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Marketing risk assessment

Traditional and Broadcast Advertising Risk Assessment: Claims, Media, Data and Brand Controls

A worked example showing how a marketing team finds, scores and controls the risks in planning, producing and buying traditional and broadcast advertising, from misleading claims and account compromise to fraud, privacy and budget error.

Updated November 2026 8 hazards assessed Review every 6 months Highest risk: High to Medium
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Executive summary

This assessment shows how a marketing team can find, rate and control the risks that matter most in traditional and broadcast advertising. Eight risks were chosen because they are plausible in planning, producing and buying paid campaigns. Claims and rights errors, account compromise and privacy breaches score highest before controls because they combine likely causes with serious harm. Each risk is scored before controls and again after existing and additional controls. Most risks fall to Medium or Low once the proposed controls are in place, though claims, privacy and account security stay at Medium because the impact remains serious. The first actions are an evidence file for every claim, multi-factor sign in for all buying accounts, a consent check before audience uploads and a rehearsed pause plan. The business is a teaching example, so every score illustrates method, not a real organization.

Focus area
Traditional and broadcast advertising
Setting
Marketing team running television, radio, print and out-of-home campaigns through an agency, a broadcaster and media vendors
Method
Five by five likelihood and impact risk register

Scope

This assessment covers the planning, creative approval, clearance, media buying, launch and monitoring of paid advertising in traditional and broadcast channels. It covers risks to the brand, legal compliance, personal data, budgets and vendor relationships. It does not cover organic social content, public relations or the legal position in any real market. Jurisdiction, channel mix, budget size and agency arrangements are assumptions made for teaching.

Context

A marketing team of five manages a seasonal campaign with a creative agency, a media buying agency, a broadcaster and a sponsored presenter. Creative is produced in house and by the agency, and airtime is bought through direct contracts and programmatic platforms. Customer data comes from a consent managed customer list and from licensed third party audience lists. Results are reported through tracking links, call tracking and survey data. Each hazard is scored before controls to show its natural level, then again after the existing controls and the additional controls proposed here.

Objectives, assets and stakeholders

The objective is to run advertising that is accurate, lawful, on brand and cost effective, while protecting customer data and vendor relationships. The assets in scope are the creative files, media contracts, budgets, customer consent records, audience lists, tracking data and the brand reputation. Stakeholders include the marketing team, senior leaders, the finance team, the creative and media agencies, the broadcaster, presenters, consumers and regulators. Every risk has one owner role, and the brand manager reports the register to the marketing director each month.

Risk matrix: before and after controls

Each cell shows hazard numbers placed by likelihood and impact. Compare the two grids to see how controls move each hazard.

Before controls

Inherent risk

Risk before controls: rows are likelihood from almost certain to rare, columns are impact from insignificant to catastrophic. Cells list hazard numbers.
1
Insignificant		 2
Minor		 3
Moderate		 4
Major		 5
Catastrophic
5 Almost certain
4 Likely Likelihood 4, impact 4, score 16, high: H01
3 Possible Likelihood 3, impact 3, score 9, medium: H03 H08 Likelihood 3, impact 4, score 12, high: H02 H07 Likelihood 3, impact 5, score 15, high: H05 H06
2 Unlikely Likelihood 2, impact 4, score 8, medium: H04
1 Rare

After controls

Residual risk

Risk after controls: rows are likelihood from almost certain to rare, columns are impact from insignificant to catastrophic. Cells list hazard numbers.
1
Insignificant		 2
Minor		 3
Moderate		 4
Major		 5
Catastrophic
5 Almost certain
4 Likely
3 Possible
2 Unlikely Likelihood 2, impact 2, score 4, low: H04 H07 H08 Likelihood 2, impact 3, score 6, medium: H01 H02 H03 H05 Likelihood 2, impact 4, score 8, medium: H06
1 Rare
  • Low 1 to 4
  • Medium 5 to 9
  • High 10 to 16
  • Critical 17 to 25

Hazard register

A summary first, then the detail for each hazard.

