Your current paid media snapshot

• Briefly describe which paid channels you run today and which receive the largest monthly spend Options: Search, Social, Programmatic DSPs, Marketplace ads, Connected TV, Other
• Approximate total monthly paid media budget across all channels Options: Under $50k, $50k–$200k, $200k–$500k, $500k–$1M, Over $1M
• Who is your primary internal owner for acquisition performance and who signs off on material budget shifts Options: Director of Paid Media, VP/Head of Growth, Head of Marketing, CRO/CMO, Shared committee, Other
• Share the main conversion events you optimize to (for example: purchase, trial signup, demo request) and which one finance treats as the primary revenue trigger Options: Purchase, Subscription start, Free trial start, Lead form/demo request, Other
• How do you currently connect ad spend to revenue and customer lifetime value in your reporting Options: Direct CRM match, Modeled attribution, Third party attribution tool, Platform reports only, Hybrid approach, We do not tie to revenue reliably

Where performance is falling short

• Which recent performance trend convinced you to look outside your current setup Options: Rising CPA, Flattening ROAS, Channel saturation, Measurement drift, Poor creative performance, Other
• Give an example of a campaign or channel where CPA or ROAS degraded unexpectedly, and walk me through the last time you tried to diagnose it
• How much of the performance gap do you think stems from creative versus audience and bidding versus measurement issues Options: Mostly creative, Mostly audience targeting, Mostly bidding strategy, Mostly measurement/attribution, Even mix, Unsure
• When performance slipped, who on your team felt the impact first and what immediate decisions followed
• What single failure in a discovery or pilot would cause you to pause selecting a new partner Options: Lack of access to accounts, No named working team, Unproven comparable case studies, Inflexible fee structure, Poor data hygiene found in audit, Other

How you test and learn today

• If your current testing program were summarized for the CFO, what blind spot would be most worrying
• Describe the last three experiments you ran, the hypothesis for each, and which one changed your strategy
• Which statistical rules or minimum sample requirements do you require before scaling a winning creative or audience Options: P value threshold, Minimum conversion count, Lift over control, Time-bound window, No formal rule
• How often do you put tests on hold because attribution or reporting gaps make results ambiguous Options: Regularly, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
• Would your team authorize a controlled pilot that requires platform admin access and a 10 to 20 percent test budget reallocation for four weeks Options: Yes, Maybe with stakeholder approval, Not without additional safeguards, No

What success must look like to win internal approval

• Which financial or reporting outcome would make your finance team say yes without further negotiation Options: Target CPA met, Target ROAS met, Improved CAC payback, Clear uplift in revenue vs baseline, Better visibility into funnel
• List the primary KPIs you will use to evaluate a managed media engagement and the target value for each Options: CPA, ROAS, CAC payback period, Conversion rate, Revenue per visitor, Other
• How often does leadership expect consolidated cross-channel reporting and what level of detail is required Options: Daily with channel-level detail, Weekly aggregated, Monthly executive summary, Quarterly review only
• What governance or evidence must exist to attach fees to performance triggers, for example data audit, reconciled attribution, or reserved holdbacks Options: Reconciled CRM match, Third-party audit, Platform native metrics only, Legal-approved SOW clause, Other
• If a pilot achieves the agreed CPA and ROAS within the test window, who can sign the commercial agreement and what is their approval timeline

Risks we should know before we commit

• What broken process or data gap has blocked previous vendor engagements or pilots
• Describe any recent landing page, checkout, or pricing changes that were not coordinated with media and what happened after
• Which internal teams must approve creative, offers, or landing page changes and what is the typical approval lead time Options: Product, Engineering, Legal/Compliance, Brand/Creative, Revenue/Finance
• Are there contractual or regulatory limits that would restrict bidding, targeting, or sharing performance data Options: Yes - legal constraints, Yes - platform contract limits, Yes - data privacy rules, No known restrictions, Unsure
• Is there any regulatory, contractual, or security constraint that would prevent us from receiving platform admin access or linking CRM data Options: Access can be granted, Access requires legal review, Access is restricted and may not be granted, Unsure

