Campaign measurement

Campaign reporting sample for contextual media buys

Published May 31, 2026. Status: evergreen source page.

A useful campaign report should let a buyer see where the campaign ran, what kind of response happened, which outcomes were qualified, and which claims the evidence can support.

This sample shows a practical structure for contextual display, private marketplace, and direct sponsorship readouts. The values below are example values for report structure, not performance benchmarks.

What the report can say

Open the readout with the claim boundary before showing the strongest chart. This keeps descriptive delivery, directional response, and causal lift in separate lanes.

Evidence available	Report wording	Do not write
Delivery, viewability, clicks, and qualified visits.	The campaign delivered qualified exposure and observed response in the measured contexts.	The campaign created incremental demand.
Lead status supplied after the flight.	Reported leads varied by context, destination, and follow-up status.	The highest-volume placement created the best customers.
Prior flight or matched context comparison.	Results were stronger or weaker than the selected comparison, subject to known context differences.	The comparison proves lift without a protected counterfactual.
Designed holdout, geo test, or exposed-control study.	The campaign produced measured lift for this design, window, audience, and uncertainty range.	The lift estimate will hold for every future campaign.

Report header

The header should be boring, explicit, and reusable across proposal, trafficking, billing, and readout records.

Field	Sample value	Why it belongs in the report
Campaign objective	Qualified visits to a measurement planning resource.	Identifies the decision the campaign was meant to inform.
Package ID	measurement-science-desk	Connects the report to the contextual package definition.
Deal key	mp-msd-pmp	Connects buyer, seller, and trafficking records.
Primary signal	Qualified visits and lead quality, not causal lift.	Prevents the readout from choosing a stronger metric after results are visible.
Comparison rule	Prior contextual flight; no reserved holdout.	Sets the strongest language the report can use.
Decision limit	Renew, adjust creative, or plan a lift test.	Keeps the report tied to an action the evidence can support.

Delivery by context and placement

Start with context and placement delivery. A campaign can look clean in total while one context, size, or device class carries the result.

Context group	Placement ID	Impressions	Viewable rate	Clicks	Qualified visits	Readout note
Measurement guides	article-inline-1	84,200	72%	318	146	Strong upper-body delivery; compare against creative mix before calling the placement better.
Measurement guides	article-rail-1	36,800	68%	64	29	Lower response, but sustained desktop context may support awareness or return visits.
Guide archive	archive-leaderboard	51,400	61%	97	38	Discovery context delivered reach; quality depends on destination behavior.
Post-content	post-content	22,600	59%	41	21	Smaller scale, but readers had already completed the article context.

Creative and destination read

Creative performance is rarely just creative performance. Format, placement, audience intent, page speed, offer clarity, and destination friction can all move the observed response.

Creative theme	Primary size	Destination type	CTR	Qualified visit rate	Lead-start rate	Interpretation
Planning template	728x90	Download page	0.43%	49%	9%	Useful response signal; verify lead quality before prioritizing this theme.
Analyst webinar	300x250	Registration page	0.26%	37%	14%	Lower click rate with stronger lead start; destination intent may be narrower.
Product explainer	320x100	Product page	0.31%	34%	5%	Mobile response needs destination-friction review before creative judgment.

Lead-quality readout

Lead volume is a weak finish line unless the report carries buyer-side quality status. Keep status fields visible and avoid ranking contexts only by form fills.

Context group	Form fills	Qualified	Disqualified	In follow-up	Missing status	Useful conclusion
Measurement guides	31	14	8	7	2	Best qualified volume, but still descriptive without a comparison design.
Guide archive	8	2	4	1	1	Archive reach produced some response; not enough status depth for budget claims.
Post-content	5	3	1	1	0	Small cell; useful for hypothesis building, not winner selection.

Readout summary

Delivery quality

The campaign delivered in the planned measurement-science context with enough placement detail to audit viewability, device mix, and creative rotation.

Traffic quality

Qualified visits were strongest in guide contexts, but the result should be read alongside destination type and creative theme.

Lead quality

Buyer-side status made the report more useful than a form-fill count, but the result remains descriptive unless a comparison was designed before launch.

Next decision

Renew the strongest-fit context only if the next brief preserves the same report fields and adds a cleaner comparison for the decision that matters.

Renewal questions

Was the campaign delivered in the package contexts that were sold before launch?
Which result survives after separating placement, creative, destination, and device effects?
Did qualified leads come from the same contexts that produced the highest delivery volume?
Which missing field would change the interpretation most if it were known?
Does the next decision require another descriptive flight, a matched baseline, or a designed lift test?

Pair with

Use this sample with the campaign reporting worksheet when a readout meeting needs a compact decision note, the campaign readout QA checklist after results arrive, the campaign reporting terms glossary when report language needs boundaries, the campaign data-layer spec before launch, the campaign KPI dictionary when naming metrics, the contextual package proof checklist before package pricing or trafficking, the private marketplace campaign measurement checklist when planning package readouts, the private marketplace readout export sample for row-level delivery and outcome fields, the private marketplace package performance readout for buyer-ready package language, the media kit for placement and package contracts, and the inventory readiness matrix for reporting keys.