Summary of hazards with scores before and after controls
No.HazardBeforeAfterOwner
H01 Misleading claims and unlicensed creative material 16 High 6 Medium Legal and compliance lead
H02 Brand harm from off-brand or offensive creative 12 High 6 Medium Brand manager
H03 Platform, media vendor and agency dependency 9 Medium 6 Medium Procurement lead
H04 Influencer and sponsored presenter contract failure 8 Medium 4 Low Talent and partnerships manager
H05 Account compromise and unauthorized media changes 15 High 6 Medium IT security lead
H06 Privacy, consent and targeting breaches 15 High 8 Medium Data protection officer
H07 Budget overspend and attribution errors 12 High 4 Low Marketing finance partner
H08 Fraudulent traffic, invoices and leads 9 Medium 4 Low Media performance analyst
H01

Misleading claims and unlicensed creative material

Legal and compliance Before 16 After 6

Advertised claims about performance, price or results cannot be substantiated, or music, footage, talent likeness and logos are used without clearance, so the advertisement misleads viewers or infringes rights.

Who or what is affected: Consumers, the brand, the agencies and rights holders

Causes

Fast creative changes, claims written without evidence and rights held by third parties.

Consequences

Complaints, withdrawn advertisements, penalties, damages claims and loss of consumer trust.

Existing controls

  • A legal reviewer checks final scripts before airtime is booked.
  • The agency confirms music and footage licences in writing.

Control gaps

Evidence files are often incomplete, and late edits skip the clearance step.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Link every product claim to an evidence file before creative is approved for production.
  • Detect: Run a clearance checklist for music, talent, footage and logos at every version change.
Likelihood 4 x impact 4 before; 2 x 3 after Owner: Legal and compliance lead Target: Within 30 days Early warning: A claim in a final cut with no linked evidence file.
H02

Brand harm from off-brand or offensive creative

Reputational Before 12 After 6

Creative tone, humor or imagery conflicts with brand values or offends a audience segment, or a campaign launches without testing, so it is ignored, mocked or pulled after broadcast.

Who or what is affected: Brand owners, retail partners and the audience

Causes

Tight deadlines, weak testing and reliance on a few senior opinions.

Consequences

Public criticism, lost retail listings, broadcaster refusals and a costly reshoot.

Existing controls

  • Brand guidelines are issued to the agency at the start of each brief.
  • Senior sign off is required before any television edit is locked.

Control gaps

Testing is informal, and the withdrawal route has never been rehearsed.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Run pre-launch audience testing with a set of pass and fail criteria agreed in advance.
  • Respond: Hold a pause plan that allows any spot to be withdrawn within one working day.
Likelihood 3 x impact 4 before; 2 x 3 after Owner: Brand manager Target: Within 45 days Early warning: Negative comments above an agreed threshold within 48 hours of first airing.
H03

Platform, media vendor and agency dependency

Supplier Before 9 After 6

The campaign relies on one media agency, one broadcaster or a single programmatic platform, so a service outage, price change or contract dispute stops airtime or removes reporting.

Who or what is affected: Marketing team, sales staff and suppliers

Causes

Concentrated buying, long lead times and contracts with weak exit terms.

Consequences

Missed launch dates, wasted budget, poor reach and damaged vendor relationships.

Existing controls

  • Vendor contracts include service levels for delivery of spots.
  • Key suppliers are reviewed once a year by the procurement lead.

Control gaps

Fallback vendors are named but have not been briefed or tested.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Hold at least two approved buying routes for each channel and document a fallback vendor.
  • Recover: Keep a written airtime rebooking plan with a named contact at each broadcaster.
Likelihood 3 x impact 3 before; 2 x 3 after Owner: Procurement lead Target: Within 60 days Early warning: A vendor reports a delivery delay or a missed booking deadline.
H04

Influencer and sponsored presenter contract failure

Supplier Before 8 After 4

A presenter or influencer breaks disclosure rules, makes an unapproved statement or is linked to a scandal, while the contract gives the business little control over content or exit.

Who or what is affected: Brand, the presenter's audience and the broadcaster

Causes

Weak clauses, reliance on personal reputation and no monitoring during the campaign.

Consequences

Pulled content, fees lost, legal action and a damaged brand image.

Existing controls

  • Contracts require approval of scripts before recording.
  • Presenters sign a standard code of conduct.

Control gaps

Clauses on exit and disclosure are not checked against recent guidance.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Write disclosure duties, approval rights and morality clauses into every talent contract.
  • Detect: Monitor the presenter's public activity during the campaign window each week.
Likelihood 2 x impact 4 before; 2 x 2 after Owner: Talent and partnerships manager Target: Within 60 days Early warning: A presenter post that is off message or lacks a required disclosure.
H05

Account compromise and unauthorized media changes

Technology and data Before 15 After 6

Stolen logins or phishing let an outsider change media bookings, creative files or payment details, so spots run without approval or money is redirected.