Other options you are weighing

• Who else is on your shortlist and what specifically about them appeals to you
• Is your incumbent still running day to day media or primarily providing reporting and oversight since renewal Options: Fully running media, Mostly reporting and oversight, No longer engaged, We manage internally now
• Has anyone on your team proposed solving this internally and what additional headcount or skills would that require Options: Yes - hire paid media specialist(s), Yes - reallocate current staff, No - not proposed, Undecided
• Which fee models are you actively evaluating, for example fixed retainer, percent of spend, or performance fees Options: Fixed retainer, Percent of ad spend, Performance fee, Hybrid model, One-time implementation fee
• What would have to be true about the incumbent or an internal solution for you to decide not to switch vendors Options: Clear improvement in CPA/ROAS, Named senior working team assigned, Faster reporting cadence, Lower total cost of ownership, Other

Operational readiness and constraints

• Do you have a named administrator who can grant platform access and a technical lead who owns tracking and tags Options: Yes - both named, Admin only, Technical lead only, No, not yet
• Which systems must integrate for attribution and reporting and who currently owns those connections Options: CRM, Data warehouse, Analytics platform, Order system, None of the above
• Is server side or client side tracking available for your site and do you permit third party pixels or events Options: Server side available, Client side only, Both available, Third party pixels not allowed, Unsure
• What level of historical data can you provide for lookback windows and is that data consistently formatted and accessible Options: Full history with clean formatting, Partial history with some gaps, Only last 90 days, No historical data readily available
• If an integration required two to four weeks of engineering work, do you have the bandwidth and priority to commit that time within our kickoff window Options: Yes - committed, Yes with executive signoff, Not likely in current quarter, No

Decision timing and next steps

• Assuming we hit agreed pilot targets, what would make your team ready to sign within seven days Options: Budget committed, Legal terms pre-approved, Executive endorsement, No outstanding dependencies, Other
• Name your ideal kickoff week and the latest acceptable start that still meets your quarterly goals
• Who must approve the commercial terms and who is the ultimate signer for this engagement Options: VP/Head of Growth, CFO/Finance, CMO/Marketing, Procurement, Other
• Are there required procurement, legal, or security certificates or clauses that must be attached before a purchase order can be issued Options: Standard SOW and PO, Security review required, Data processing agreement required, Procurement terms negotiated, None
• If we proposed a 90 day pilot with clear success gates and a fixed test budget, would your team commit the budget and exec time now Options: Yes - ready to commit, Yes with minor clarifications, Need internal approval, No

• Solution Experience Session

• Confirm the current state and its cost to your team
• You confirm the stated current state and the quantified cost to acquisition budgets and forecast accuracy.
• Run the sample forecast and detailed 4–8 week experiment plan on the provided account and deliver the KPI projection before the follow-up session.
• You confirm that the demonstrated operational changes and experiment plan will materially reduce CPA and improve ROAS in your account context.
• Map daily operations to your CPA and ROAS goals using your account
• Provide admin-level access or a reporting snapshot for the last 90 days across platforms and your CRM attribution exports.
• Confirm your target CPA and ROAS ranges and the decision timeline so the experiment plan aligns to your acceptance criteria.
• You confirm that the reporting example ties ad activity to CRM-attributed outcomes in a way that would support your CFO-level scrutiny.
• Show the testing methodology applied to your recent traffic and creatives
• Demonstrate reporting that ties spend to CRM-attributed outcomes
• You agree on the remaining evidence and immediate next steps needed before a commercial decision.
• List the decision committee members and their evaluation criteria for commercial approval.
• Confirm team alignment and performance-fee trigger mechanics
• Validate the solution against your needs

• Solution Experience Session
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief — Managed Media Operations & Testing

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Campaign setup and launch across channels
• Daily bid and budget optimization
• Creative variant testing and rotation
• Audience segmentation and targeting management
• Cross-channel budget reallocation and pacing
• Conversion tracking and tag implementation
• Integrate ads reporting with CRM and dashboards
• Automated bidding rules and script deployment
• Retargeting and funnel audience activation
• Scale winning campaigns and creative variants
• Programmatic deal and inventory management
• Weekly performance reporting tied to CAC and ROAS

