Today’s advertisers want campaigns that reach demographic targets at precise times and regions across multiple platforms. To meet that need, broadcasters must create, deliver, track and invoice advertising campaigns that run consistently and coherently across all of their distribution platforms.

Operators need to enable cross-media ad sales and implement campaign management processes, and give publishers the flexibility to adapt to the changing non-linear advertising paradigm.

To meet these needs, arvato Systems developed AdStore, a web-based solution to unify cross-media campaigns for TV, Web, Mobile, VoD and other formats. With AdStore, sales teams can view available inventory across platforms, build individual or pre-defined sales packages, create orders, and invoice according to customer requirements.

Complex ad campaigns can be created across different channels with a single process. Publishers can deliver and can manage customized campaigns without redundant processes and duplicate effort.

This solution does not replace existing systems, but rather works as a central sales hub bridging the current infrastructure. Below, we look at how a typical broadcaster might approach cross-media unification.

Managing the data

Using a web based interface, the system first brings together the data from the various sources together.Customer data is brought into a master CRM system.Uniform inventory parameters are established across the platforms using naming conventions for categories, titles, types, etc. Next, export routines for legacy systems are created. Rates and inventory are brought together in a cross-media “brokerage system”. The solution even allows users to preview the content.

Users can work with a range of cross-platform qualifying information around the sales product, including predicted ratings, CPM, CPC and content description. The system allows operators to perform cross-media ad sales in multiple ways,

It is easy to review available inventory for each media. TV inventory displays as seconds or with number of spots for the selected program. Web inventory is shown with graphics and is loaded from the target ad server. An operator can search for products across multiple platforms, for instance, to find all inventory related to a specific title available on TV, Web, VoD, Mobile, and then add it all to a shopping cart that represents a single sales order for the customer.

By creating individual and predefined sales packages, sales people can easily cross-sell and up-sell for instance a Sport package that contains spots on TV, impressions on the Web site, and pre-rolls on the VoD platform – all with a few taps on the screen.

To simplify the sales job, instead of manually selecting products, the system can suggest placements.The user enters objectives such rating points, budget limits, target demographics, preferences or exclusions. The system will then select the products to meet the client’s goals based on any variety of configurable business rules.

When an order is placed, the system books it back into the original silo and tracks it for later invoicing. Playlists are sent to the appropriate playout platforms. Those devices deliver the ad and collect performance information. After the as-run logs are returned, the system will generate unified or media-specific invoices depending on the customer’s requirements.

This media solution helps broadcasters realize a true cross-media sales business, by letting the sales force and customers select and combine products from otherwise disparate and separate systems into focused campaign goals. By eliminating the traditional and time-consuming manual tasks of managing multiple, disconnected systems, operators get an integrated and unified workflow across all systems, from campaign planning to invoicing.

In today’s world of fast-paced decision making and needing to serve multiple channels from OTA to mobile, broadcasters and content owners need a unified and streamlined workflow to support ad sales. AdStore delivers complex cross-media ad campaigns without increasing staff workload or requiring the replacement of an existing infrastructure. This solution works with predefined cross-media packages yet provides the flexibility to grow and adapt to changes.