What Brands Should Expect from their Agency’s Paid Media Performance Reporting
- Jacob Bennett
- Reading time: 6 minutes
Regular performance reports are one of the simplest outputs an agency produces. And one of the easiest to get wrong. The issue usually starts with mismatched expectations. Brands often want clarity, momentum and early warning signs. Agencies sometimes provide a data dump, a highlights reel, or a soft narrative that leaves you guessing.
In our opinion, a good performance report should help you make better decisions. It’s not a strategic reset, it’s not a QBR, and it shouldn’t trigger dramatic shifts in direction. Its job is to show whether performance is on track, why it’s happening, and what happens next.
If your agency isn’t delivering that, here’s what you should be asking for.
A strong regular performance report is simple, consistent and aligned with your expectations. You should be asking your agency:
Are we reporting on the right KPIs?
Make sure the focus is on the metrics that actually matter to your business stage, not whatever the platform dashboard happens to surface.
What are we comparing results against?
A forecast, even a loose one, anchors the conversation. Insist on it. Without a benchmark, you can’t tell if trends are good, bad, or simply noise. In situations where forecasts are not available, anchor to past results. Are you improving MoM, QoQ, YoY? Is continued growth occurring?
How will the report be delivered?
A good report does not always require an over engineered deck. Some of our healthiest relationships report around continued google sheets & word docs that are added upon each week. It’s not the prettiest but gives clear linear actions, references and data. Pick a format that matches how your team best absorbs information. Hold your agency to it.
Who is presenting it, and to whom?
You should know exactly who’s walking you through your performance and that the seniority matches the complexity. If the audience changes, the depth should too.
If your agency can’t get these foundations right, the rest of the reporting process will always feel messy.
A useful regular report tells you what happened, whether it’s good or bad, and why it happened. Expect your agency to answer:
What happened?
Clear, factual statements. No padding.
Is it good or bad?
Compared to target? Compared to last month? Compared to forecast? This is where real interpretation starts.
What drove it?
This is where you learn whether your budget, creative, audiences, or market conditions are actually working for you.
Charts should be simple and purposeful. If your agency includes visuals they can’t explain (or didn’t reference in the meeting) push back. It’s your time they’re wasting.
A regular performance report without actions is just a recap. Expect your agency to present:
It’s also occasionally perfectly reasonable for an action to be no action. If the agency has been heavy handed on the accounts the previous week, it’s often recommended to give some breathing room. Although this should not happen every call.
The best agencies don’t wait for trouble, they flag it early.
Ask them to highlight:
Your agency should close each report with:
Finally, hold them to airtight accountability. If actions aren’t owned, tracked and followed through, the reporting process collapses.
Regular performance reports shouldn’t be complicated, performative or bloated. They should give you clarity, protect your spend, and help you spot issues early, long before they hit your monthly or quarterly numbers.
If your agency isn’t providing that, ask for it. If they can’t provide it, question why.
In our opinion, a good performance report should help you make better decisions. It’s not a strategic reset, it’s not a QBR, and it shouldn’t trigger dramatic shifts in direction. Its job is to show whether performance is on track, why it’s happening, and what happens next.
If your agency isn’t delivering that, here’s what you should be asking for.
1. Start With the Basics
A strong regular performance report is simple, consistent and aligned with your expectations. You should be asking your agency:
Are we reporting on the right KPIs?
Make sure the focus is on the metrics that actually matter to your business stage, not whatever the platform dashboard happens to surface.
What are we comparing results against?
A forecast, even a loose one, anchors the conversation. Insist on it. Without a benchmark, you can’t tell if trends are good, bad, or simply noise. In situations where forecasts are not available, anchor to past results. Are you improving MoM, QoQ, YoY? Is continued growth occurring?
How will the report be delivered?
A good report does not always require an over engineered deck. Some of our healthiest relationships report around continued google sheets & word docs that are added upon each week. It’s not the prettiest but gives clear linear actions, references and data. Pick a format that matches how your team best absorbs information. Hold your agency to it.
Who is presenting it, and to whom?
You should know exactly who’s walking you through your performance and that the seniority matches the complexity. If the audience changes, the depth should too.
If your agency can’t get these foundations right, the rest of the reporting process will always feel messy.
2. Demand Context, Not Just Charts
A useful regular report tells you what happened, whether it’s good or bad, and why it happened. Expect your agency to answer:
What happened?
Clear, factual statements. No padding.
Is it good or bad?
Compared to target? Compared to last month? Compared to forecast? This is where real interpretation starts.
What drove it?
This is where you learn whether your budget, creative, audiences, or market conditions are actually working for you.
Charts should be simple and purposeful. If your agency includes visuals they can’t explain (or didn’t reference in the meeting) push back. It’s your time they’re wasting.
3. Ask for Clear, Actionable Next Steps
A regular performance report without actions is just a recap. Expect your agency to present:
- Tactical, achievable actions
- All tied to the next 7–10 days
- With named owners
- With deadlines
It’s also occasionally perfectly reasonable for an action to be no action. If the agency has been heavy handed on the accounts the previous week, it’s often recommended to give some breathing room. Although this should not happen every call.
4. Insist on Early Warning Signs & Opportunities
The best agencies don’t wait for trouble, they flag it early.
Ask them to highlight:
- Unusual shifts
- Spikes or drops in cost
- Sudden fatigue in creative
- Strong pockets of performance worth scaling
- Anything that ‘feels off’
5. Expect a Clean Wrap and Space to Talk
Your agency should close each report with:
- Summarised takeaways
- The confirmed actions and owners
- Any risks or opportunities
- A brief recap so nothing gets lost
Finally, hold them to airtight accountability. If actions aren’t owned, tracked and followed through, the reporting process collapses.
Final Thought
Regular performance reports shouldn’t be complicated, performative or bloated. They should give you clarity, protect your spend, and help you spot issues early, long before they hit your monthly or quarterly numbers.
If your agency isn’t providing that, ask for it. If they can’t provide it, question why.
