The Association of National Advertisers has hired two companies to investigate the business practices of media agencies, a move coming because advertisers believe there is a lack of transparency in how the ads are bought, the New York Times reported.

The two firms selected were K2 Intelligence, which specializes in industry assessments and data analytics, and Ebiquity/FirmDecisions, a marketing performance specialist. ANA CEO Bob Liodice told the newspaper that the goal of the investigation was to "see to what degree any nontransparent behavior is taking place in the market."

Advertisers have become "increasingly wary" how media agencies conduct business, according to the Times. Advertisers are especially concerned about media companies giving rebates to agencies for ads but not having those rebates passed onto them.

"The foundation of great client-agency relationships is trust and reliability and confidence," Liodice said. "They're our partners, and we don't want to be in a situation where there is suspicion or a lack of trust." http://nyti.ms/1Xk1amL

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