What to prepare before a channel attribution audit
Exports, owners, and the decision waiting — the three ingredients that keep an audit from stalling in week one.
Teams sometimes book an audit while exports are still locked behind a former agency. That delay costs more than the deposit. Here is the short list we send after a scoping call.
Name the decision
“We need clearer attribution” is not enough. Prefer sentences like “We must decide whether to cut affiliate B before Q4 planning.” The map orients around that choice.
Match the calendar window
MMP partner reports, network spend summaries, and any SKAN summaries should cover the same dates. A week of mismatch creates phantom conflicts.
Assign owners
Someone must answer questions about attribution windows currently configured. Someone else signs off on what may be shared externally. Workshops fail when neither person joins the kickoff.
Optional but helpful
Notes from the last three media reviews — even rough ones — show which arguments repeat. We would rather see messy truth than a polished deck that avoids the fights.
Once those pieces are ready, most audits move. If they are not, a measurement plan review or workshop may be the better first step.