paid-media-reporter

Process

1. Identify the audience — CMO, channel manager, finance, or founder? Different metrics for different eyes
2. Select cadence — Daily pulse, weekly tactical, monthly strategic, quarterly business review
3. Choose metrics by level — Don't overwhelm; match metric depth to audience depth
4. Build the narrative — Data alone fails. Story: what happened → why → what's next
5. Design for scanability — Executives skim; surface the 3 things that matter
6. Tie to business outcomes — Not impressions, but revenue, pipeline, CAC, LTV
7. Include competitive/market context — "Meta CPMs rose 9% this year" explains some decline
8. Deliver an action plan — Every report ends with "what we're doing next"

Report Types & Audiences

Report Cadence Framework

Cadence	Audience	Depth	Time Invested
Daily pulse	Channel specialist / team	Alert-driven, raw metrics	<5 min/day (automated)
Weekly tactical	Account manager + client point-of-contact	Trends, actions taken, immediate issues	30-60 min
Monthly strategic	Marketing director / VP	Full performance, wins, recommendations	2-4 hours
Quarterly business review (QBR)	CMO, executives, founders	Strategic narrative, forecasts, budget decisions	4-8 hours
Ad hoc audit	New client onboarding, crisis moments	Full diagnostic with ICE-scored recommendations	4-8 hours

Audience-Tailored Metric Selection

Audience	Cares About	Bores Them	Lead With
CMO / C-suite	Revenue impact, ROAS trends, market share, competitive position	CTR, QS, ad-group structure	MER, revenue, 30/60/90-day trend
Finance / CFO	CAC, LTV, blended CAC, payback period, MER	Creative fatigue, bid strategies	CAC trend, LTV:CAC ratio, cash efficiency
Channel manager	CTR, CPC, CVR, QS, creative performance, impression share	High-level narrative	Platform-specific deep metrics
Founder (SMB)	Revenue, new customers, is this working	Acronyms, technical detail	Plain English: "spent $X, got $Y, here's what's next"
Agency account manager	Pacing, client satisfaction levers, scaling opportunities	Pure technical deep-dives	Status summary + priorities

Critical rule: Lead with the metric the audience cares about. CMO reports that lead with "CTR improved 0.3%" fail. CMO reports that lead with "Revenue grew 22% at constant MER" succeed.

The Narrative Framework

Every report should answer four questions:

Question	Purpose	Example
What happened?	Factual summary	"Revenue grew 18% MoM, MER held at 3.4x, CAC down 8%"
Why did it happen?	Causal explanation	"Creative refresh in Week 2 reversed fatigue; new UGC variants lifted ROAS 22%"
What's next?	Action plan	"Scale winning creative concepts, test 3 new hooks, refresh retargeting pool"
What should you decide?	Stakeholder decision points	"Approve $5K budget increase for scaling Meta ASC + $3K for YouTube test"

Don't: Report metrics without narrative. Do: Tell the story of the month with metrics as evidence.

Monthly Report Template

# [Client Name] — Performance Report
## [Month Year]

## Executive Summary
- **Headline:** [one sentence on the month]
- **Revenue:** $[X] ([+/-X%] MoM)
- **Spend:** $[X] ([+/-X%] MoM)  
- **MER:** [X.X]x ([+/-X%] MoM)
- **Key win:** [most important positive]
- **Key concern:** [most important issue]
- **What we're doing next:** [top 3 actions]

## Performance at a Glance
| Metric | This Month | Last Month | MoM | vs Target |
|--------|-----------|-----------|-----|----------|
| Revenue | $[X] | $[X] | [+/-%] | [status] |
| Ad Spend | $[X] | $[X] | [+/-%] | [status] |
| MER | [X]x | [X]x | [+/-] | [status] |
| New Customers | [X] | [X] | [+/-%] | [status] |
| Blended CAC | $[X] | $[X] | [+/-%] | [status] |

## Channel Breakdown
| Channel | Spend | Revenue | ROAS | Trend | Role |
|---------|-------|---------|------|-------|------|

## What Happened — The Story
[2-3 paragraphs explaining performance, what drove changes, key insights]

## What's Working
- [3 specific wins with data]

## What's Not Working
- [2-3 specific issues with diagnosis]

## Actions Taken This Month
- [Key optimizations, tests launched, changes made]

## Next Month's Plan
- [ICE-prioritized actions]
- [Tests planned]
- [Budget recommendations]

## Decisions Needed From You
- [specific asks for approval or input]

QBR Template (Quarterly Business Review)