Campaign setup and launch across channels

• Which channels should be included in the initial launch (search, social, programmatic, marketplace)? Options: Search, Social, Programmatic, Marketplace, All of the above
• Do you have admin access and account IDs available for the selected ad accounts? Options: Yes, all accounts, Partial access available, No, access must be provisioned
• What is your primary acquisition cost target or ROAS threshold for the launch? Options: Target CPA under $25, Target CPA $25-100, Target CPA over $100, ROAS target 2x-3x, ROAS target 3x+
• How many campaigns and ad group/ad set structures do you expect to deploy per channel in the first 30 days? Options: 1-5, 6-15, 16-30, 30+
• Which landing page URLs and funnel entry pages will be used for the initial creative sets?
• What acceptance criteria will confirm a successful campaign launch in your ad accounts (examples: tag firing, impressions, first conversions within 48 hours)?

Daily bid and budget optimization

• Which daily spend governance model do you prefer for testing and optimization? Options: Manual daily caps, Automated pacing toward monthly target, Hybrid (manual for some channels)
• Do you maintain hard daily or monthly spend ceilings per channel that we must respect? Options: Yes - provide ceilings, No hard ceilings, Flexible with prior notice
• What ROAS or CPA threshold should trigger an automated pause or scale action for a campaign? Options: Pause if CPA > 20% above target, Scale if ROAS > 20% above target, Use custom rule
• Who on your side must approve daily budget changes above an escalation threshold? Options: You (the buyer), Finance approver, No approval required for day-to-day, Other
• How should daily optimization decisions be documented (naming convention, shared sheet, platform notes)? Options: Versioned naming convention, Shared optimization spreadsheet, Platform change history only, Combination
• Describe any channels or campaigns where automated bidding or script-driven changes are prohibited in your compliance or procurement rules.

Creative variant testing and rotation

• How many creative variants per ad group or test cell do you want active during the initial test window? Options: 2, 3-5, 6+
• Which creative assets will you supply and which asset types do you need us to produce (image sizes, video lengths, headlines, product feeds)? Options: You supply all assets, We produce variants, Mixed responsibility
• What testing cadence should we follow for creative rotation (example anchors: rotate every 3 days, run until 200 conversions)? Options: Rotate every 3 days, Rotate based on conversion count, Rotate on weekly cadence, Custom
• Which conversion event will determine creative winners for this campaign (purchase event name, lead form completion event, trial start event)? Options: Purchase, Lead form completion, Trial start, Custom event
• Do you have an existing creative naming or versioning convention we must follow for test traceability? Options: Yes - provide convention, No - we will use a standard naming
• If you require control groups, what percentage of traffic should be held out for control creative variants? Options: 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%

Audience segmentation and targeting management

• Which audience sources will you provide for targeting (CRM lists, first-party event lists, pixel audiences)? Options: CRM lists, First-party event lists, Pixel/tag audiences, None provided
• What lookback windows should we use for retargeting segments (7 days, 30 days, 90 days) for product viewers and cart abandoners? Options: 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days
• Do you maintain customer suppression lists or do-not-contact segments that must be excluded from targeting? Options: Yes - we will provide lists, No suppression lists, Limited suppression by SKU or region
• How granular should audience tiers be (examples: broad prospecting, mid-funnel engagers, high-intent returners)? Provide sample audience names or IDs if available.
• Are there privacy or regional constraints on using hashed CRM lists or event-level data for targeting that we must enforce? Options: Yes - region-specific constraints apply, No special constraints, Need to confirm with legal
• Who will be responsible for weekly audience hygiene and list refreshes (we handle, you handle, shared responsibility)? Options: You handle, We handle, Shared responsibility

Cross-channel budget reallocation and pacing

• What performance governance threshold should trigger a cross-channel reallocation (example: channel CPA 15% above target, weekly spend variance)? Options: CPA variance threshold, ROAS variance threshold, Spend variance threshold, Custom rule
• How often should cross-channel pacing reviews occur (daily, weekly, biweekly)? Options: Daily, Weekly, Biweekly
• Do you require minimum spend floors per channel during reallocation to preserve market presence? Options: Yes - provide floors, No minimum floors, Flexible with notice
• Which KPIs should govern reallocation decisions (CPA by channel, ROAS by campaign, incremental conversions from experiments)? Options: CPA by channel, ROAS by campaign, Incremental lift from experiments, Other
• Will finance or another internal stakeholder require approval for reallocations above a dollar limit? Options: Yes - approvals required, No approvals required, Only for monthly budget changes
• List any channels or campaigns that are off-limits for reallocations without prior notice and why (brand, contractual, or strategic reasons).

