Supply Chain
Part of AdTech data architecture
Mapping campaign data across advertising systems
Build a campaign-to-platform map using native IDs, dated relationships and report grain, then resolve uncertain joins.
Map campaign data by identifying each system's native objects and recording how they relate to one business campaign. Use IDs, account or network ownership and effective dates. A matching campaign name is a clue to investigate, not a reliable join key.
Inventory the objects
Begin with the campaign reference your organisation uses, then list the buying and publisher objects that execute or report on it. Display & Video 360 line items carry advertiser, campaign and insertion-order IDs. In Google Ad Manager, orders contain line items and ad units represent inventory. A buying insertion order does not automatically correspond to a publisher order.
| Record | Details to capture | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Business campaign | Internal reference and owner | What work should the combined report describe? |
| Buying object | Platform, advertiser, campaign, insertion order and line item IDs where available | Which objects bought media for that work? |
| Publisher object | Network, order, line item and relevant ad unit IDs where available | Which booked objects and inventory relate to it? |
| Report row | Source, period, dimensions and metric | What does one reported value cover? |
Record dated relationships
Keep each native ID in its platform and account namespace. A bridge record can then state the business campaign, native object, relationship type, effective dates and approving owner. Allow one campaign to use several line items. Do not force a publisher line item to match one buying line item simply because the names resemble each other.
Names can change. Keep the native ID when a label is edited. If an object begins serving different work, close the earlier relationship and record the new one. Preserve the history needed to interpret reports from the earlier period.
Check the report grain before joining
Describe one row in each extract. A daily buyer total by line item cannot be joined directly to individual publisher events without repeating the daily value. Aggregate events to a comparable level first, where their populations and metric definitions permit it.
Align the date range, time zone, currency where relevant, filters and counting stage. A buyer's impression total is not automatically equivalent to any one of those files. Keep measures separate until the definitions support a comparison.
Key Metrics for Cross-Platform Campaign Reporting
- Currency
- AUD (with GST included where applicable)
- Counting Stage
- Post-filters and pre-deduplication for consistency
- Metric Consistency
- Impressions, clicks, conversions must have aligned definitions
Resolve exceptions
Classify source IDs as mapped, deliberately outside scope or unresolved. Review missing namespaces, activity outside a relationship's dates, source IDs absent from the bridge and conflicting campaign assignments for the same object and period. Obtain an approved relationship from the campaign or platform owner rather than assigning an unmatched row by name.
For each source row, check that its native ID resolves to an approved campaign relationship whose effective dates cover the row date; flag missing or conflicting matches.