Who or what is affected: Marketing team, agencies, finance staff and customers

Causes

Phishing, shared logins and access rights kept after staff move on.

Consequences

Unapproved airtime, stolen budget, leaked creative and a regulator or client complaint.

Existing controls

  • Buying accounts require a password and are reviewed by the agency lead.
  • Payment detail changes are logged in the finance system.

Control gaps

Access rights are not reviewed each quarter, and alerts go to one mailbox only.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Enable multi-factor sign in for all buying, creative and payment accounts.
  • Detect: Send an alert to two named people whenever a booking, file or payee detail changes.
Likelihood 3 x impact 5 before; 2 x 3 after Owner: IT security lead Target: Within 30 days Early warning: A login from an unknown location or a change to a booking outside working hours.
H06

Privacy, consent and targeting breaches

Legal and compliance Before 15 After 8

Personal data is used for targeting without valid consent, sensitive traits are inferred, or audience lists are shared with a vendor that has no contract, so people are targeted in ways they did not agree to.

Who or what is affected: Customers, prospects and the business

Causes

Pressure for reach, vague consent wording and lists shared without checks.

Consequences

Complaints, penalties, forced deletion of data and loss of customer trust.

Existing controls

  • Consent records are stored in the customer relationship system.
  • Third party audience lists are licensed with a data use statement.

Control gaps

Consent is not checked before lists are uploaded to media platforms.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Remove sensitive traits from all targeting and require a data protection review before each new audience.
  • Respond: Stop a targeting segment within one working day when a consent gap is found.
Likelihood 3 x impact 5 before; 2 x 4 after Owner: Data protection officer Target: Within 30 days Early warning: An audience upload with no consent source recorded for it.
H07

Budget overspend and attribution errors

Financial Before 12 After 4

Spend runs above the approved budget because bookings are not tracked, and results are credited to the wrong channel, so the team funds advertising that does not work.

Who or what is affected: Finance team, senior leaders and the brand team

Causes

Late booking changes, unclear attribution rules and spreadsheets copied between teams.

Consequences

Overspend, poor investment decisions, and a campaign judged a failure for the wrong reason.

Existing controls

  • A monthly budget report is sent to the marketing director.
  • Tracking links are used on all online calls to action.

Control gaps

Offline results are credited by guesswork, and weekly reconciliation is not done.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Cap each booking with a written approval and a hard stop at the agreed budget.
  • Detect: Reconcile media invoices to bookings each week and review any variance above a set amount.
Likelihood 3 x impact 4 before; 2 x 2 after Owner: Marketing finance partner Target: Within 45 days Early warning: Committed spend above 90 percent of budget before the campaign midpoint.
H08

Fraudulent traffic, invoices and leads

Financial Before 9 After 4

Bots, fake placements or invented leads inflate reported reach and results, and inflated media invoices are paid for impressions or responses that never happened.

Who or what is affected: Finance team, media buyers and the brand

Causes

Pay per result contracts, weak placement checks and pressure to show strong numbers.

Consequences

Wasted spend, misleading reports and wrong decisions about future buys.

Existing controls

  • Agency invoices are checked against a summary of bookings.
  • Lead forms include a basic check for repeated entries.

Control gaps

Independent verification is not written into the agency contract.

Additional controls

  • Prevent: Use independent verification for impressions and reject placements that fail quality thresholds.
  • Detect: Review lead sources for repeated contact details, unusual hours and sudden spikes each week.
Likelihood 3 x impact 3 before; 2 x 2 after Owner: Media performance analyst Target: Within 60 days Early warning: Lead volume that rises sharply with no matching change in spend or enquiries.

Rating method and evaluation

Each risk is rated on two five-point scales. Likelihood runs from Rare to Almost certain, and impact runs from Insignificant to Catastrophic. Multiplying the two gives a score from 1 to 25, which falls into one of four bands: Low from 1 to 4, Medium from 5 to 9, High from 10 to 16 and Critical from 17 to 25. Inherent risk is the score before any controls. Residual risk is the score after existing and additional controls. Impact is judged on money lost, time to correct, harm to customers, effects on the brand and the chance of legal action. A risk is never rated down only because it has not happened yet. Anything still High needs senior attention and a dated plan, anything Medium needs routine controls with a named owner, and anything Low is accepted and watched. Owners challenge each other's ratings in a monthly review, and any rating is reopened when a monitoring indicator reaches its threshold.

