We’ve finally reached the end of the campaign. The rates have been negotiated with stations and sales reps. Ad inventory has been purchased. The spots have aired or been published. It seems like the end, but your media buyer has one last very important task to complete before closing out this campaign: the post-buy analysis.
At the end of the campaign it is the job of your media buyer to ensure that not only all of your advertising ran as requested, but to ensure that you got the coverage that you paid for. We do this in the post-buy analysis report. Here are some items your post-buy analysis should include:
- Make-goods: Perhaps a speech by the president preempted your scheduled spot and it was unable to run. Or maybe the show in which your spot aired got REALLY low ratings. This is the time that any necessary make -goods or bonuses that have not already been taken care of get resolved.
- Reach analysis: The decision to run spots in the places that were chosen are the result of campaign measurement and researching an audience of a certain size and demographic that would be tuning in. These measurements are used to get gross ratings points. Your post buy analysis should measure how many people actually got to see the spot and determine the cost per reach.
- Spend information: We can also determine how financially successful this buy was. Your media buying analysis should summarize your estimated cost versus actual spend. Ad rates fluctuate seasonally for different reasons, so ensure you were only charged what you contracted to pay.
- Value Add: The analysis will also include additional promotional media you received during the campaign.
- Spot report: There should be an itemized breakdown of what spots ran and when. For TV and radio it will have station and daypart. For print, a tear sheet. For digital, a copy of the ad.
Put your post analysis to work to gauge campaign success and more effective future media planning.