The TV Network has updated your bought National TV campaign in Holdings but the total gross spend does not match what you booked. Your TV rep is in a meeting so what initial steps could you take to narrow down where this issue is?

The TV Network has updated your bought National TV campaign in Holdings but the total gross spend does not match what you booked. Your TV rep is in a meeting so what initial steps could you take to narrow down where this issue is?

• A. If you are buying ratios of different length TVC, you could review if the % split are as booked.
• B. You could compare each market total with holdings market total to highlight which market has an issue.
• C. It is possible that you are looking at Net costs, instead of gross costs.
• D. None of the above.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is to quickly localize the discrepancy by checking market-level totals against the Holdings totals. By comparing the total gross spend for each market with the corresponding holdings market total, you can identify exactly which market is off. Once you know the specific market that doesn’t align, you can drill into that market’s data (and later into the campaign components) to determine whether the issue is due to timing, entry errors, or cost basis. Why this is the best first move: it narrows the scope from the entire national campaign to a single market (or a small set of markets), making it practical to investigate with the limited access you have when the TV rep is unavailable. The other options touch on potential subtleties (like length-based splits or net vs gross costs), but they don’t quickly pinpoint where the issue originates across markets, which is the most efficient first step.

The key idea is to quickly localize the discrepancy by checking market-level totals against the Holdings totals. By comparing the total gross spend for each market with the corresponding holdings market total, you can identify exactly which market is off. Once you know the specific market that doesn’t align, you can drill into that market’s data (and later into the campaign components) to determine whether the issue is due to timing, entry errors, or cost basis.

Why this is the best first move: it narrows the scope from the entire national campaign to a single market (or a small set of markets), making it practical to investigate with the limited access you have when the TV rep is unavailable. The other options touch on potential subtleties (like length-based splits or net vs gross costs), but they don’t quickly pinpoint where the issue originates across markets, which is the most efficient first step.