What Do Fast Food Drive-Thrus & Media Orders Have in Common?

"In 2017, $136,302.18 worth of discrepancies were returned to our clients!"

  Have you ever been through the drive-thru at a fast food restaurant, and then realized after driving away that the food you were given was not what you ordered? It’s frustrating, isn’t it? Unfortunately, similar situations happen all of the time in the media word. Of course not with fast food, but with the orders that were strategically placed by the media buyer. Mudd Advertising’s media buyers work hard to place spots on the best stations, networks, and dayparts that will reach the desired audience at the right time. If a client doesn’t get exactly what he ordered and paid for, it’s incredibly frustrating, just like it’s frustrating to get hard-shell tacos with lettuce when you ordered soft-shell tacos with no lettuce.

The Importance of Reconciliation

This is when reconciliation comes in to play. Mudd Advertising’s traditional media department offers their full-service clients a complimentary service called reconciliation. Our employees go line-by-line through the media invoices to compare every single spot to the order. We check that the spot ran in the correct daypart and on the correct day. We also check that the correct traffic ran, the spot ran on the right network, and the spot met the correct separation time. For example, say we ordered a radio spot to run between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., but the spot ran at 10:30 a.m. This is not what we ordered, so why should we pay for this spot?  When our team finds these discrepancies, they put together a summary report, and the media buyer sends it over to the station representative to have a discussion about why we didn’t receive what we ordered. At this point, the station representative can either agree to the credit or propose a makegood offer that is twice the value of the discrepancy. If the discrepancy/makegood is large, we give the client the opportunity to choose between the credit or the makegood. Once the invoices are processed by the accounting department, the credit will be returned to the client. In 2017, $136,302.18 worth of discrepancies were returned to our clients! That is a lot of discrepancies that would have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for our reconciliation process. With Mudd Advertising, clients can trust that we look out for their best interests and hold stations to a high standard of delivering exactly what was ordered. Our media team puts a strategic media recommendation together, places the order, and then reconciles the invoices to ensure this happens. Mudd Advertising values transparency and will return that money directly back to our clients. Don’t get yourself into a fast food drive-thru situation. Let Mudd Advertising ensure you receive exactly what you ordered; otherwise, we will make sure your money ends up back in your pocket!