The Business Impact of Centralized Operations In Digital Media

According to a notable Digiday State of the Industry survey, 45% of agency employees said the most challenging aspect of their current job is the number of resources and tools they utilize. In that same survey, 25% of respondents said they are switching between software tools and platforms 21 times or more per day.

We recently partnered with Ad Perceptions to survey digital media professionals in ad tech, and the message was loud and clear: the tools we're using at our digital day jobs have become unmanageable.

On average, advertisers work with 4-5 programmatic vendors across the different ad tech categories. Among business management tools, advertisers regularly employ multiple business and campaign management tools.

Looks like the ad tech industry has a bit of a workflow problem.

We’re constantly seeking and using technology in our personal lives that allow us to be more productive and efficient. It would seem like common sense to take the same approach in our professional lives. So, why does the adoption of centralized technology at work seem so impossible?

The entire digital media industry is built on the promise of technology doing more, reaching more customers and being more effective – but the tools and systems we’re using are outdated, disconnected, and inefficient, and we can’t keep up.

With so many apps, platforms and screens being used to execute a single digital campaign, there are enormous reverberating effects, and the cost adds up quickly.

The lack of centralized operations in digital media workflow manifests itself in a number of detrimental ways:

• Staff waste time on highly manual work (destroying ability to be productive and focus on strategic tasks)
• Employees burnout (leading to turnover)
• Errors in work result in make goods, credits or client dissatisfaction (a significant financial cost)

And the more spread out the agency is, the more exacerbated the problem becomes. With teams in multiple cities and offices, it becomes a challenge to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Many agencies have attempted to combat this by throwing more people at the problem. With team members in ‘task mode’ all day, you’re certainly looking at additional overhead, but are you looking at additional profitability? How about efficiency or efficacy? Additional FTEs, like media directors, planners, buyers, and more, are all spending the majority of their days switching back and forth between Excel, Google docs, Outlook, and more for campaign set-up, negotiating rates, and campaign execution.

The end result: You can’t get ahead while you’re ‘getting your house in order.’ So, how do we fix this?

Basis. Software that automates your digital media – all with a single sign-on, with every team, task, and transaction in one powerful platform:

• A fully loaded DSP: Unlike traditional DSPs, Basis brings together the entire digital workflow, including search, social, RTB, and direct. Our programmatic platform is complete with all the tools buyers need to execute cross-format and cross-channel campaigns.
• Simplified research and planning: With a curated directory of more than 9,000 vendors and 11,000 contacts, Basis accelerates the RFP and IO process. With the platform’s vendor relationship management offerings and comScore integration, you can find the right partners and get the right price. At the RFP step, reduce manual data entry by copying plans and line items across campaigns.
• Business intelligence and campaign reporting: Campaign reporting is available daily, giving you the ability to pull client reports, monitor performance, understand what worked and what didn’t, and use that to inform new campaigns. Basis is also integrated with top ad servers DCM and Sizmek, plus integrations with Facebook and Google, helping you gather unique insights across clients, vendors, and campaigns.
• Communication: Internal and external communications organized and stored, real-time notifications and alerts to keep everyone up-to-date, and ability to access historical information. You’re no longer hamstrung when team members are out, because the record of campaign management and communication is there.
• Negotiation: Access to contract and delivery data for evaluation, and an audit trail of every document, plan, and proposal.
• Reconciliation: One of the finance team’s biggest challenges gets solved with tools to analyze financial figures and a streamlined process that allows for adjustments. Give your AR and AP teams context and confidence.

With Basis, your digital media teams are using one tool – all the while cutting their screen-switching by 45% and boosting productivity by 32% — and spending more time meeting client demand. Every step necessary to run an informed, successful and powerful digital media business is available in one centralized platform.

Bottom line: It’s time to focus on your bottom line. With Basis, it’s never been easier to do.

To learn more about Basis or request a demo, visit our website or email info@centro.net.