The digital advertising industry, a sector that constantly champions transparency and accountability, is facing scrutiny as a prominent watchdog organization, Check My Ads, reports being denied access to a Demand-Side Platform (DSP) despite reaching a signed agreement. This incident highlights a potential chasm between the industry’s rhetoric on openness and its practical application when confronted with an entity dedicated to scrutinizing its supply chain. Check My Ads, a non-profit organization renowned for its work in auditing programmatic advertising practices, claims that a DSP, which it has declined to name, rescinded a partnership offer shortly after a Master Service Agreement (MSA) was co-signed. This move has raised questions about the true limits of transparency within the programmatic ecosystem.
Arielle Garcia, COO of Check My Ads, stated that while many ad tech vendors readily publicize their collaborations with the organization as proof of their commitment to transparency, granting Check My Ads direct access to a DSP platform—the very environment where they could conduct the same supply chain analysis as any other buyer—appears to be a step too far for some. This alleged refusal comes despite the DSP initially expressing strong interest in working with Check My Ads, even waiving its usual minimum spending requirements. The DSP cited discomfort with "the scope of protections extended to our vendor and supply partners" as the reason for ultimately backing out, a justification that Check My Ads perceives as a veiled concern about potential scrutiny of its internal operations and partnerships.
A Formal Pursuit of a DSP Seat
This marks the first instance where Check My Ads has formally sought to establish a DSP seat. The organization’s objective in securing such access was multifaceted. Primarily, it aimed to bolster its ongoing research into programmatic buying. By gaining firsthand experience within a DSP environment, Check My Ads intended to identify best practices for smaller advertisers, helping them navigate the complexities of programmatic campaigns and mitigate wasteful spending. This initiative aligns with their recent publication of a report analyzing Google’s Performance Max, which was based on the organization’s direct operational experience with the platform.
Beyond its research endeavors, Check My Ads also harbored ambitions to offer "agency-lite" managed services to small businesses on a non-profit basis. Establishing a DSP seat, akin to that of a traditional agency, was seen as a crucial step in developing the necessary technical expertise and operational understanding to support these clients. This would allow them to gain practical insights into campaign management, optimization, and the nuances of media buying in real-time.
Furthermore, the pursuit of a DSP seat was also driven by more pragmatic, self-promotional goals. In addition to its watchdog and research activities, Check My Ads actively engages in marketing its services, newsletters, and branded merchandise. Having a technical presence on a DSP platform would enable them to execute their own marketing campaigns more effectively, staying current with evolving industry trends and showcasing their capabilities.
Iesha White, Director of Intelligence at Check My Ads, who brings a decade of experience as a media buyer to the organization, emphasized the practical necessity of this approach. "It’s important for Check My Ads to have technical expertise and stay current with how the industry is evolving," White explained. "In order for us to do that, we have to have skin in the game and spend money." Her prior experience with the unnamed DSP provided a direct channel for initiating discussions.
The Initial Enthusiasm and Subsequent Hesitation
The correspondence reviewed by AdExchanger paints a picture of initial enthusiasm from the DSP. Following an initial platform demonstration in April, a contact within the DSP conveyed their eagerness, noting that the organization agreed to waive its minimum spending requirement. A subsequent email detailed Check My Ads’ objectives, which included moving beyond Google’s Performance Max and Demand Gen into "real" programmatic advertising with "full transparency and control, no black box." The objectives also outlined plans for running small but impactful test campaigns for research and analysis, and eventually evolving into a "selective mini-agency model." The DSP’s representative expressed honor at being considered for such a pivotal role in Check My Ads’ development.
The DSP then forwarded an MSA for Check My Ads to sign in mid-May, which was subsequently co-signed by both entities. This legally binding agreement signified a commitment from both parties to proceed with the partnership.
A Shift in Tone and Unforeseen Obstacles
However, the trajectory of the partnership took an unexpected turn shortly after the MSA was signed. On May 20, the DSP’s contact informed Check My Ads that their DSP seat should be live within the following week. In the interim, the DSP requested further details regarding planned test campaigns, including the brands involved, expected budgets, and specific campaign objectives.
White responded on May 21, indicating that Check My Ads was still in the process of finalizing commitments with brand clients. She did, however, disclose plans for Check My Ads to run its own brand lift campaign and a Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) campaign aimed at driving newsletter sign-ups. The proposed budget for this CPA campaign was $1,000, a figure that fell within the range previously approved by the DSP.
A follow-up inquiry from White on June 3 regarding the status of the DSP seat yielded a non-committal response: "still confirming next steps." This was followed by a crucial question: "If you identify any vendor performance concerns on [redacted], can we agree to loop us in first before escalating externally?"
