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Trust but Verify:
Challenges in TV Ad Verification

A report prepared by CFO Research Services in collaboration with Eloda  

March 2008: How well do finance organizations validate the delivery of their companies' television advertisements? Through an interview program with senior finance executives at large U.S. companies that spend heavily on television advertising, as well as interviews with advertising agencies, trade groups, and management consultancies, this study explores how finance executives view ad spending and delivery from a financial and operating controls perspective. Finance executives in our interviews expressed concern with the current verification model. Companies can't be sure exactly what is being counted when broadcasters and media agencies true up their attestations that ads ran at a particular time. They also question the value of how make-up ads fit into broader campaign goals of an advertiser's sales and marketing team. From this research emerges an interest in maximizing efficiency of ad spending and pursuing an active approach to improving ad verification, which in turn will increase understanding between marketing and finance.