On the Way to Programmatic Advertising

How often have you missed that last available seat on the plane because your credit card was declined at first attempt and your second attempt only showed no further bookings available?

Well, if you are a busy ad manager in a top-flight advertising agency, you will want to know on a real-time basis, the changing availability and bookability of ad slots in the major broadcast stations. For sure, you will not want your team to keep ringing or e-mailing the air-time sales department of the stations. Fortunately, 21st century technology is now able to efficiently smooth out these processes for the benefit of both parties. Ad sales software for broadcasters now exists which allows ad agency managers to monitor and book ad space slots on a continually updated basis, totally on line, without the need for communication with advertisement sales staff at the station. Even more interesting, is the fact that this software can be customised to meet the varying demands of different broadcasters, TV or radio, in terms of what information they are willing to give to accredited agencies. An added benefit of this software is that it helps to control the predatory instincts of the advertising sector and cut down on the number of business lunches.

So what are the specific details of this game-changing software?
Firstly, the ad agency can see on-line the future playout “ad-in-time” matrix including e.g. the name of the programme, specification of the ad block, predicted ratings, slot availability and sometimes even, the price. It is fully up to the broadcaster to decide what information to release. Secondly, the comprehensive overview of available ad space allows the users to model more sophisticated campaigns in a fraction of the time previously required. Thirdly, whilst booking and confirming the time slots, agencies can upload the advertisement content without further delay, directly to the servers of the broadcast station. The ad sales software then automatically handles the workflow processes required to ensure that this content is in the right place on the playout server, at the right time. Finally, once the advertisement has been broadcast, the software handles the issuing of the invoice and subsequent collection.

Since 2010, programmatic advertising has received a lot of hype with particular reference to its use on the internet, but, the general feeling today in this industry is that quality has been sacrificed at the expense of quantity. By contrast, modern research in the broadcasting sector is revealing better and better information concerning the demographic viewing profile analysed according to viewing time, programme content, age and gender of viewers, etc. This allows modern broadcasters to combine the attributes of this ad sales software with the latest viewing statistics in order to reclaim the quality in this most important aspect of the business.

"Provys, a leading developer of this state-of-the-art ad sales solution have successfully installed their software in a number of European broadcast stations with particular success in the Baltic states where a major media group is exploiting the power of this solution across many of its channels, allowing access by twenty leading ad agencies," said Daniel Komarek, Ad Sales Product Manager, Provys. In a nutshell, this solution improves efficiency, reduces communication time, operates 24/7, and increases the ad sales revenue of broadcasting stations, thereby improving their profitability QED.

Martin Junek, Provys
www.provys.com

This article is also available in the October edition of Broadcast Film & Video here.