This query struck Check My Ads as a significant red flag, suggesting that the DSP was becoming increasingly apprehensive about granting a self-proclaimed watchdog access to its platform. White responded by reaffirming Check My Ads’ standard practice of informing relevant parties of any supply chain issues before external escalation.
Despite this assurance, a subsequent follow-up from White on June 5 was met with an unequivocal rejection from the DSP’s head of client partnerships. The response stated that the platform had "decided not to move forward with this partnership." The rationale provided was a failure to become "comfortable with the scope of protections extended to our vendor and supply partners." The DSP emphasized its obligation to consider the "downstream impact" on its partners, particularly when the nature of the research or activation might intersect with those partners in ways not covered by the MSA.
Garcia expressed her disappointment, noting that the decision to terminate the partnership came after the MSA had been co-signed. The DSP’s head of client partnerships conveyed personal regret, stating that the decision was made at a higher executive level, driven by feedback from the DSP’s supply and legal teams. This feedback, first raised internally on May 20, could not be resolved within the organization. The executive expressed respect for Check My Ads’ mission and hoped for future collaboration under different circumstances.
The Nuances of DSP Vetting Processes
It is important to acknowledge that DSPs routinely conduct thorough vetting of potential buyers before granting them platform access. This process is standard industry practice, designed to mitigate risks related to fraud, brand safety, and financial stability. DSPs have a legitimate interest in understanding the financial health and operational integrity of the entities they onboard. As one ad tech consultant, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, explained, DSPs may conduct their own financial audits. If any red flags were identified in Check My Ads’ recent financial filings, it could have understandably triggered concerns.
However, Garcia clarified that the DSP in question never initiated any such financial audit of Check My Ads. Instead, the explicit concern articulated revolved around the protection of its supply chain partners. The lack of specificity regarding the nature of these concerns led Check My Ads to infer that the DSP was apprehensive about a watchdog group investigating its internal supply chain operations.
The consultant acknowledged that such a concern is not uncommon. "No DSP is going to knowingly onboard a party whose stated purpose is to turn that seat into an exposé," they remarked. This perspective suggests a natural tension between a DSP’s need to protect its business relationships and a watchdog’s mandate to uncover potential improprieties.
A Pattern of Reluctance Beyond One Incident
The experience with the unnamed DSP, while significant, is not an isolated incident for Check My Ads. The organization reports encountering similar hesitations from other programmatic platforms. In one instance, another DSP, which Check My Ads also declined to name, reached out to Iesha White for an appearance on a podcast. Following the recording, White inquired about gaining access to the DSP’s platform for testing purposes, a request that was subsequently denied.
A similar situation arose with Thrad, a platform specializing in placing advertisements within generative AI responses. Emails shared with AdExchanger by Check My Ads indicate that Thrad initially approved the organization’s use of its platform. However, issues were later flagged regarding Check My Ads’ campaign setup. Specifically, sensitive targeting categories were selected, including politics, abortion, mental health, and LGBTQ+ topics, which Thrad stated it could not accommodate for contextual LLM response ads. Additionally, the Check My Ads merchandise storefront was not configured for shipping to Europe, despite the campaign targeting European audiences.
Even after White addressed these concerns by removing sensitive targeting categories and rectifying the storefront error, Thrad ultimately refused to launch the campaign. Thrad’s CEO, Andrea Tortella, later communicated to Garcia that Check My Ads did not align with their ideal customer profile. Thrad did not respond to multiple requests from AdExchanger for comment.
The Broader Implications for Industry Transparency
Collectively, these encounters suggest that the digital advertising industry’s proclaimed commitment to transparency may have its practical limitations. As Garcia and White contend, Check My Ads is frequently encountering these boundaries. Despite these challenges, Check My Ads remains committed to fostering partnerships with DSPs that are genuinely willing to embrace a good-faith collaboration.
"If there are any DSPs out there that are confident in their supply and want to help us make programmatic accessible to small businesses," Garcia stated, "reach out to us." This call to action underscores the organization’s ongoing mission to democratize programmatic advertising and ensure greater accountability across the ecosystem.
The implications of this reluctance are significant. If watchdog organizations, which play a crucial role in maintaining market integrity, are systematically denied access to the very platforms they aim to scrutinize, it raises concerns about the effectiveness of self-regulation and the industry’s capacity for genuine self-correction. The tension between the desire for privacy among supply chain partners and the public’s right to understand how their advertising spend is utilized highlights a persistent challenge that the digital advertising industry must continue to address to build lasting trust. The industry’s ongoing evolution towards greater transparency will undoubtedly be tested by organizations like Check My Ads, pushing for a more open and accountable future.
