A host checklist before approving a campaign

Approving a campaign should be quick, but never automatic. You're lending part of your property to a business, and that earns a few minutes of checking before you say yes. A good approval isn't about being suspicious. It's about confirming that what turns up matches what you agreed, so the campaign runs without a single surprise. Run through the same handful of checks each time and it becomes second nature.

Check the advertiser, then the creative

Read the business name, website, campaign description, and contact details. Does the offer suit your property and your neighbourhood, and is the business a fit for the people who'll see it? A late-night venue advertising on a fence outside a primary school is legal and still a poor fit. If anything's unclear, ask before you approve. A decent advertiser won't mind explaining, and an evasive answer is useful information in itself.

Then ask to see the actual sign, banner, poster, or counter card before it's installed. Check the words, the colours, the images, the logo, and any claims. You don't have to be an advertising regulator, but you can turn down anything offensive, misleading, unsafe, or outside the rules in your listing. On a residential frontage, keep that bar high, because neighbours will link the sign to your house, not to the advertiser, and you're the one who has to live on the street afterwards.

Confirm the size, placement, and install

Make sure the material fits the spot you approved. A 600 mm yard sign is a different thing from a large banner, and a window poster is a different thing from a full-window wrap. If the campaign needs a placement that isn't in your listing, update the agreement before it goes live rather than waving it through on the day.

You should also know how it's going up: how it's attached, who's installing it, when they're coming, and how it comes down. No drilling, no permanent fixtures, and no damage is a sensible default unless you've agreed otherwise. Ask about wind and tensioning for banners, adhesive and cleaning for windows, and how a counter item stays put and tidy. The install is where most property damage happens, so it's worth a couple of specific questions before anyone arrives with tools. A host who confirms "the banner ties to the existing fence rails, no new holes, installer comes Saturday morning, down by the following Sunday" has removed almost every way the job could go wrong.

Set the dates and keep it in writing

Confirm the start, the end, and the removal dates. If the campaign is tied to an event or a dated offer, make sure old material doesn't linger once it's wrong, because an out-of-date sign on your fence reflects on you as much as the advertiser. Agree who takes it down and by when.

Keep the whole exchange in writing, too. If anything's disputed later, the approved creative, the dates, and the install method are all there to check, and a written trail protects both sides equally. You're not building a legal case. You're just making sure that "we agreed this" is something you can point to rather than try to remember.

You can also approve with conditions rather than giving a flat yes or no. "Happy to approve if the sign drops to the 900 mm size and the install moves to the weekend" is a normal, useful reply, and most advertisers will take a workable condition over a rejection. A conditional yes keeps the booking alive while still protecting the property, and it sets a clear expectation that the campaign runs the way you agreed, not the way it happens to turn up.

When to pause, and how to say no

Some requests deserve a second look. Watch for an advertiser who's vague about the creative, pushes back on every reasonable rule, wants to change the placement at the last minute, or won't commit to a removal date. None of those are automatically deal-breakers, but together they're a sign the campaign might be more hassle than it's worth.

Saying no is part of hosting, and you can do it cleanly. A short, polite message is enough: the campaign isn't the right fit for the property, thanks for the interest. You don't owe a long justification, and a clear no early beats an approval you regret halfway through a month-long booking.

Why the few minutes pay off

The checklist exists because the cheap mistakes are all avoidable. The host who skips the creative check ends up with a garish sign their neighbour complains about. The one who doesn't confirm the install comes home to fresh holes in a good fence. The one who never pinned down a removal date is still chasing the advertiser a fortnight after the offer expired. Each of those is a couple of unanswered questions that turned into a real headache. Spending five minutes up front isn't bureaucracy, it's the difference between income without surprises and a booking you spend a month regretting. Residential hosts especially benefit from holding the line, because the standard you set on the first campaign is the one advertisers expect from then on.

The two-minute version

Once you've done a few, the whole thing collapses into a quick run-through. Is the business a fit for the street? Have I seen the actual creative? Does the size and placement match my listing? Do I know how it goes up and comes down without damage? Are the start, end, and removal dates locked in? Is it all in writing? Six yeses and you can approve with confidence. A no, or an "I'm not sure", on any of them is your cue to ask one more question before you commit. A good approval feels almost boring: everyone knows what's going up, where it sits, how long it stays, and what happens when it ends.