Asking for transparent gaming campaign delivery reports

Ask for a sample delivery report before booking. Agree on its fields, counting definitions, timing and treatment of unknown inventory, so delivered ads can be compared with approved placements. A total labelled “gaming impressions” cannot do that alone.

Ask the seller to confirm the report’s delivery format and mechanism, and whether it will provide placement-level or aggregate detail. Agree these requirements alongside the approved placement list, not after delivery begins.

Specify the report against the booking

Give the seller the approved games or apps, placement identifiers, formats, devices, creative versions and dates. Ask which of those fields can appear in the report and request separate format totals where a package mixes game-world surfaces, interstitials and rewarded ads. Their counted events and available visibility measures may differ.

Specify the reporting time zone and interval, seller or deal, geography where available, and delivered impressions. Ask the seller to name each field’s source, definition and possible values, and to show how those values will appear in the sample report. Where a field cannot be populated, agree on a visible unknown category; do not treat unidentified delivery as named inventory.

Use this copy-ready column sequence as a starting point: date and time zone; seller or deal; game or app; placement identifier; format; device; creative version; geography; impression event and count; invalid-traffic treatment; viewability category, method and status; and unknown or unclassified delivery. Ask the seller to identify any column it cannot supply before booking.

Agree how and in what format the report will be delivered, and whether its detail will be placement-level or aggregate. If a field or placement cannot be shown separately, have the seller identify that limit in the proposed layout.

Reporting platforms may offer different dimensions; available fields, values or combinations can vary. Ask the seller to show the proposed layout for the actual supply path.

Define what each count means

Specify whether the principal delivery figure is served impressions, valid impressions or another event, and how invalid traffic is handled. An ad request, a rendered creative and a viewable impression are distinct stages, so the report should name the event being counted.

For mobile in-app, mobile web and desktop display, MRC, IAB Tech Lab and MMA revised guidelines set count-on-begin-to-render as the minimum for a valid ad impression. Ask the seller to state which standard and version it applies to each gaming format, and how reported counts map to the IAB In-Game Advertising Measurement Guidelines 2.0, named by IAB, IAB Tech Lab and MRC.

For served in-game placements, ask which viewability categories and measurement method apply, and how undetermined or estimated counts are identified. Ask the seller to name the applicable standard; do not assume one method applies to every format.

If a third-party measurement provider supplies figures, ask the seller to name that provider and identify which report fields it supplies. Ask which measurement method applies to other formats.

A rewarded completion and a destination visit are distinct events. Neither should be relabelled as an impression.

Request the denominator for each rate and the share of delivery that could be measured. A separate measurement plan addresses campaign outcomes.

Valid impression standards across gaming ad formats

Show gaps and reconcile dates

Ask that unidentified apps, missing placement identifiers, unclassified geography and undetermined viewability remain visible where those measures apply. Set an acceptable share of unidentified delivery before booking; if named-game proof is required, decide whether any unidentified inventory is acceptable.

Agree when the first report arrives, the reporting time zone, and when figures are final or may be revised. Align dates, time zones, formats, invalid-traffic treatment and the approved placement-list version before comparing reports. Ask the seller to document whether and when report data may change after initial availability.

Match delivered rows against the approved list using the agreed game or app, placement identifier, format, device, creative version and dates. Keep unmatched rows visible as unidentified or outside the approved list rather than folding them into named-placement totals.

Name who investigates a row outside the approved list and state when a corrected report is due. Retain the original report alongside any correction and its explanation. If only aggregate data is available for a material part of the buy, record that limit in the purchase decision.

Reporting requirements for transparent delivery