Creator Payouts

Podcast advertising has evolved greatly over the years and ad verification has increasingly become a top priority for advertisers and publishers alike. More recently, advertisers have increased their use of Ad Verification technology to ensure their media partners are delivering against agreed expectations.

As a process, Ad Verification involves several steps to confirm if an ad delivered what was contracted between the ad buyer and ad seller. Here are a few common reasons an ad will be flagged negatively:

• The ad is located in the wrong ad position
• The ad was delivered by the incorrect method
• The ad was the incorrect length
• The ad did not hit all the required language and talking points in the ad brief
• The ad did not earn the total impressions within the right amount of time
• Third-party tracking pixels were not attached properly to the ad server to accurately track full delivery

Whenever Gumball or an advertiser is alerted that an ad campaign did not deliver what was contracted, our sales team will work with the creator and the brand to identify the best course of action that retains a positive relationship with the brand and keeps the ad revenue previously sold.

Should an ad under-deliver, as verified by Gumshoe data, there are a few potential outcomes moving forward:

1. The brand may not require any rectifying course of action and the creator will be paid the full rate;
2. The brand may require a makegood in order to retain the full payout for the ad in question; or
3. The brand may opt to pay a pro-rated amount based on actual delivery, which Gumball will then pay a proportionally reduced payout accordingly. For example, if an ad only delivers 65% of the total impressions, the creator will receive 65% of the total Net Revenue for that ad campaign paid for by the advertiser.

All creators on Gumball should pay close attention to the ad brief page in Gumball which will outline the Ad Requirement and Talking Points for each ad. It’s also important to regularly confirm your impression targets are listed accurately to ensure full and timely delivery for every ad sold on Gumball. If you notice an ad is pacing under, we encourage you to reach out to help@gumball.fm and we will work with you to find the best solution.

A makegood is an ad spot to compensate for a purchased spot that failed to meet contractual requirements. It can be one ad spot or several, depending on the severity of the issue(s). Gumball thoroughly reviews all makegood requests to confirm the request is warranted. In the event it is, we will communicate to you what when wrong, how to correct it, and confirm when the scheduled makegood will run.

Payment will not be disbursed on ads that do not meet the contractual requirements until the makegood is aired, following our standard payment terms.

Creators who consistently require makegoods tend to build a negative reputation among buyers, so it’s critical to get your ad reads right and become known to buyers as a reliable partner.

Here are some of the most common reasons our team receives for makegood requests:

• Mispronouncing the brand’s name, product(s), or keywords
• Not reading the minimum number of required talking points
• Not including personal experience or a personal endorsement when specified in the Creator Brief
• Not placing the ad in the contracted spot (pre-roll or mid-rolll) as specified in the Creator Brief
• Not meeting the minimum ad duration (most spots are 60 seconds long)
• Not reading ad copy verbatim that’s highlighted as mandatory
• Saying the incorrect Call to Action
• Saying the incorrect Promo Code and/or Vanity URL
• [Video] Brand URL is not clickable in the comments section or description of a video
• [Video] Host is not onscreen during the video integration

To avoid receiving makegood requests, please review the following articles:

• How to Read Ad Copy
• Tips for Recording A Successful Ad
• Do These 10 Things Before Your Ad Goes Live

Have any questions? Feel free to reach out to our team at help@gumball.fm.

Payments

The payments page is where you can track payments for each of your ads and get clarity as to which ads Gumball is waiting to collect on.

Unaired: Booked ads that haven't aired yet.

Waiting On Advertiser: We are waiting on the advertiser to deliver payment.

Paid/ Paid Out [Date]: Ads that have been paid out to you, with payment date specification.