Most brands can’t say how their agency fees are allocated. RightSpend research in 2026 found 61% of respondents answered “Don’t Know” or “Unable to Attribute” when asked how their agency fees break down. That held true regardless of fee amounts or agency size.
That number matters. It means most Marketing Procurement teams are setting budgets, negotiating fees and judging agency performance without a full picture of where the money goes.
This is where Marketing Procurement data can make a real difference. Marketing Procurement teams use it to see exactly where agency budgets go, compare fees and staffing against market benchmarks, and agree shared performance measures with their agency partners. The result is a more transparent relationship, built on facts both sides can trust.
The visibility gap is an opportunity
That number is no criticism of Marketing teams or their agencies. Marketing spend is complex. It sits across markets, agencies, scopes and budget holders. Much of it still lives in spreadsheets built for a smaller job.
The research shows two places where the gap is widest.
Smaller agencies
Only 13% of respondents receive a detailed fee breakdown from small agencies, compared with 52% from larger agencies.
Non-people costs
Visibility drops further outside staffing. Only 20% of respondents feel they have full transparency into non-people costs. Another 29% have partial transparency: some information is shared, but not in a consistent structure. That makes it hard to compare like with like across an agency roster, and leaves room for discrepancies.
The gap does have consequences, though. Without complete visibility, it is hard to:
- know whether a fee reflects the work delivered
- compare one agency’s staffing plan with another’s
- show Finance how marketing budgets turn into results
- walk into a negotiation with confidence
The pattern is consistent: teams that close the gap gain a real advantage. They make decisions on evidence. Their agencies benefit too, because clear expectations make good work easier to recognize and reward.
What Marketing Procurement data actually reveals
Marketing Procurement data is the information that shows how a brand spends its marketing budget with agencies and suppliers: fees, rate cards, staffing plans, deliverables and performance. On its own, it tells you what you spent. Set against independent benchmarks, it tells you whether that spend is right.
When brands bring their data together, patterns appear quickly.
- Staffing plans. Agency fees are mostly people costs. Data shows how a staffing plan compares with market and global benchmarks, including the seniority mix, the spread across departments and how fully the team is used. A senior-heavy plan may suit a strategic brief. For production work, a different mix may serve the brand better.
- Rate cards. A benchmark compares the rates an agency charges for each role with what others pay for the same role in the same market. It is one of the quickest ways to see whether fees align.
- Deliverables and scope. Data links fees to what was actually delivered: quantities, quality and any changes in scope along the way.
- Non-people costs. Costs outside the staffing plan are where transparency is lowest. Structured data brings them into view alongside fees, in the same format for every agency on the roster.
- Performance and ROI. Spend and performance data together show which agency relationships are delivering the expected return on investment, and which may need support.
The real value comes from comparison. Data lets teams look at the same agency across markets, compare agencies on similar briefs, and see how their spend sits against brands in the same industry and region. One number in isolation says very little. The same number set against hundreds of comparable data points shows whether it is high, low or in line.
RightSpend assesses more than $10 billion of marketing spend every year, across thousands of data points. That scale is what turns one brand’s numbers into a meaningful comparison.
Why spreadsheets hold Marketing Procurement back
Even a technology-led business can outgrow a spreadsheet. The Williams Formula 1 team once managed a list of more than 20,000 parts in Excel. What started as a simple tracker grew into a vast file that was hard to navigate, update and manage. The insight was there. It was just buried in cells.
We hear the same story from many global Marketing Procurement teams. Excel is a great starting point. Once the data passes a certain size, though, the file becomes slow and complex. Everyone can edit everything, so small mistakes have wide effects. And the data ages, which matters when you are benchmarking fees against a market that is constantly moving.
Data-driven Marketing Procurement needs relevant, regularly updated data in a platform built for the job, with clear reporting the whole team can rely upon.
What a strong data foundation includes
Whichever tools a team uses, the data underneath needs a few qualities to be useful in an agency conversation:
- Detail across several dimensions. Spend broken down by agency, market, scope, role and cost type, so it can be viewed from any angle.
- A consistent structure. Every agency reports in the same format, so comparisons are fair and gaps are easy to spot.
