A media plan is not ready because an agency has access to inventory. A buyer first needs to know whether the product and target market are eligible, who controls the advertising account, how inventory is sourced, which costs are marked up and what evidence will reconcile spend with outcomes.
Use six audit areas: eligibility, ownership, economics, inventory, measurement and handover. A weakness in any one can make performance reporting impossible to trust.
1. Confirm eligibility before planning spend
Crypto advertising rules vary by product, platform and country. Google permits some cryptocurrency products with or without certification while prohibiting others, including specified ICO and DeFi promotions. X also applies product, country, licensing and certification restrictions.
Ask the agency to record:
- exact legal entity and product being advertised;
- destination URL and user action;
- target countries;
- applicable license or registration;
- platform category and certification requirement;
- source URL and verification date;
- account owner and appeal responsibility.
An agency relationship does not transfer regulatory eligibility to the client. Platform approval is not guaranteed.
2. Verify account and data ownership
The audit should identify the owner and administrator for every ad account, business manager, pixel, tag, conversion event, audience, product feed, billing profile and analytics property.
Prefer access that the client can inspect and retain. If a reseller or managed seat must be used, document what the client can export, how balances are reconciled and what happens when the relationship ends.
Test access before spend begins. A screenshot is not proof that the buyer can audit or recover the account.
3. Map how inventory is purchased
Classify each line as direct platform, publisher direct, network, programmatic exchange, reseller or managed inventory. Record the placement controls, geography, format, pricing unit, reporting source and exclusions.
Ask whether the agency can show placement-level evidence where applicable. If it cannot, the proposal should state that limit before budget approval.
Do not treat a publisher logo or app category as proof of the exact placement, audience or quality delivered.
4. Reconcile the economics
| Item |
Required disclosure |
| Agency fee |
Basis, amount, included work and change rule |
| Media spend |
Gross and net treatment, currency, taxes and payment timing |
| Markup |
Percentage or amount and the cost base it applies to |
| Rebate or incentive |
Recipient, calculation and treatment |
| Technology/data |
Named vendor, fee and ownership |
| Credit and balance |
Liability, unused funds and refund process |
| Third parties |
Identity, role, approval and markup |
The goal is not to prohibit legitimate fees. It is to make the relationship auditable.
5. Test the measurement chain
Before launch, verify event definitions, consent, attribution windows, UTMs, wallet or product events where appropriate, deduplication and source-of-truth reporting.
Record which metrics come from the platform, analytics, backend, CRM or a model. Define invalid traffic, fraud review and discrepancy thresholds. A platform conversion and a verified customer action are not automatically the same unit.
Use a reconciliation table that connects invoice, platform spend, delivery, observed site action and qualified outcome. Keep unattributed and unknown activity visible.
6. Plan suspension and handover
Crypto accounts can face review or suspension. Define who monitors policy changes, holds supporting documents, files appeals and informs stakeholders. Do not promise reinstatement.
The exit pack should contain account access, campaign history, creative sources, audiences where transferable, tracking documentation, vendor contracts, invoices, balance records and an open-issues log.
The 25-point audit
Score each item 0 for absent, 1 for partial and 2 for verified. Use five checks in each area: eligibility, ownership, economics, inventory, measurement and handover. Because that creates 60 possible points, normalize the result to 25 only for internal comparison:
Verified points ÷ 60 × 25
Do not hide a zero in eligibility or ownership inside a high total. Treat those as stop conditions.
What Crynet can help decide
Crynet can review the eligibility, account structure, inventory model, measurement and commercial controls around a crypto paid advertising and media-buying plan.
Send the product category, legal entity, target countries, platforms, current account status and measurement setup. We can identify blockers and questions before spend is transferred.
Sources and limitations
Platform policies and country availability change. Recheck official rules for the exact product, entity, destination and market before launch. This audit does not provide legal advice or guarantee certification, approval, delivery or performance.
