‘Google Doesn’t Care that It’s Terrible’: Brand, Agency Execs Air Frustrations with The Trade Desk, Google’s Performance Max, Meta’s Advantage+

Why It Matters

The backlash highlights growing demand for true transparency in programmatic buying, forcing major DSPs to reassess client service and fee structures. Agencies may shift spend toward more open platforms, reshaping the digital‑ad market.

Key Takeaways

• Agencies report increased Trade Desk rep outreach after March agency advisory
• Trade Desk data is accessible but requires complex multi‑report extraction
• Kokai AI tool raised campaign costs, prompting agencies to cut spend
• Google Performance Max remains black‑boxed, limiting placement transparency
• Meta Advantage+ auto‑targeting hidden settings increase costs and reduce control

Pulse Analysis

The programmatic ecosystem is at a crossroads as agency giants like Dentsu, Publicis and WPP publicly cautioned clients about The Trade Desk’s OpenPath offering. That warning sparked a noticeable uptick in Trade Desk account‑manager activity, as agencies now receive daily check‑ins and dedicated market developers. While the increased attention improves service, it also underscores a deeper issue: the platform’s data is technically available but buried behind three separate reports, forcing buyers to build custom pipelines just to see where fees flow.

Transparency woes extend beyond The Trade Desk. The Kokai AI optimizer, marketed as a cost‑saving tool, has been reported to lift campaign CPMs by 10‑15% on smaller buys, prompting agencies to pull the majority of their spend in 2023. Competing DSPs such as Yahoo and Amazon are touted for clearer fee structures, yet each carries its own proprietary limits. Google’s DV360 is dismissed as outdated, while its newer Performance Max product operates as a black box, offering little insight into placement or geographic performance, driving agencies to rely on reverse‑engineered GA4 data.

These frustrations signal a broader shift toward platforms that prioritize openness and measurable ROI. As advertisers demand granular reporting and predictable margins, DSPs that cling to opaque models risk losing market share. The pressure is mounting on Google and Meta to unlock their AI‑driven tools, and on The Trade Desk to simplify its reporting architecture. In the coming year, we can expect a reallocation of programmatic budgets toward vendors that deliver real‑time transparency, potentially reshaping the ad‑tech landscape.