- Current figures. Data that is refreshed regularly, because last year’s rates can be out of step with this year’s market.
- Independent benchmarks. An outside reference point that neither the brand nor the agency controls, which gives both sides confidence in the comparison.
- A clear measurement framework. Agreed definitions for each metric, so everyone reads the numbers the same way.
- Reliable, shared reporting. Reports that Marketing, Procurement and Finance can all access, without the risk of one stray edit changing the picture.
How data changes the negotiation
Without shared data, agency negotiations lean on experience, instinct and the agency’s own figures. Conversations about fees can feel awkward for everyone.
With shared data, the conversation moves to common ground. Procurement can show how a staffing plan compares with the market. The agency can explain why a brief might need a different mix. Both sides can look at the same evidence, so agreements get refined collaboratively.
In practice, we see four shifts.
- From opinion to evidence. When contracts come up for review, data gives clear visibility of costs and performance. Marketing Procurement can refine agreements and make informed decisions on marketing spend, planning and campaigns.
- From surprises to ongoing insight. Teams track trends as they happen instead of discovering them at year end. Visual dashboards show which relationships may not be delivering expected returns, so teams can step in early and forecast where budget will work hardest.
- From cost to value. Benchmarking reveals ways to make the marketing budget go further. Small, data-backed adjustments add up to big results for both Marketing and Procurement, which keeps Finance happy.
- From reactive to predictive. Predictive analytics help teams spot market changes early and adapt their strategy before they can impact the brand.
What this looks like in a fee review
Take a typical example. A brand is reviewing the annual fee for its lead creative agency. The agency has delivered strong work, and the brand wants to keep the relationship. But nobody on the brand side can say exactly how the fee is built.
Benchmarking the staffing plan shows two things. The plan carries more senior hours than comparable briefs in the same market. And non-people costs sit in a single line, with no breakdown.
So the review starts with the data, shared openly with the agency. The agency explains that some of the senior time covers strategy workshops the brand asked for during the year. That is useful context, and it changes the conversation. Together, they agree to keep senior time where it adds strategic value, move routine production work to mid-level roles, and set out non-people costs by category from now on.
The outcome works for everyone. The fee is in line with the market. The brand gets more output for the same budget. The agency keeps a fair margin and gets a clearer brief. And next year’s review starts from a shared baseline instead of a blank page.
How to get better fee transparency from your agencies
The research shows where transparency is weakest: smaller agencies and non-people costs. Both can be improved with a few practical steps.
- Agree the breakdown at contract stage. Set out how fees will be reported before work begins: roles, hours, rates and non-people costs. It is far easier to agree a format at the start than to ask for detail midway through a year.
- Use one format for every agency. A consistent template makes comparisons fair and highlights gaps straight away. It also saves agencies from reformatting their figures for each request.
- Break non-people costs into categories. Ask for costs such as technology and licenses, production, travel and third-party fees to be listed separately, instead of as a single total.
- Keep it proportionate for smaller agencies. A simple, clear template helps them share what you need without adding a heavy admin load.
- Build it into the review cycle. Make the breakdown part of every scheduled review, so transparency becomes routine instead of a one-off request.
- Explain the benefit to the agency. Clear data means fewer queries, quicker approvals and fairer comparisons. Agencies that share detail can show the value of their work more easily.
A shared view for Marketing, Procurement and Finance
Good data does more than strengthen negotiations. It gives three departments one shared picture of marketing spend, benchmarks and ROI.
Each needs something slightly different:
- Marketing needs insight to optimize budgets, plan investment and track ROI.
- Procurement needs benchmarking, risk management, supplier transparency and up-to-date negotiation tools.
- Finance needs reliable figures, clear ROI data and simple reporting.
When all three work from the same data, friction turns into a smooth workflow. Marketing Procurement can also show the value it adds, with reports that make the results plain to see.
What good looks like in practice
The strongest brand and agency relationships we see share a few habits.
Deliverables are clearly defined. Briefs set out quantity and quality requirements, project scope and quality standards. There is an agreed process for scope changes, and delivery is tracked against the plan.
