Optimizing rates and revenue for your linear ad spots likely feels like a never-ending cycle. It’s a process that you can’t scale or make repeatable by using manual approaches. In the end, you’re always chasing the elusiveness of creating more top-line revenue for a product that’s not growing in quantity. You’ll stay stuck in this cycle without technology. However, you may be hesitant to adopt something or may have misconceptions about how it can make a difference.
Let’s tackle those with an approach that uses data, not intuition, to price linear inventory.
A Lack of Technology Means Rate Management Is Manual
Many broadcast sales teams rely on manual or inefficient strategies for pricing. In this cycle, you have to check availability in traffic systems constantly. You might also compare pricing to what you quoted in the past. You then weigh the “demand” for that spot based on assumptions. Finally, you must deliver a number to help you meet your budget.
That’s a lot of work that has nothing to do with selling. Alternatively, you might have a “pricing expert” who controls massive spreadsheets with formulas. To optimize rates, that person must continually update these to reflect current avails and pricing. So, what happens when they aren’t available, and you need to submit a proposal ASAP?
It’s a perfect storm of circumstances that can lead to missed revenue, wasted time, unhappy advertisers, overselling and overdiscounting.
Technology that automates pricing based on data, called yield management, could be the answer to avoiding these things!
Hesitations About Technology: What’s Holding You Back from Adoption?
Deploying technology for an aspect of your process deserves in-depth evaluation. It’s not as easy as adding an app to your phone to do something for you. Linear ad spot pricing is a complex ecosystem, so you have every right to be cautious.
So, what’s holding you back?
Costs?
Adding any new platform to your tech stack requires an investment. Yield management platforms may seem financially unfeasible. Some of the more mature products in the industry come with a hefty price tag. However, some are very cost-effective and deliver substantial value. This is software that increases your revenue. While it’s an expense, it has a return.
Worries about setup and deployment?
Does the thought of implementing technology make you cringe? You might have concerns about it taking months, being too complex or requiring a lot of IT support. Those are all fair concerns. It’s true that some yield management solutions can be cumbersome to launch. Again, that’s not the case for all. Some solutions are much easier to put in place without too much IT intervention or hoops to jump through.
Concerns that salespeople will push back?
With new technology, there will be change. Some adapt better than others, but we can all collectively agree that we’ve pivoted quite well in the past few years. Maybe we’re less change-averse now?
Your salespeople may be more eager to adopt it than you think. They see the gaps in pricing processes every day. They’d rather be selling than chasing down avails and numbers. Yield management software does it for them. Who’s going to say no to that?
Technology Is Key to Power Data-Driven Spot Pricing
You can streamline optimizing rates and revenue for your linear inventory with a yield management tool. It’s an automated tool that uses data to deliver the best price for that spot. It considers supply and demand, current fill rates, timelines and historical rates. It uses your traffic system data as well as other tools you set, such as:
- Rate curves (algorithms you set depending on the situation)
- Floors and ceilings
- Discount tolerances
It’s an easy-to-use solution that doesn’t require technical expertise. You also don’t have to leave the system to get current avails and rates from traffic systems. Such a solution also connects you to ratings data.
This technology is now accessible to any size media company. It also works for any daypart, including ones you don’t sell through.
For broadcast sales to thrive and maximize linear revenue, you’ll need technology. Understanding there was a gap in the industry, we designed Marketron REV.
