The “Digital” Agency Myth Exposed
Depending on what analysis you read, anywhere from 1/3rd to over ½ of paid ads are being served to bot traffic and fake MAIDs. But what IS universally understood, is that fraud is rampant.
Drinking one’s own Kool-Aid almost always leads to failure. Never has that been more true than in 2025 in the world of digital agencies. Agency leadership has largely failed clients as Big Tech has made moves to shore up its investor’s interests. Demand has nearly tripled in just the last 3 years and Big Tech captured that revenue. That means they’ve taken the money and served the ad. Investors rejoice. Brands and advertisers suffer. Most have sat idly by as fraud has not just entered the market; it has taken it over. They are feckless leaders and ultimately have shown their disdains and lack of respect for client ad spend. Only in tech and digital marketing do you see such rampant fraud be summarily accepted by an entire industry.
Ascribing a motive is difficult, but ultimately, it really does not matter. Either they accept fraud because they are powerless to stop it – illuminating a lack of expertise, OR, they accept it because, in the net, it helps their own bottom line. Either cause for inaction is unacceptable and brands should reject the premise agencies aren’t to blame.
I am shocked to find how many people have been convinced “It’s just the way it is” in this market. Can you imagine ANY other industry accepting this level of fraud? (Government aside) Let me use few analogies to show you what I’m saying.
- Plumbing- Imagine if 1/3rd to ½ of all valves were paper Mâché, and imagine if plumbers across the world simply accepted it. Lawsuits would start in a week.
- Groceries- Imagine if 1/3rd to ½ every carton of eggs you bought contained empty shells, with no eggs in them. Can you imagine a world where grocery stores would just accept it?
- Brokers and financial advisors – Imagine if 1/3rd to ½ of all gains in your account simply disappeared and your money manager simply said “its just the technology, nothing I can do”.
- Insurance… ok, bad example.
The point is that the plumber, the grocery store owner and the money manager, would NEVER roll over for the fraud. And if they tried, consumers would revolt. In digital marketing, it’s time for the agencies to step up and refuse the fraud. More directly, it’s time for brand managers, CMOs and everyone making decisions to place ad spend to demand better than the acceptance of fraud.
This is exactly what I have done. I refuse to accept the fraud, and while every solution isn’t perfect, I have yet to arrive at a solution that doesn’t dramatically improve the dynamic.
I remain resolved to evolve and iterate our data and technology stack to keep forging ahead in a quest to deliver actual human beings, accurately identified to every one of our campaigns. Using AI on platform and pretending that solves the ad spend fraud is ridiculous on its face. The thinking behind these approaches astounds me. It is a wholesale acceptance of fraud. To think you will navigate on-platform data in a way that usurps the platform algos is structurally set up to fail. It’s like saying paper mâché valves suck but were working on a way to make them work a little better. That’s not a solution, that’s in-market monetization play that delivers very little to those actually spending their money to reach audiences. That’s going along to get along. That’s total bullshit and the market should reject summarily.
So, all of this begs the question, “Do we have the solution”. The answer is you’re damn right we do. We know it won’t be permanent in an ever-changing market. Big Tech will make moves to dilute our solution. We’re ready. I view the role we play differently than other agencies, and frankly, I think I’m right. My job isn’t to build a tech that solves the problem once and for all. It is naïve to think Big Tech will lay down at the feet of better tech. No, my job is to constantly evolve, change, iterate and partner to keep an in-market solution working. And that is exactly what we do at Specificity. In the last year alone, we have moved data sources, evolved AI, and built workflows that force platforms to relegate spend to mobile ad IDs WE determine are accurate and valuable. We own part of the machine, and we partner for other parts. We don’t marry tech, we date it. And when it packs on a ton of weight and stops getting frisky, we break up and move on. Horrible analogy, I know. But I am what I am!