Resource plans are benchmarked. Staffing plans are checked against market and global benchmarks. Teams review the seniority mix, the spread across departments and how fully resources are used.
Reviews are regular and two-way. Both sides agree KPIs (key performance indicators) up front. Reviews happen on a routine cycle, variations are documented and queries are answered promptly.
Metrics are shared. Useful shared KPIs include:
- marketing budget utilization
- resource efficiency
- deliverable completion rates
- quality assessment scores
- marketing ROI
Transparency flows both ways. Agencies share detailed cost breakdowns, deliverable tracking and resource allocation. Brands share their KPIs and give clear, constructive feedback. Over time, transparency simply becomes how both sides work.
Every review leads somewhere. Each review ends with an agreed improvement plan: what will change, who owns it and how progress will be measured. The next review starts by checking that plan. That way, relationships keep improving year on year, instead of resetting at each contract renewal.
The culture behind data-driven Marketing Procurement
The idea that Marketing Procurement lags behind on digital is a myth. In our conversations with clients, teams are actively exploring how technology and analytics can sharpen their decisions.
The Procurement Leaders CPO Compass Report found that 85% of Procurement leaders plan to expand their use of data. On the Marketing side, a Google study found that 70% of marketers already use data to support decisions.
Tools are only part of the answer. Without buy-in across Marketing, Procurement and Finance, even the best data goes unused.
Five steps to get started
- Assess your current visibility. Find out how much of your marketing spend you can actually see, and where the gaps are.
- Track agency data consistently. Collect performance and cost data the same way across agencies, so comparisons are fair.
- Agree shared metrics. Set clear KPIs with every agency, and check and collate the data regularly.
- Plan from evidence. Build optimization strategies on the data you have, not on assumptions or expectations.
- Review and benchmark routinely. Use independent benchmarking data at every review to keep relationships healthy and results improving.
Turning visibility into stronger relationships
The gap the research reveals is real, but it is also very fixable. Teams that bring their data together, benchmark it independently and share it openly with their agencies tend to see the same results: clearer fees, fairer negotiations and relationships built on trust. Data connects what a brand spends to what it gets back, and gives Marketing, Procurement, Finance and agencies a common language to talk about value.
FAQs
What is Marketing Procurement data?
It is the information that shows how a brand spends its marketing budget with agencies and suppliers. It covers fees, rate cards, staffing plans, deliverables and performance, and is most useful when compared with independent market benchmarks.
How many brands know how their agency fees are allocated?
Fewer than half. RightSpend research in 2026 found that 61% of respondents answered “Don’t Know” or “Unable to Attribute” when asked how their agency fees are allocated. Only 13% receive a detailed breakdown from small agencies, compared with 52% from larger agencies.
What are non-people costs in agency fees?
Non-people costs are agency charges that sit outside the staffing plan, such as technology and licenses, production, travel and third-party fees. RightSpend research in 2026 found only 20% of respondents feel they have full transparency into these costs.
How do you benchmark agency fees?
Agency fees are benchmarked by comparing an agency’s rates, staffing mix and costs with independent data for similar roles, briefs and markets. The comparison shows whether a fee is in line with the market, and where there is room to refine it.
How can Marketing Procurement get more transparency from smaller agencies?
Agree a simple, consistent fee breakdown at contract stage, and keep it proportionate to the agency’s size. A clear template makes it easier for them to share the detail you need.
How often should agency performance be reviewed?
Regularly and on a set cycle, agreed with the agency up front. Many brands combine lighter routine check-ins with a fuller annual review against benchmarks and shared KPIs.
Does using data in agency negotiations harm the relationship?
Actually, the opposite. Shared, independent data gives both sides the same facts to work from. That makes expectations clearer, conversations calmer and good work easier to recognize.
Why isn’t Excel enough for Marketing Procurement data?
Spreadsheets work well at a small scale. As data grows, they become slow, error-prone and hard to keep current, which limits their value for benchmarking and reporting.
See how your agency spend compares
Book a call with the RightSpend team to see how independent benchmarking and Marketing Procurement analytics can help you build stronger agency relationships and better returns on your marketing investment.
