By Michael Bürgi • June 3, 2026 •
Ivy Liu
It’s been a decade since the infamous K2 report was issued by the Association of National Advertisers, which blew open the longtime opaque practice of media agencies holding onto rebates from publishers (instead of passing them back to their clients) as well as pursuing principal media under unclear contracts with clients.
And just as its longtime executives (including CEO Bob Liodice) are leaving, the organization decided to revisit the topic, and as Bill Duggan, ANA’s soon-to-depart evp said, get the band back together again. That included Jon Mandel, the legendary head of media for Grey Advertising, who in 2015 delivered a speech that laid bare the practice of agencies holding onto media rebates rather than passing them back to clients.
But also showing up for the webinar were Richard Plansky, who was with the K2 organization when it assembled the report, Keri Bruce, a partner with Reed Smith who specializes in helping marketers with agency contracts, and finally Nick Manning, who’s been helping Richard Foster with his unlawful dismissal case against WPP Media. Manning has been an outspoken critic of the practice of principal media.