Conversion tracking and tag implementation

• Which conversion events must be tracked server-side versus client-side (examples: purchase value server-side, add-to-cart client-side)? Options: Purchase server-side, Add-to-cart client-side, Lead client-side, Custom mapping
• Do you use a tag manager or single container for all conversion tags and pixels? Options: Yes - single tag manager, Multiple tag containers, No tag manager in place
• Provide the conversion event names or CRM event mappings we should use to reconcile ad platform events to your order data.
• What defines acceptable tracking accuracy between platform-reported conversions and your CRM (maximum allowable discrepancy percentage)? Options: <5%, 5-10%, 10-20%, Other
• Who will provide access to site header/footer or the tag manager to deploy client and server tags (your developer, internal ops, we deploy with credentials)? Options: Your developer, Internal ops, We will deploy with provided credentials
• Are there existing server-to-server endpoints or postback URLs that must be used for conversion attribution rather than new endpoints? Options: Yes - provide endpoints, No - new endpoints permitted, Need to confirm

Integrate ads reporting with CRM and dashboards

• Which CRM object will serve as the primary join key for ad-level reporting (contact, lead, opportunity, order)? Options: Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Order, Custom object
• What reporting cadence and latency do you require for the dashboard feed (hourly aggregates, daily sync, weekly refresh)? Options: Hourly aggregates, Daily sync, Weekly refresh
• Do you require revenue-level attribution mapped to purchase events or an LTV model to be applied in the dashboard? Options: Revenue at purchase event level, LTV model required, No revenue mapping required
• What evidence will validate that the reporting integration is correct (example: sample order-level join with matching transaction IDs and timestamps)?
• Which delivery endpoints should receive the reporting feed (internal BI endpoint, shared dashboard link, scheduled CSV export)? Options: Internal BI endpoint, Shared dashboard link, Scheduled CSV export
• What attribution windows and field-level transformations must be applied in the reporting layer (examples: 7-day click, 1-day view, currency conversion)?

Automated bidding rules and script deployment

• Which bidding automation categories are acceptable for you (platform automated bidding, custom rules, external scripts)? Options: Platform automated bidding, Custom rules, External scripts
• Do you permit deployment of scripts or automation that require API credentials to your ad accounts? Options: Yes with credential process, No scripts requiring credentials, Conditional approval
• Specify any maximum bid, CPA, or ROAS floors that automated rules must enforce.
• How should scripts and rule versions be named and documented for auditability (versioned name, changelog in shared doc, ticket reference)? Options: Versioned naming, Changelog in shared doc, Ticket-based audit
• Will you require a pre-deployment testing window for scripts in a sandbox or a live small-budget test before full rollout? Options: Sandbox test required, Live small-budget test, No test required
• Who is authorized on your side to approve running scripts that change bids or budgets in bulk? Options: You (the buyer), Designated approver, No approval needed

Retargeting and funnel audience activation

• Which funnel stages should be targeted with retargeting (product viewers, cart abandoners, past purchasers)? Options: Product viewers, Cart abandoners, Past purchasers, Site engagers
• What exclusion windows should apply for past purchasers before retargeting resumes (7 days, 30 days, 90 days)? Options: 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, Custom
• Do you want sequential creative messaging by funnel stage and can you provide creative buckets for each stage? Options: Yes - will provide buckets, No sequential messaging, We need help defining buckets
• What maximum frequency cap should apply to retargeting audiences per user per week? Options: No cap, 1-5 impressions/week, 6-10 impressions/week, 11+ impressions/week
• Are there specific high-value SKUs or product IDs that should be prioritized for dynamic creative retargeting?
• Should CRM-based suppression lists be used to exclude loyalty or VIP customers during retargeting? Options: Yes - provide lists, No suppression for loyalty, Conditional suppression

