TV, radio and outdoor media buying to embrace automation technology in 2014
The industry push toward automated buying will take major steps forward next year with confirmation television, radio and outdoor advertising will launch, or further develop, automation platforms for media agencies.
Sophie Madden, CEO of the Media Federation of Australia (MFA), told Encore discussions with various industry bodies are well advanced, with outdoor advertising and radio set to follow television in allowing automated buying.
“We are looking at automating the transacting part of buying. At the moment we are focusing on television because that is the bulk of where time is spent,” said Madden.
The MFA has been working to establish its proposed Electronic Transactions Hub, which will be the backbone of an industry-wide transactional platform for TV buying.
“We are focusing on TV and that is the start,” said Madden. “Outdoor is also doing some work towards planning and there is radio as well.”
Grant Guesdon, the Outdoor Media Association’s research manager, confirmed 2014 would see the industry develop its existing outdoor measurement platform MOVE to give agencies access to billing systems.
“We are still in the early days. MOVE already allows some basic transactions and we have discussed creating a connection to billing systems. That will be the first thing we look at for 2014,” he said.
Similarly to the MFA’s Electronic Transactions Hub for television, the OMA is not aiming to fully automate media buying in the space at this time.
Guesdon said: “We are looking to create something that can connect to agency systems and make sure whatever they are doing in MOVE can go through to their unique billing system because that’s what agencies want.”
Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) was more coy with Joan Warner, CRA CEO, telling Encore: “The industry is exploring opportunities in this area, but it would be premature to elaborate at this stage.”
However, Encore can reveal that the radio industry body has been in discussions with systems company Audionet to bring automation to the local industry. In May, Audionet began running a pilot program for electronic confirmation of bookings for purchases between media agencies OMD and PHD and the Australian Radio Network whose stations include MixFM and Classic Hits. Other radio networks are expected to embrace the confirmation technology later this year.
David Cox, managing director of Audionet, said: “At the moment we are focusing on the automated electronic confirmation of bookings and then the view is to move forward with facilitating booking requests and proposals.”
“The aim is that eventually, after a presentation, a radio sales team will be able to send an electronic proposal to the media agency that they can accept in their systems and have it reconcile against their billing system.”
While CRA declined to comment on the pilot program, or when the automated technology would be rolled out more broadly, the MFA has confirmed its automated television platform is on track for launch in 2014 and is currently looking at technology partners.
Nic Christensen
This piece first appeared in Encore. Download it now on iPad, iPhone and Android tablet devices.
What a backward industry. When will media learn from some many other industries that this is good for them.
I doubt the whole lot have any idea. I am sick of hearing “it is being considered” , “we are developing” or “it is still early days”.
I think I read that the MFA were developing two years ago………
A joke !
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