How Important is Proof of Performance?

Would you buy a used car with a broken odometer? Would you buy diamond ring strictly based on what the salesman said about it? Would you buy a house without going through it with a real estate agent? Of course not, is the answer to these three questions. Therefore, media buyers will not okay invoices for payment until they receive acceptable proof of performance from the media. In broadcast and theater, that proof of performance will most likely by an affidavit of performance. In outdoor, it will be a picture of the board(s) each month it is up. With newspapers, it will be a page from the newspaper (tearsheet) with the ad shown – not a computer-generated layout of the page. With magazines, it will be a checking copy. With the Internet, it will be web analytics. No proof of performance – no pay bill. It’s that simple.