# [Client Name] — Q[X] Business Review

## Agenda
1. Q[X] at a Glance (5 min)
2. Performance Deep Dive (15 min)
3. Strategic Wins & Learnings (10 min)
4. Market Context & Competitive Position (5 min)
5. Q[X+1] Strategy & Forecast (15 min)
6. Budget & Decisions (10 min)

## Q[X] At a Glance
- **Total Revenue:** $[X] ([+/-X%] QoQ, [+/-X%] YoY)
- **Total Spend:** $[X]
- **Blended MER:** [X]x (target: [X]x)
- **Blended CAC:** $[X] (target: $[X])
- **LTV:CAC:** [X]:1
- **Market position:** [competitive context]

## Performance Narrative
[What happened this quarter, key turning points, strategic decisions and outcomes]

## Channel Scorecard
| Channel | Q[X-1] ROAS | Q[X] ROAS | Trend | Action |
|---------|------------|-----------|-------|--------|

## Strategic Wins
- [3-5 biggest wins and what drove them]

## Key Learnings
- [what didn't work and what we learned]

## Market Context
- [CPM trends — Meta +9% in 2025]
- [Platform changes — AI Max, attribution windows, etc.]
- [Competitive shifts]

## Q[X+1] Strategy
### Strategic Priorities
1. [Priority 1 with rationale]
2. [Priority 2 with rationale]
3. [Priority 3 with rationale]

### Budget Allocation
[Proposed allocation with scenarios: conservative / base / aggressive]

### Key Tests Planned
- [Creative tests]
- [Channel tests]
- [Incrementality tests]

### Forecast
| Scenario | Spend | Expected Revenue | MER |
|----------|-------|-----------------|-----|

## Decisions Requested
1. [Budget approval]
2. [Strategic direction]
3. [Resource allocation]

Dashboard Design Principles

The 5-30-5 Rule

Layer	Time to Comprehend	Content
5 seconds	Top 3 numbers that define "is this working?"	MER, Revenue, CAC vs targets with traffic lights
30 seconds	Trend charts and channel split	30/60/90-day trendlines, channel contribution
5 minutes	Drill-down detail	Campaign-level tables, creative performance, anomaly callouts

Rule: If the "is this working?" answer takes more than 5 seconds to find, the dashboard is broken.

Dashboard Stack (Common Tools)

Tool	Best For	Cost	Data Connectors
Looker Studio	Client reports, free tier	Free	Native Google, limited Meta (needs connector)
Supermetrics	Connector layer for Sheets/Looker/BI	$99+/mo	All major ad platforms
Improvado	Enterprise unified reporting	Enterprise pricing	All major + CRM + warehouse
Google Sheets + Apps Script	Custom, flexible	Free	Via API or Supermetrics
Tableau / Power BI	Enterprise BI	Enterprise	Via warehouse
Optmyzr	Paid media-specific reporting	Paid	Google + Meta + more

2025 consideration: Meta Insights API removed 7d_view and 28d_view attribution windows (October 2025). Any dashboard pulling those windows needs updating.

Core Dashboard Widgets

Widget	What It Shows	Why
Spend pacing	MTD spend vs target	Daily budget health
MER trend (90 days)	Blended efficiency over time	Strategic trajectory
Channel contribution	Revenue split by channel	Allocation visibility
Creative leaderboard	Top 10 creatives by ROAS	Creative performance
Anomaly flags	Metrics >20% off baseline	Alert-driven attention
Impression share (Google)	Coverage vs opportunity	Under/over-investment signals
Frequency (Meta)	Fatigue leading indicator	Creative refresh timing
Forecast vs actuals	Predicted vs real	Forecasting credibility

Audit Report Framework

When onboarding a new client or performing crisis diagnosis, deliver an audit report structured as:

# Paid Media Audit — [Client Name]

## Executive Summary
- **Account health score:** [X]/100
- **Estimated monthly waste:** $[X]
- **Top 3 opportunities:** [list]
- **Estimated impact of fixes:** [+X% revenue / -Y% CAC]

## Findings (by severity)
### Critical Issues (fix this week)
| Issue | Impact | Evidence | Fix |
|-------|--------|----------|-----|

### High-Priority (fix this month)
| Issue | Impact | Evidence | Fix |
|-------|--------|----------|-----|

### Medium-Priority (fix this quarter)
| Issue | Impact | Evidence | Fix |
|-------|--------|----------|-----|

## ICE-Scored Action Plan
| Priority | Action | ICE Score (I×C×E) | Owner | Timeline |
|----------|--------|------------------|-------|----------|
| 1 | [action] | 10×9×8 = 720 | [who] | [when] |

## Monitoring Plan
[What to check and when]

## 30/60/90-Day Expected Outcomes

Cross-reference: Use the google-ads-audit skill for Google deep audits and meta-ads-audit skill for Meta deep audits. This skill structures the deliverable — those skills drive the analysis.

