Make-goods and under-delivery
A physical screen network will under-deliver sometimes: screens fail, stores close, power goes out, connectivity drops. That is normal and the question is whether the shortfall is detected, disclosed and remedied.
A make-good mechanism is the commercial answer and it depends entirely on delivery being measured.
What counts as under-delivery?
Delivered plays below the agreed level, or delivery in fewer stores than agreed. Both are measurable from playout logs and both should be defined in the plan.
Ambiguity here is what turns a routine shortfall into a dispute. Defining the threshold in advance takes one sentence.
How is a shortfall detected?
From delivery reporting compared against the plan. A network that reports delivered plays by store makes this a reconciliation; one reporting a national summary makes it an argument.
Detection should not depend on the buyer noticing. A network with a threshold and an alert is managing it; one that waits to be asked is not.
What remedies are used?
Extended flight, additional plays, additional stores, or a credit. Each suits different circumstances, and the mechanism should state which applies and who chooses.
An extension suits a campaign with no fixed end; a credit suits one tied to a promotion that has passed. Agreeing the preference in advance saves a negotiation at a bad moment.
When is a make-good not appropriate?
When the shortfall was caused by the advertiser — late creative, an approval delay, artwork that failed specification. Those are ordinary and the mechanism should allocate them clearly.
Clear allocation protects both sides and it prevents every shortfall becoming a discussion about fault.
What about the measurement consequence?
A campaign that under-delivered in some stores has compromised its own measurement. Those stores are neither test nor control, and including them dilutes the measured effect.
Delivery data is therefore a measurement input as well as a commercial one, which is a second reason to insist on store-level reporting.
What should the contract say?
The delivery definition, the threshold, the detection responsibility, the remedy options, and the timeframe. Five elements, and their presence turns a predictable event into an administrative one.
How should it be reconciled?
Once per flight, against the invoice and the plan. That reconciliation is rarely run and it is the only way to know the campaign delivered what was sold.
Frequently asked questions
How much under-delivery is normal?
Some is expected in any physical network and the acceptable level should be stated rather than assumed. A threshold in the plan is what converts a judgment into a rule.
Who should detect a shortfall?
The network, with the buyer able to verify. A mechanism that depends on the buyer noticing will under-report, not through bad faith but because nobody is looking.
Is a credit better than an extension?
It depends on whether the timing mattered. A promotional campaign that missed its window is not repaired by extra weight afterwards, and a brand campaign frequently is.
What if a store leaves the network mid-flight?
That is a delivery shortfall in that store and it should be handled by the same mechanism. Store churn is a normal feature of an independent network.
Does uptime reporting cover this?
It is the underlying evidence. Uptime explains why plays were missed and delivered plays are what the commercial mechanism should reference.
Can I audit the logs?
Ask for the right in the contract. First-party logs are the evidence and the ability to inspect them is what makes the commitment meaningful.
What if delivery exceeded the plan?
Over-delivery is generally welcome and it should not be used to offset under-delivery in a different period or store set without agreement.
How quickly should a shortfall be remedied?
Within the flight where possible, because a remedy after the campaign has ended is worth less. The timeframe belongs in the mechanism.
What is the single most important clause?
The definition of delivered plays. Everything else in the mechanism refers to it. Industry measurement practice is discussed by bodies such as Geopath.
### How should a make-good be reconciled?
Against the same delivery data that identified the shortfall, so that the remedy is verifiable. A make-good applied without a record of what it replaced is an adjustment rather than a remedy.
Record it in the campaign documentation as well as in the billing, because the measurement analysis needs to know which delivery was original and which was remedial.
Does a make-good affect the measurement window?
It can, if delivery is extended beyond the agreed window. Either extend the analysis window with it or treat the make-good period separately, and decide which before the extension runs.
### How should repeated shortfalls be handled?
As a relationship issue rather than a series of individual remedies. A network under-delivering consistently has an operational problem, and make-goods treat the symptom.
Tracking shortfall by flight over a year makes the pattern visible, which is what turns a recurring inconvenience into a conversation about capability.
Should a make-good be automatic?
A defined threshold triggering an automatic remedy is cleaner than a negotiation each time. It also removes the incentive to under-report.
What if the shortfall is small?
Define a materiality threshold in the plan so that trivial variances do not generate administration. Precision here is less useful than a clear rule.
Should over-delivery be reported?
Yes, and it is generally welcome. What it should not do is silently offset a shortfall in a different store set or period without agreement, because those are different audiences.
Who should reconcile?
One named person on the buyer side, once per flight, against the plan and the invoice. It is a short task and it is the only way a shortfall is reliably detected.
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