Media audit services for UK advertisers
Fuel Media is an independent UK media auditor. We audit your media agency, your contracts and your spend across digital, programmatic and traditional channels to expose hidden waste, verify agency performance and recover lost value. Trusted by brands spending £500K to £50M+ a year.
New to audits? Our guide explains what media auditing involves, from scoping and data collection to benchmarking and implementation, and how much a media audit costs.
We run media audits for financial services, media audits for healthcare and pharma and media audits for professional services, where regulation and complex buying make independent scrutiny matter most.
How we deliver this
The Fuel Method - mapped to Media Audits
Every Fuel audit follows the same three-stage method. Here is how it applies to this service.
Stage 01
Trace
We review your current media ecosystem, agree on audit scope and objectives, and request access to platform data, contracts, and invoices.
Stage 02
Test
Deep forensic analysis of every data point: comparing costs against benchmarks, verifying invoices, mapping audience overlap, and modelling attribution.
Stage 03
Transform
Ongoing support to help you act on recommendations: from agency renegotiation to campaign restructuring and performance monitoring.
Most brands waste 15-30% of their media budget without knowing it
Without independent oversight, inefficiencies accumulate. Agencies may optimise for their own margins rather than your outcomes. Audience overlap across platforms burns budget. Outdated contracts lock you into unfavourable terms. And without benchmarking, you have no way of knowing whether you are getting fair value.
No independent verification of whether media buying is efficient or competitive
Agency reporting focuses on vanity metrics rather than business outcomes
Hidden fees, undisclosed rebates, and opaque trading desk markups eroding ROI
Audience overlap across platforms means paying multiple times to reach the same people
Attribution models that over-credit last-click and under-value upper-funnel investment
Contracts signed years ago that no longer reflect market rates or your current spend level
A forensic, data-driven audit built on years of specialist experience
Fuel Media's audit methodology has been refined across extensive engagements spanning financial services, healthcare, and professional services. We combine forensic financial analysis with strategic media expertise to deliver findings that are both commercially significant and immediately actionable.
Fully independent: we have no agency relationships, platform partnerships, or media buying interests
Forensic financial analysis including invoice verification and cost benchmarking
Cross-channel attribution modelling that reveals true campaign contribution
Industry-specific benchmarks from extensive audits across key sectors
Actionable recommendations: not just findings, but a clear implementation roadmap
Average client saving of 17% of media spend
Four Scopes
Choose the depth, not the label
Every audit below is independent and advertiser-side. They differ in how far down the supply chain we go, and how long that takes. Pick the one that matches the question you need answered.
Digital Media Audit
Specialist analysis of your digital advertising across every platform and channel
4-6 weeks
Best for: Advertisers whose spend is concentrated in search, social and programmatic, and who suspect the platform dashboards are not telling the whole story.
- Paid search audit across Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising: keyword strategy, match types, quality scores, bidding
- Paid social audit across Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok: audience targeting, creative, placements, attribution
- Programmatic and display audit: inventory quality, fraud detection, CPM benchmarking
- Video advertising review across YouTube, connected TV and in-stream
- Cross-platform audience overlap analysis, so you stop paying twice to reach the same person
Advertising Audit
Creative, media and agency fees examined together, not in isolation
6-8 weeks
Best for: Advertisers spending £2M or more a year who are tired of taking their agency's word for it, and want production costs in scope alongside media.
- Total advertising spend reconciliation across all channels and agencies
- Creative production and content cost review
- Paid search, paid social, programmatic and display media audit
- Traditional media review where applicable: TV, radio, print, out of home
- A 90 day remediation plan, prioritised by recoverable value
Holistic Media Audit
Every channel, every agency, every pound
8-10 weeks
Best for: Organisations ready to restructure how media is bought and governed, not just to recover a number on this year's spend.
- Complete digital channel audit across search, social, programmatic and video
- Traditional media assessment: TV, radio, print, outdoor, direct mail
- All agency contracts, fees and relationships evaluated together
- Cross-channel attribution and budget allocation modelling
- Media governance framework, so the savings hold after we leave
Programmatic Media Audit
Transparency in the most opaque area of media buying
8-12 weeks
Best for: Advertisers running meaningful programmatic budgets who cannot say what proportion of each pound reaches a real person in a quality environment.
- DSP platform audit across DV360, The Trade Desk, Amazon DSP and others
- Supply path analysis and intermediary fee mapping, end to end
- Ad fraud detection and invalid traffic assessment
- Inventory quality review and made-for-advertising site identification
- Working media ratio: what actually reaches the publisher versus what the chain retains
Rail scaled to 12 weeks
Our Process
A proven methodology refined across years of specialist engagements
Discovery & Scoping
We review your current media ecosystem, agree on audit scope and objectives, and request access to platform data, contracts, and invoices.
Data Collection
Gathering performance data from all platforms, agency reports, financial records, and contracts. We also conduct stakeholder interviews to understand business context.
Analysis & Benchmarking
Deep forensic analysis of every data point: comparing costs against benchmarks, verifying invoices, mapping audience overlap, and modelling attribution.
Findings & Recommendations
Comprehensive report detailing findings, quantified savings opportunities, and a prioritised implementation roadmap with quick wins and strategic improvements.
Implementation Support
Ongoing support to help you act on recommendations: from agency renegotiation to campaign restructuring and performance monitoring.
Typical timeline: 6-8 weeks
What's Included
Every element of our media audits service
What You'll Receive
Tangible outputs that drive real commercial impact
Comprehensive Audit Report
Detailed findings covering every aspect of your media investment with evidence and benchmarks
Financial Analysis
Invoice verification, cost benchmarking, and savings quantification
Attribution Model Review
Assessment of current attribution and recommendations for improvement
Implementation Roadmap
Prioritised action plan with quick wins and strategic recommendations
Executive Summary
Board-ready summary of key findings and commercial impact
Ongoing Monitoring Framework
KPIs and dashboards to track improvements post-audit
Expected Outcomes
Measurable results from our media audits engagements*
17%
Average Savings
Typical reduction in total media spend through efficiency improvements
£340K
On a £2M Budget
What our 17% average saving is worth each year
6-8 weeks
Audit Completion
Standard timeline from kick-off to final presentation
100%
Client Satisfaction
Every audit client has implemented our recommendations
*Based on outcomes achieved across previous client engagements. Results vary depending on the scope and complexity of each audit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about our media audits service
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