Scale winning campaigns and creative variants

• What scaling rule should apply when a campaign meets performance thresholds (example: percent daily budget increase or replicate to new geos)? Options: 10% daily increase, 20% daily increase, Replicate to new geos instead of scaling budget
• Do you prefer gradual scaling or aggressive scaling once a variant proves profitable? Options: Gradual (10-20% daily), Aggressive (30%+ daily), Prefer cloning into new campaigns
• Which markets or geographies should be prioritized when scaling winning campaigns?
• When scaling, should we preserve the original campaign structure or create new scaled clones for control? Options: Preserve original, Create clones, Hybrid approach
• What metric decline or creative fatigue threshold should trigger a pause or creative refresh during scaling (example: CTR drop of X% or conversion rate decline)?
• Who will approve budget increases for scaled campaigns above any monthly caps? Options: You (the buyer), Finance approver, No approval required

• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Order Form (Fees & Billing)
• Performance Fee Addendum
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Platform & Data Access Authorization
• Key Personnel & Service Team Confirmation
• Transition & Offboarding Addendum

• Go-live Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Measurement Review (weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance Gate Review (around day 90)
• Quarterly Success Review

• Publish the quarter's experiment summary with implemented changes and measured impact to the shared workspace.
• Implement agreed campaign or tracking adjustments and report completion in the shared channel by the agreed dates.
• Run prioritized experiments to address identified root causes and publish interim results before the Acceptance Gate.
• Update the KPI dashboard to surface CPA, ROAS, and experiment win rate for the Acceptance Gate review.
• Publish the acceptance decision and the supporting evidence package to the shared workspace.
• Restate acceptance criteria from Solution Scope
• Produce a documented pass or fail for each acceptance criterion recorded in Solution Scope.
• Ensure incumbent decommissioning or retained-read-only status is confirmed if applicable, preventing dual-running systems.
• Agree remediation items for any failed criteria with clear resolution dates and evidence requirements.
• Execute the agreed remediation tasks for any failed criteria and schedule re-evaluation as documented.
• If incumbent is decommissioned, archive historical access and confirm the team has stopped using the old system.
• Quarterly KPI trend review
• Confirm whether quarterly CPA and ROAS meet the sustainability thresholds recorded in Solution Scope.
• Ensure experiment learnings have been implemented at the agreed rate and that their impact is tracked.
• Prioritize and create a delivery plan for the top open issues and enhancement requests for the next quarter.
• Implement the top-priority enhancements from the backlog and report progress in the shared channel by the agreed dates.
• Close or reclassify low-value open tickets and update the backlog with owner and target completion date.
• Re-confirm success criteria and named owners
• All production tracking and access checks are confirmed or have a remediation plan with dates.
• Named owner assigned for each success criterion recorded in Solution Scope.
• A single shared channel for issues and enhancement requests is agreed and documented.
• Publish a go-live health report documenting any open issues, owners, and remediation dates.
• Remediate critical tracking or access failures and confirm fixes in the shared channel.
• Enable access for any outstanding named owners and confirm via a checklist in the shared channel.
• Present CPA and ROAS versus Solution Scope targets
• Determine whether CPA and ROAS are tracking toward the numeric targets recorded in Solution Scope and identify any shortfalls.
• Establish the primary root causes for any KPI gaps and a prioritized list of corrective actions with deadlines.
• Confirm the timeline and criteria for the Acceptance Gate decision at day 90.
• Deployment and tracking validation
• Experiment learnings and implementation status
• Present outcome data for CPA, ROAS, and experiment win rate
• Review experiment early results and test win rate
• Early adoption and usage signals
• Open issue and enhancement backlog review
• Document pass/fail per acceptance criterion
• Root-cause analysis for KPI variance
• Incumbent wind-down confirmation
• Agree corrective actions and timeline
• Open issues and remediation plan
• Operational roles and handoff confirmations
• Confirm shared issue and enhancement channel
• Agree next quarter measurement checkpoints
• Confirm acceptance timeline to the 90-day gate
• Agree remediation items and resolution timeline
• Record the acceptance decision