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Reports

Visualize planning, targets, and results data in combined charts

Micaela Abreu Caesar avatar
Written by Micaela Abreu Caesar
Updated over a month ago

Reports in Mediatool

The reports section is your go-to for visualizing data. Create reports with various charts to quickly gain insights into your performance and daily operations.

Reports can be created on three levels:

  • Parent Level - Charts created in the Parent Account will source data from every connected subsidiary account. The template created at this level will flow down to subsidiary and plan levels too.

  • Subsidiary Level - Charts created in a particular Subsidiary Account will source data limited to that account. The template created at this level will flow down to plan level, too.

  • Plan Level - Charts created within a particular plan will source data limited to that plan.


How to create a report

To create a report in Mediatool, follow these step-by-step instructions:

⚠️ Make sure you have configured all necessary Fields and Tags. You won't be able to create reports on measures and dimensions that aren't in use.

  1. Navigate to the Reports Section: Go to the desired level of reporting (Parent, Subsidiary, or Plan level) and access the Reports section.

  2. Create a New Report: If you have no previous reports you will be taken directly to the report builder, and you can move on to the third step below.

    1. If you have created reports before, but want to create a new one, click on the option '+ New report' above your existing report.

  3. Name Your Report: Enter a name for your new report.

  4. Set Privacy: Choose whether the report should be Public or Private.

    1. If the report is created on the Parent level, you can decide if you want to make the report available to users in subsidiary organizations.

  5. Create Your First Chart: Click on "Create your first chart" to begin adding visual data to your report.

  6. Add More Charts: Click the 'Add chart' option to configure and include additional charts in your report. For more info about how to configure your charts, see the section below, "How to add and configure charts".

Here's an example to illustrate what a report might look like

Example of a report in Mediatool

How to add and configure charts

⚠️ The date range for charts and reports is controlled in the date filter at the top of your report.

Use the chart builder to populate your report with various KPIs and measures. You can visualize simple metrics, such as the total actual spend for a year, or create more complex charts by mixing different options. For a comprehensive report, create and integrate multiple charts to highlight specific data points or trends.


To configure your charts in Mediatool, follow these steps:

  1. Access Chart Builder: Start by creating a new report or edit an existing one and click 'Edit' followed by 'Add Chart'.

  2. Select Measures: Choose one or more measures you want to visualize, such as planned spend.

  3. Choose Dimensions: Select how you want to split your measures, for example, planned spend by media type.

  4. Define Grain: Set the time increments for displaying data.

  5. Choose Datasets: Decide where to pull your data from—Planning, Results, or Targets. A dataset highlighted in dark blue indicates it's already selected.

  6. Choose how to aggregate your measures: Click on the three dots next to your measure and selecting an option (this will override your field settings, but only for this chart):

    1. Sum: Adds up all the numbers in this measure.

    2. Average: Calculates the average of the numbers.

    3. Sainsbury: Used for calculating estimated aggregated reach by using the Sainsbury Formula.

    4. Max: Identifies the largest number in this measure.

    5. Min: Identifies the smallest number in this measure.

    6. No Aggregation: Leaves the measure as is, without aggregation.

  7. Comparison Settings: If you want to compare to other periods, this is where you choose the period to compare with (Week, Month, Quarter, Year, or Specific Period) and decide if the comparison should be shown as a value or percentage.

  8. Chart Date Range: You can set the chart to match the report date range or choose from other options like 'This month', 'This quarter', etc.

  9. Filter Your Data: Click the filter icon beneath your datasets to open the filter function. Here, you can select specific data you want to include or exclude from your chart.

    1. To exclude data, click on the green option 'Include' that appears after adding a filter, and change it to 'Exclude'.

  10. Limit Your Dimensions: Click the three dots next to a dimension to choose how many options to display. For example, show only your top 5 media vehicles by planned spend.

    1. Check 'Include remaining as "others"' to combine all other data into one category.

  11. Name Your Chart: To help viewers to quickly identify the data, give your chart a descriptive name. You can do this by clicking in the top left corner where the chart name is displayed.

What data can you use in your reports?

Three data sources can be used when building reports:

  1. Targets - Data is sourced from entries made in the Targets Section

  2. Planning - Data is sourced from entries made in the Planning Sheet View

  3. Results - Data is sourced from automated third-party integrations and manual entries made in the Results Section

What chart types can you choose from?

Currently, there are 27 different chart types to choose from:

  • Circular: Pie Chart, Spider Web and Bubble Chart

  • Bars: Column, Stacked Column, Percent Column, Bar, Stacked Bar, Percent Bar, Bar and Line

  • Lines: Line, Spline

  • Areas: Area, Area Spline, Stacked Area, Stacked Spline, Percent Area, Percent Spline

  • Numbers: Number, Sparkline Sum, Gauge

  • Tables: Table, Heatmap, Pivot Table, Multidimensional Table

  • Map: World View

Re-size or rearrange a chart within a Report

  1. Access Edit Mode: Click the 'Edit' button to the right of the report title to make all charts editable.

  2. Rearrange Charts: Click and drag any chart to move it to a new location within the report.

  3. Resize Charts: Click and drag from the bottom right corner of any chart to adjust its size.

  4. Save Changes: Click the green 'Done' button to save your changes before navigating away.

How to resize a chart


How to export a chart within a Report

To export charts from a report in Mediatool, follow these instructions:

Bulk Export as PDF

Click the export button located in the top right corner of your report to export all charts in a report as a PDF.

💡 Be aware of the checkered red "page break" line in the report edit screen. Ensure it does not intersect any of your charts during export. Charts should be positioned before or after the line for proper display in the exported PDF.

Export Individual Charts

To export an individual chart, click on the three dots located at the top-right corner of the chart.

Charts can be exported individually in various formats, including PNG, JPEG, SVG, Excel, or CSV.

  • Table Charts: Specifically, table charts can be exported as CSV or Excel.

  • Other Charts: Other types of charts may have additional format options.


Edit, copy, or delete an existing chart

To edit, copy and delete charts, follow these steps:

  1. Access Edit Mode: Click the 'Edit' button to the right of the report title. All your charts will now be editable.

  2. Adjust Chart Settings: At the top right corner of each chart, you will find these three symbols. Click on the appropriate symbol to take the action you desire (edit, copy or delete).

  3. Save Changes: Click the green 'Done' button next to the report title to save your changes before navigating to another section.


Delete a report

To delete a report, follow these steps:

  1. Access Edit Mode: Click the 'Edit' button located to the right of the report title. This action makes all your charts editable.

  2. Open Report Settings: Click on the cogwheel icon located to the right of the report name.

  3. Delete Report: Select the 'Delete Report' option.

  4. Confirm Deletion: Enter the required text in the popup to finalize the deletion. This text is a confirmation to ensure you want to proceed with deleting the report.


Handling Data Errors in Datasets

If there's an error in your dataset, it will be highlighted with a red border and a warning icon. Hover over the icon for details on the issue, which might be one of the following:

  • "Please select at least one measure."

  • "Please select at least one data source."

  • "Your dataset has incompatible dimensions."

To help you resolve these issues:

  • Incompatibility Indicators: If certain dimensions are incompatible (for instance, a "Creative" dimension without a corresponding "Results" data source), those dimensions will appear greyed out.

  • Tooltips: For further guidance, watch for tooltips marked with a question mark icon. These provide useful information to ensure you correctly set up your datasets.


Get Support

Have questions or need help? You can reach us directly via the messenger on Mediatool.com or the contact support button located in the top right corner of the Mediatool App.

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