You've invested a significant portion of your advertising media budget into a campaign. The campaign ends, but the report from your media agency fails to provide the insights you need. Sound familiar?
Our media audit work revealed a startling truth: two-thirds of post campaign reports by media agencies are unfit for purpose. Many advertisers are left in the dark, unable to understand the impact of their advertising efforts.
Interestingly, some advertisers consistently receive exceptional post campaign analysis reports, while others struggle with subpar insights, even from the same media agency.
What sets apart advertisers who receive valuable insights from those left with inadequate reports?
This article delves into the mystery behind this inconsistency. It reveals the secrets to obtaining a post campaign analysis report that delivers value.
By the end, you'll understand what it takes to receive a best-in-class post campaign analysis report. You'll learn the steps to ensure your media agency delivers the insights you need to succeed.
Let's dive in and uncover the solution to this pervasive problem in the advertising media industry.
What is a Post Campaign Analysis?
Post Campaign Analysis is a comprehensive evaluation of an advertising media campaign's performance after its conclusion.
It assesses the campaign's effectiveness in achieving its goals by examining various metrics and data points.
The objective is to gain actionable insights to inform future media strategies and optimise performance.
A robust post campaign analysis report includes key performance indicators (KPIs) such as reach, impressions, engagement, and conversions.
It should also provide a detailed breakdown of the campaign's performance across channels, ad formats, and target audiences.
Media agencies play a vital role in conducting post campaign analysis. They possess the expertise, tools, and data access needed to deliver meaningful insights.
By leveraging their knowledge and data analysis skills, media agencies can interpret results and provide actionable recommendations to optimise future advertising efforts.
Elements of Top-Notch Post Campaign Analysis
A best-in-class post campaign analysis report is more than just a collection of numbers and charts; it's a narrative of a campaign's journey.
It should provide advertisers with a detailed analysis of the campaign's performance and offers valuable insights for future success, such as:
1. Comparison of Outcomes:
- Compares the planned outcomes of the campaign with the actual results achieved.
- Actual versus Plan for all metrics and KPIs which were provided in the media plan.
2. Discrepancy Analysis:
- Analyses factors that contributed to the gaps between planned and actual results.
- Delves deeper into the data to understand the reasons behind differences.
3. Actionable Insights:
- Provides insights into what worked well and what can be optimised in future campaigns.
- Allows advertisers to understand the effectiveness of their strategies and identify areas for improvement.
- Provides a roadmap for advertisers to optimise their campaigns.
Timing is also crucial when it comes to post-campaign reporting. Insights are most valuable when they are fresh and can be acted upon promptly.
A Post Campaign Analysis report should ideally be delivered to advertisers no later than 4 to 6 weeks after the campaign's completion.
This ensures that advertisers have timely access to the report's findings, allowing them to make strategic interventions and tweaks to their media strategies for future campaigns.
Two Critical Components for Ensuring Excellence
What sets apart advertisers who consistently receive valuable insights from their post campaign analysis reports?
The answer lies in two critical components: a well-crafted media agency contract and a robust Performance Related Fee (PRF) scheme.
Advertisers who enjoy comprehensive and insightful post campaign analysis reports ensure that their reporting requirements are clearly defined within their media agency contracts.
These contracts outline the minimum standards for what a post campaign analysis should cover, holding media agencies accountable for delivering high-quality reports.
However, simply having reporting requirements in the contract is not enough.
To motivate media agencies to consistently deliver best-in-class post campaign analysis, these requirements must be tied to the agency's remuneration through a PRF scheme.
If the media agency fails to meet the agreed-upon reporting standards, they face financial penalties.
This performance-based approach creates a powerful incentive for media agencies to prioritise the quality and comprehensiveness of their reports.
Conclusion & Next Steps
Post campaign analysis reports are essential for advertisers to understand the effectiveness of their media campaigns and make informed decisions.
However, our media audit work has revealed that many reports provided by media agencies fall short of delivering valuable insights.
To ensure advertisers consistently receive high-quality post campaign analysis reports, two critical components are needed: a well-crafted media agency contract and a robust Performance Related Fee (PRF) scheme.
By defining reporting requirements in the contract and tying them to financial incentives through a PRF scheme, advertisers can hold their media agencies accountable and motivate them to deliver comprehensive, insightful reports.
If you're an advertiser struggling with subpar post campaign analysis reports, our team of media experts is offering a complimentary review of your current media agency contract.
We'll assess your contract's reporting requirements and provide recommendations to optimise them. Alternatively, you can schedule a free consultation with us.
Don't settle for inadequate post campaign analysis reports – take the first step towards unlocking valuable insights that will drive your advertising success.
Additional resources related to this topic:
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About the Author
Philippe Dominois is co-founder and CEO of Abintus Consulting, and Head Coach at the Abintus Academy. He has over 25 years of international media experience, having worked on the media agency side, client side, and media auditing side throughout his career. Philippe has authored hundreds of articles over the years that focus on media management best practices.
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