaigns, and evaluating performance, and routinely monitors all campaign activity on TTD."
"As outlined in Omnicom Media’s communication to clients, their analysis and reviews have not identified any issues," TTD added.
Omnicom declined to comment.
The auditor for Omnicom’s review has not been disclosed, though the regular auditor is understood to be KPMG. Publicis, meanwhile, engaged FirmDecisions for its audit—an appointment The Trade Desk publicly criticised, noting it was not among the top-recognised firms.
Publicis has since advised clients to refrain from using The Trade Desk, citing concerns that the DSP had “improperly applied” fees, including to tools that clients were automatically opted into. The Trade Desk disputed those findings, stating it could not provide certain requested data as it related to confidential agreements with other partners.
The dispute has also highlighted underlying tensions between The Trade Desk and agency holding companies, as CEO Jeff Green continues to push for more direct relationships with brands.
In a LinkedIn post, Green mounted a strong defence of the company’s transparency and audit record.
“When Dave Pickles and I started TTD, we wanted to create a platform that was more transparent and more aligned with buyers… I stand by our choice to partner with agencies. I stand by our choice to be transparent,” he wrote, while acknowledging the company may at times have been “too open.”
Green added that The Trade Desk had not “failed” any audit and pushed back against calls for broader disclosure, stating the company would not share the billing details of all clients and partners based on what it described as “ambiguous audit rights.”
He also accused parts of the industry of championing transparency publicly while benefiting from inefficiencies in programmatic trading. "Over the last year or two, things have gotten much harder for agencies. Lately, it seems that there are those who want to wave the flag of transparency publicly, but run from it in practice as they arbitrage in the inefficiencies of programmatic.
Meanwhile, Playwire CEO Jason Dubin, came out in TTD's support and said the company has become “far more collaborative” and is pushing to “clean up the ecosystem”, raising standards around quality, performance and transparency across partners. "A rising tide lifts all ships, and they are clearly leaning into that philosophy," Dubin added.
TTD shares fell had an intra-day 7% fall on NASDAQ to close at $22.34.
Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific
