Collaboration effort reduces costly errors and make goods by eliminating manual entry of copy instructions
Imagine Communications, a global leader in video infrastructure, advertising systems and workflow management solutions serving media networks, broadcast stations, digital media, communication service providers and enterprise markets, today announced the release of LandmarkOSI™ Traffic & Billing 8.4 – the first traffic and billing system in the industry to give broadcast television, cable and radio stations in North America the ability to receive and electronically ingest commercial instructions using the SMPTE Broadcast eXchange Format (BXF) 3.0.
Developed in partnership with leading media services provider Entertainment Communications Network (ECN), this innovative feature, used in conjunction with ECN’s services for advertising agencies, helps simplify commercial scheduling and reduce make-goods due to programming errors. Version 8.4 with BXF 3.0 is scheduled for Q2 2015 release.
ECN, which led the effort to enhance the existing SMPTE BXF standard, distributes thousands of commercial instructions and radio spots each week to broadcast media on behalf of advertising agencies. Currently, stations and networks spend an average of three to four minutes inputting commercial copy by entering the airdate, advertiser, brand, commercial code (Ad-ID or ISCI), length and other details into their traffic systems.
The integration between ECN’s service and LandmarkOSI is designed to significantly accelerate workflows between media placement and airtime. Commercial schedules are ingested using XML, eliminating the labor-intensive process of manually re-keying information received via fax and e-mail, along with the inevitable human errors with the associated data entry. By leveraging XML delivery of agency-approved commercial instructions, broadcasters can more quickly review, reconcile, revise and reach consumers – all with greater accuracy and less expense. Other meaningful efficiencies include closer-to-air ad buys, last-minute scheduling changes and immediate scheduling confirmation.
“The new automated copy feature can yield significant efficiency gains for our LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing customers, improving productivity and reducing copy input mistakes and discrepancies,” said Sarah Foss, vice president, product management, advertising management systems, Imagine Communications. “Manually typing copy instructions from e-mail or fax originals into the traffic system is now a thing of the past. LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing customers can electronically confirm and accept incoming instructions with a click of the button, and have a streamlined process for order updates.”
“Media placement has become more granular, and now more than ever both broadcasters and advertisers have a vested interest in ensuring commercials air correctly,” said Angela Tietze, president and CEO, ECN. “With this new service, ECN and Imagine Communications are changing the way commercials have been scheduled for more than 40 years. Our combined expertise and technology, coupled with ECN’s existing integrations with media buying systems will significantly increase scheduling accuracy and reduce errors. Bottom line: station staff can focus on the business of media instead of the tedium of data entry. ”
The LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing system provides easy-to-use yet powerful tools for traffic, accounting and yield management, designed to deliver a competitive edge through more efficient station management. Offering the power of real-time data to maximize station inventory and increase revenue, LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing can be deployed to the public LandmarkOSI cloud or a private cloud, or hosted on-premises.
Further workflow enhancements are also planned for LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing, with the enhancement of EC2WAY to support electronic, automated make-goods between LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing and agencies’ and advertisers’ systems. This cutting-edge eBusiness capability improves productivity by providing a complete process for multiplatform buying/selling.
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关于想象通信
想象通信公司（Imagine Communications）通过变革性创新为媒体和娱乐行业赋能。世界各地的广播公司、网络、视频服务提供商和企业每天都依靠我们优化的、面向未来的多屏视频和收入支持解决方案来支持他们的关键任务运营。如今，全球近一半的视频频道都在使用我们的产品，我们的软件解决方案推动了全球近三分之一的广告收入。通过不断创新，我们正在提供业界最先进的 IP、云功能、软件定义网络和工作流程解决方案。访问 www.imaginecommunications.com了解更多信息，并在 Twitter 上关注我们 @imagine_comms.
About Entertainment Communications Network
ECN is a media services company distributing thousands of commercial instructions and radio spots weekly. The company facilitates commercial scheduling, tracking and reconciliation on behalf of major advertising agencies, networks and syndication companies in North America. ECN’s expertise in commercial traffic operations, its proprietary media database and seamless connections to media buying systems have established ECN as the bridge between content and media for over 20 years. www.ecnmedia.com