Likelihood, impact and rating bands

Likelihood

  • 5 Almost certain: Expected to happen in most circumstances.
  • 4 Likely: Will probably happen in many circumstances.
  • 3 Possible: Could happen at some time.
  • 2 Unlikely: Not expected, but it could happen.
  • 1 Rare: Only in exceptional circumstances.

Impact

  • 1 Insignificant: No lasting effect. Handled within routine work.
  • 2 Minor: Small effect that is quickly corrected.
  • 3 Moderate: Noticeable effect that needs managed effort to correct.
  • 4 Major: Serious effect on people, delivery or reputation.
  • 5 Catastrophic: Severe or lasting effect that threatens the whole activity.

Bands (likelihood x impact)

  • Low (1 to 4): Accept and monitor.
  • Medium (5 to 9): Manage with routine controls.
  • High (10 to 16): Senior attention and a treatment plan.
  • Critical (17 to 25): Act first. Do not proceed until reduced.

Monitoring, escalation and review

Review this assessment every 6 months, and sooner when an indicator below reaches its threshold.

Early-warning indicators and escalation thresholds
Indicator to watchEscalate when
Claims in final creative with no linked evidence file.Escalate to the legal and compliance lead at once, and hold the asset until the evidence is filed.
Booking or payee changes made outside approved hours or without a second approval.Escalate to the IT security lead within one hour, and lock the account if the change cannot be confirmed.
Audience uploads with no consent source recorded.Escalate to the data protection officer before launch, and stop the segment if it is already live.
Committed spend above 90 percent of budget before the campaign midpoint.Escalate to the marketing finance partner, and to the marketing director if the forecast stays above budget for a week.
Negative comments above the agreed threshold within 48 hours of first airing, or lead volume rising with no matching enquiries.Escalate to the brand manager and media performance analyst the same day, and to the marketing director if a pause is needed.

Contingency arrangements

If a serious event occurs, such as a false claim that is broadcast, a compromised account or a privacy complaint, the marketing director pauses the affected spots or segments within one working day. The IT security lead locks the affected accounts and reviews recent bookings. The legal and compliance lead advises on notices and withdrawal, and the finance partner freezes related payments. Broadcasters and agencies are told promptly through named contacts, and customers receive a plain and honest statement.

Prioritized action plan

  1. Require an evidence file for every product claim before creative approval, owner legal and compliance lead, within 30 days.
  2. Enable multi-factor sign in and change alerts for all buying and payment accounts, owner IT security lead, within 30 days.
  3. Check consent source before any audience upload, owner data protection officer, within 30 days.
  4. Write verification, disclosure and exit clauses into agency and talent contracts, owner procurement lead, within 60 days.
  5. Rehearse the pause plan and reconcile media invoices weekly, owner marketing finance partner, within 45 days.

Conclusion

Effective advertising rests on a few steady habits: evidence for every claim, clearance for every asset, multi-factor sign in, consent checks before targeting and weekly reconciliation of spend. The highest scores sit with claims, account compromise and privacy, and each has actions that bring the residual score down. Treat the register as a living record, review it on the stated cycle, and seek qualified legal, media and data protection advice for any real campaign.

Assumptions and limitations

Assumptions

  • The business advertises a consumer product and must follow general advertising standards, with the jurisdiction not specified.
  • Campaign work is shared between an in house team and two external agencies under written contracts.
  • Customer data is held in a customer relationship system with consent records, and third party audience data is licensed.
  • The broadcaster and platforms provide standard reporting, but their internal controls are not audited by the business.

Limitations

  • Scores are examples for learning and do not describe any real campaign, brand or market.
  • Advertising, privacy and broadcast rules vary by country and change over time, so specialist legal and regulatory review is needed.
  • This educational content is not legal, media or financial advice and does not replace a formal site specific assessment.

Related frameworks to study

  • Hierarchy of controls
  • Three lines model of risk ownership
  • Plain language substantiation review for advertising claims
  • Media buying verification and invoice reconciliation practice

Marketing Risk Assessment

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For Learning Reference Only: This assessment demonstrates how risk assessment principles are applied in a practical setting, providing a useful reference for learning and understanding. Actual assessments may be adapted to suit specific site conditions and circumstances.

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