Performance Narrative Rules

Good Narrative Structure

Bad: "Revenue was $150K, ROAS was 3.2x, CAC was $45."

Good: "Revenue grew 18% to $150K as the new UGC creative rotation reversed last month's fatigue decline. MER held at 3.2x despite rising Meta CPMs (+9% YoY). Blended CAC dropped 8% to $45 as retargeting efficiency improved after audience refresh. Action: scale winning UGC concept with 5 new variants in Week 1 of next month."

The Rule of 3s

Every report section should deliver 3 specific things:

• 3 wins
• 3 issues
• 3 actions

More than 3 = scattered. Fewer = unsubstantive. The discipline of 3 forces prioritization.

Connect to Business Outcomes

Metric	Vanity Version	Business Version
Impressions	"5M impressions"	"Reached 40% of target market"
Clicks	"50K clicks"	"8,000 new site visitors at 1.6% of ad spend"
CTR	"2.3% CTR"	"CTR improved 15% after creative refresh, driving 7% revenue lift"
CPA	"$35 CPA"	"CAC $35 → $32 improved blended CAC to $48, payback period now 4.2 months"

Always connect the metric to revenue, customers, or cash outcomes.

Common Reporting Mistakes

Mistake	Why It's Bad	Fix
Reporting every metric	Reader can't prioritize	Lead with top 3, put rest in appendix
No context	"CTR is 2.3%" — is that good?	Include target, benchmark, or trend
Metrics without story	Data dump	Explain what happened and why
No action plan	"Here's the data, goodbye"	Always end with next steps
Same report for all audiences	CMO doesn't care about QS	Tailor metrics to audience
Hiding bad news	Kills trust when discovered	Be transparent, always pair with fix
Over-reporting in crisis	Analyzes instead of acting	Pulse report + action; full analysis later
No competitive context	Decline blamed on team when it's macro	Include market context (CPM trends, competitor moves)

Output Format

When asked to produce a report, deliver:

## [Report Type] — [Client/Account]
## [Period]

### Executive Summary
[3-5 bullets with the story and key numbers]

### Key Metrics
[Tabular comparison vs prior period / target]

### What Happened
[Narrative: wins, issues, causes]

### Actions Taken
[What you did this period]

### What's Next
[ICE-prioritized action plan for next period]

### Decisions Needed
[Specific asks of stakeholder]

Example

Input: "I'm an agency account manager. I need to write a monthly report for a DTC skincare client. September 2026 numbers: spend $48K ($18K Google, $22K Meta, $5K TikTok, $3K YouTube), revenue $165K, 1,200 new customers, MER 3.44x. Previous month: spend $45K, revenue $153K, MER 3.40x, 1,100 new customers. Client is concerned because last week Meta CPMs were high and some campaigns dipped. What should the report look like?"

Output:

Monthly Performance Report — [Skincare Brand]

September 2026

Executive Summary

• Revenue grew 7.8% MoM to $165K on a 6.7% spend increase, with MER improving from 3.40x → 3.44x
• New customers up 9.1% to 1,200, driven by Meta ASC creative refresh and Google Search impression share recovery
• Blended CAC dropped 1.5% to $40, improving payback period toward 4.0 months
• Key concern addressed: Meta CPMs did spike in Week 3 (+12% WoW) due to seasonal competitive pressure, but our frequency-based creative rotation kept ROAS stable
• Next month focus: Scale Meta ASC winners, launch Google PMax new customer acquisition goal, test YouTube expansion

Performance at a Glance

Metric	Sep 2026	Aug 2026	MoM	vs Target
Revenue	$165,000	$153,000	+7.8%	✅ Above target
Ad Spend	$48,000	$45,000	+6.7%	✅ On budget
MER	3.44x	3.40x	+1.2%	✅ Above 3.2x target
New Customers	1,200	1,100	+9.1%	✅ Above target
Blended CAC	$40.00	$40.91	-2.2%	✅ Below $45 target

Channel Breakdown

Channel	Spend	Revenue	ROAS	Trend	Role
Google Search	$10K	$60K	6.0x	⬆️	Primary driver
Google PMax	$8K	$26K	3.25x	→	Scaling
Meta ASC	$15K	$48K	3.2x	⬆️	Primary driver
Meta Prospecting	$7K	$14K	2.0x	⬇️	Scaling — watch
TikTok	$5K	$8K	1.6x	→	Experimental — under review
YouTube	$3K	$5K	1.67x	→	Support — underfunded

What Happened — The Story

September was a recovery month. After August's mid-month fatigue dip on Meta ASC (frequency hit 5.4 on top creatives), we executed a 6-variant creative refresh in Week 1. By Week 3, frequency normalized to 3.2 and ROAS recovered from 2.7x → 3.4x on Meta ASC.

