Google Ads Error: 15,000 Euros in Damages for a Misplaced Check Mark

It’s not easy for small Polish companies to assert themselves against the big players in the market. Especially with advertising campaigns and Google Ads, the right timing is particularly important in order to draw customers’ attention to your product. The worst-case scenario is however, when an advertising campaign gets pause during a crucial time. Why a ticket provider is therefore demanding 5,000 euros in compensation from its marketing agency? Find out everything about this real exali damage event from Warsaw here.

Google Ads Campaign Paused because of a Wrong Click

When it comes to coveted tickets for a megastar’s tour or other major events, the choice of providers is limited. Next to providers like Eventim and Ticketmaster, there is hardly any space for small Polish providers. So it’s all the more important for them to run targeted Google Ads campaigns at the right time. That’s exactly what a small ticket provider from Warsaw asked an online marketing agency to do. The agency was supposed to run a Google Ads campaign for a concert by a well-known artist during a certain period of time.

The competition for the ticket sales was very fierce, so the ticket provider was particularly dependent on the advertising campaign going well. But due to an error of an agency employee, exactly the opposite happened: He was supposed to pause a different Google Ads campaign, but put the tick in the wrong place - and caught the ticket provider's of all things. By the time the agency realised the mistake, no Google ads had been served for several days to the hotly contested concert event.

Google Ads Error Causes 15,000 Euros in Damage

The ticket provider was of course not at all pleased about the glitch and demanded compensation from the agency for the potential revenue that they had lost by pausing the campaign. They calculated the damage caused by the Google Ads glitch at 15,000 euros and demanded the agency compensate them for the full amount. However, they didn’t say how they arrived at this figure.

The Polish marketing agency, which had taken out Professional Indemnity Insurance through exali, then contacted our account managers. The insurer immediately intervened in the case and asked the ticket provider to disclose the basis for calculating the high claim for compensation. Thereupon, the client backtracked and ultimately demanded compensation of 4,500 euros based on the profit in the period before and after the paused campaign. But the agency didn’t have to pay this sum out of their pocket either: Their Professional Indemnity Insurance covered the costs.

Google Ads Error - Claim for Compensation Justified?

This case shows that in damage events, Professional Indemnity Insurance does more than pay a certain amount in compensation for damages. As part of passive legal expenses insurance, the insurer always first clarifies the question of guilt and checks whether the insured person is (solely) responsible for the damage and whether the amount of the claim is justified. Only then does the insurer cover the justified claim for compensation for damages. Unjustified claims are defended against - while the insurer also bears legal, court and expert fees.

In this video, we tell you what exactly Professional Indemnity Insurance covers in the event of a claim:

Security for your Creative Business

Do you want to protect your creative business or your agency from Poland against worst-case scenarios, so you don’t falter in the event of fines or claims for damages? Then Professional Indemnity Insurance from exali is perfect for you! Our insurance experts are at your side for all questions relating to the right insurance and damage events - without long waits or call centres. Call us anytime at +49 (0) 821 / 80 99 46 - 0. We look forward to hearing from you.

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