Distribution
Part of Native placement quality
Auditing where a native campaign actually appeared
Reconcile booked native placements with publisher, section and device reports, and document unclear or disputed delivery.
To audit native delivery, compare booked surfaces against the most detailed placement reports available. Check material differences in site, section, format, geography or dates. A campaign-level impression total cannot show whether the promotion appeared in the agreed setting.
Start with the delivery promise
Build a schedule from the booking or campaign setup: publisher or network, permitted sites and sections, format, device, dates, geographic scope and exclusions. Mark each item as a firm commitment, a targeting preference or a forecast. An unexpected surface may breach a specific booking, or it may be allowed under a broader buy.
Pull the reports for the same campaign and period. Request the most granular available publisher and section detail, plus device or platform and date views. In Outbrain’s Amplify Dashboard, platform placements appear under the “By Section” drop-down; reports may identify both a publisher site and its platform partner, or provide information about placements outside a publisher environment.
Placements may include newsletters, apps, lock screens and other environments; some platform placements appear under section reporting. Decode an unfamiliar label before assigning it to a familiar publisher page.
| Record | What to reconcile |
|---|---|
| Booking or setup | Which surfaces were agreed, allowed or excluded? |
| Delivery report | Which publisher, section and device labels show delivery? |
| Surface explanation | What does each unclear ID or platform label represent? |
| Evidence sample | Does a dated screenshot or publisher confirmation illustrate the claimed format? |
A screenshot can show how one instance looked. It cannot establish how often that placement appeared. An exact page URL may also be unavailable for an app or widget surface. Use the delivery report for volume and record any limits in its detail.
Resolve discrepancies
First align campaign IDs, date ranges and time zones. Different day boundaries can create an apparent mismatch. Then classify reported surfaces as agreed, allowed but unanticipated, unclear or outside the agreement. For unclear rows, request the site or app name, section meaning, format and whether the row groups several surfaces.
For a direct publisher deal, compare promised dates and locations with the publisher's delivery record. For network distribution, compare campaign settings and exclusions with the network report. If the supplier cannot provide enough detail to verify a contracted placement, record the evidence gap. Do not mark an unverifiable location as confirmed.
Finish with an exception list containing each disputed row, the relevant agreement term, reported delivery, evidence requested, supplier response and resolution. Keep the original report and dated replies. This gives the campaign owner a precise basis for a correction or make-good discussion without treating an unusual label as proof of improper delivery.
