Build a sponsorship rates reporting dashboard your clients trust

What to take away

What decision should the dashboard serve?

Start with the meeting the dashboard has to survive, not with the data you already have. A rate review, a renewal and a mid-campaign delivery check each need different evidence. Write the decision in one sentence and keep it visible above the build.

The wider measurement and reporting guide explains how evidence needs shift across a campaign cycle, which helps you avoid rebuilding the same view twice.

Which measures should you keep on it?

Three to five measures is usually plenty. Beyond that, nobody reads the top line. Pick numbers a client can act on, such as agreed fee per delivered asset or cost per completed view.

Pair every measure with a comparator. A number on its own invites argument. Last campaign, the rate card or a published benchmark all work, provided you say which one you used and why.

How do you build it, step by step?

For market context, IAB UK is the digital advertising trade body that sits between buyers and platforms, and it publishes the UK digital ad spend study with PwC. That is the named source to quote when a client asks where the market backdrop comes from.

How do you keep the figures traceable?

Give every field four labels: definition, source, owner and refresh date. Put them in a header row or a note on the cell, not in someone's memory. A claim you cannot trace is a claim you will withdraw.

Where you lean on audience research, cite a published study by name. Ipsos iris is the online audience measurement service endorsed by UKOM, and Ipsos also publishes the audience and consumer research used in campaign planning, so a named study carries more weight than an internal estimate.

If a campaign includes a prize draw, competition or incentive, read the rules before you report on entries. Section 8 of the CAP Code — the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing — sets out how those mechanics must be run and evidenced, and the ASA enforces it. Keep the promoter's terms, the entry records and the draw evidence in the same file as the dashboard.

When should platform and contract figures sit apart?

Nearly always. Platforms count views, impressions and engagements by their own definitions, and those definitions move. Your contract counts delivered assets, agreed dates and invoiced amounts.

Reconciling the two is the job, not the starting point. Show both columns, then a variance line. A gap between platform reach and contracted reach is a conversation, not an error.

Keep the reconciliation note short. Say what you checked, what you could not check, and who owns the follow-up.

How often should you refresh the numbers?

Match the refresh rate to the decision. A monthly rate review needs a monthly pull, while a quarterly renewal needs a quarterly one.

Where you compare your rates with the wider market, use consistent sourcing. Benchmark research for England campaigns explains how rate comparisons are drawn together, which stops you mixing a platform figure with a sector average. For audience context, the established UK sources are BARB for television, RAJAR for radio and PAMCo for news brands, with Ipsos iris endorsed by UKOM for online. For sponsorship market context, the European Sponsorship Association publishes research across UK and European rights holders.

Log every refresh with a date stamp. If a field failed to update, mark it as stale rather than hiding it.

How do you use the dashboard in a rate negotiation?

A dashboard is a negotiating instrument, not a report. Bring three things to a renewal: the delivered assets against the agreed list, the variance line between platform and contract figures, and the comparator you agreed last time. Then agree in writing which measure will set the next rate and which source will supply it. If a client wants to move the rate on a number your dashboard cannot show, ask for their source and compare definitions before you counter.

Glossary

Common questions

Which tool should I build the dashboard in?

Start with a spreadsheet if the decision is narrow — Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets will carry a rate review — and move to a dashboard tool when several people need the same live view. Google Looker Studio, Microsoft Power BI and Tableau all connect to spreadsheet exports and can hold the two columns and the variance line. The tool matters less than agreed definitions.

Can I rely on platform analytics alone?

No. Platform figures describe activity inside that platform, on that platform's terms. Contract figures describe what you agreed to deliver and what you invoiced. Report both.

How much detail should a client see?

Enough to follow the money and no more. Show the headline measures, the comparators and the variance. Keep the raw pulls in a second tab you can open if asked.

What if the numbers disagree with the client's own figures?

Ask which source they used before you defend yours. Most disagreements come from different definitions rather than different results. Agree the definition, then re-run both sets.