The CPM spike you noticed in Week 3 was real — Meta's auction pricing rose 12% WoW due to Q4 prep from competing advertisers. Despite that headwind, our MER improved because (a) the creative refresh absorbed impressions at better conversion rates, and (b) Google Search captured more demand as PMax feeder creative drove bottom-funnel intent.

Google Search impression share improved to 72% (from 64% in August) after we expanded non-brand keyword coverage based on search term mining. This was the biggest contribution to revenue growth.

What's Working

• Meta ASC creative refresh playbook — 6-variant weekly refresh is keeping frequency below 4.0 and preventing fatigue-driven decline
• Google Search non-brand scaling — impression share gains are producing efficient incremental revenue at 3.5x marginal ROAS
• Blended CAC discipline — despite CPM pressure, CAC dropped 2.2% because conversion rates improved

What's Not Working

• Meta prospecting ad set underperforming — 2.0x ROAS below target. Likely feeding ASC but marginal incrementality is unclear. Recommend incrementality test before reallocating
• TikTok at $5K is undersized — below signal threshold for meaningful learning. Either commit more or sunset
• YouTube at $3K is underfunded — same issue, can't drive real signal at this spend

Actions Taken This Month

• Launched 6-variant Meta ASC creative refresh (Week 1)
• Expanded Google non-brand keyword coverage (Week 2)
• Refreshed Meta retargeting audiences (Week 3)
• Paused 4 fatigued creatives at frequency >5 (ongoing)
• Added automated frequency-pause rule at 5.0 threshold

Next Month's Plan (October 2026)

1. [ICE: 720] Scale Meta ASC with 8 new creative variants targeting winning UGC concept
2. [ICE: 640] Launch Google PMax new customer acquisition goal (predicts high-LTV users)
3. [ICE: 480] Run Meta prospecting incrementality test (geo split) — 14 days
4. [ICE: 420] Decision: commit $10K to YouTube OR sunset — current $3K is wasted
5. [ICE: 360] Creative pipeline: brief 10 UGC variants for November buffer

Decisions Needed From You

1. YouTube investment decision: Scale to $10K/mo or sunset? Current $3K is below signal threshold
2. Meta prospecting: Approve geo-split incrementality test (no additional budget, just a 14-day measurement)
3. October budget approval: Holding at $48K with reallocation, or approving $55K for Q4 scaling?

Market Context

• Meta CPMs continue to trend +9% YoY in 2025 — rising costs are a macro headwind, not a team failure
• Google AI Max (global beta September 2025) is driving avg 34% conversion lift for early adopters — evaluating for October rollout
• Competitive CPM pressure from Q4-prepping advertisers expected to continue through mid-November

Guidelines

• Don't dump every metric in the report. Lead with 3-5 headline numbers. Put detail in appendix or drill-down.
• Don't report without a narrative. Data without story = noise. Every report explains what happened, why, and what's next.
• Don't forget the audience. CMO reports differ from channel-manager reports. Tailor metric depth to decision depth.
• Don't bury bad news. Transparency builds trust. Pair every issue with a diagnosis and fix.
• Don't report in isolation. Always include competitive/market context (CPM trends, platform changes, seasonality).
• Don't end without decisions needed. Reports that ask for nothing leave stakeholders passive. Force the decision moments.
• Don't ignore the 7d_view/28d_view removal (October 2025). Any report still pulling those attribution windows is broken. Update.
• Don't report attribution as fact. Platform attribution overcounts. Use MER as your north star. Reference the ad-spend-allocator skill for cross-channel allocation decisions.
• Don't over-report in crisis. When something breaks, send a pulse + action plan, not a 30-page analysis. Analysis comes later.
• Don't build dashboards for yourself. Build for the reader. The "5-30-5 rule" — headline in 5 seconds, context in 30, detail in 5 minutes.
• Cross-references: For audit analysis, use the google-ads-audit and meta-ads-audit skills. For cross-channel allocation decisions, use the ad-spend-allocator skill. For deep campaign analysis that feeds into reports, use the campaign-analyzer skill.
• Confidence: Report templates are starting points — calibrate to your specific client expectations and contract scope. Tool recommendations reflect 2025 landscape; new tools emerge regularly.