How to Streamline Ad Sales Activities using Odoo Media Software

We are already in the phase where we need to look towards the media ecosystem from the prism of modernization as the advertisement part can not be considered to be only through a single source of communication. The clients of the media industry are requiring and have more expectations from the media houses to run simultaneous ads through various channels like – print, social media, radio, TV and others. So, here let’s make it clear that they need to manage their processes to align with their clients so that they can deliver high grade and multi channel ad campaigns.

We should note that it is required now that media house should be able complete their tasks within a specific time limit and provide accountability for the same. But, this is not the case when we check what goes behind the scenes. You will find ad sales team dependent on their long chains of emails, rate cards that have been setup on excel sheets, old traditional CRM systems, scheduling tools that are almost disconnected, and billing that is still manually done.

So, what i want you to understand is that, there should have been a systematic approach for the ad sales teams but alas, everything seems to be scattered. The ad sales teams should understand that media businesses are no longer selling just a space or air time to their clients, they have to sell a reach that targets the end users, increases the brand’s value, and generates a measurable ROI. Hence, if they are not supporting this then for sure we will see a downfall in their revenue generation.

What exact problems do Media Sales Teams face

Media companies as we see in our day to day life have still a strong demand, but still they face many operational pains in their ad sales department. Let me break them down as mentioned below –

Delay in Managing Follow-ups

Each and every lead will be coming through phone, web forms on their website, and emails but to keep a track at on place for each is almost not possible as sales representative try to manage them on their own which eventually leads to delays in taking follow-ups, message replies are inconsistent, which makes that particular deal to be lost.

No Dynamic Rate Cards

They already have setup their pricings for the ad slots and you know it basically varies depending on the platform, the time, it’s format, and the package. Here, they usually miss on something that could help them in drafting the rate card dynamically and save their many hours with fewer errors.

No Proper Structure for Resource Assignment

We have also seen with our hands on experience in the backend operations that they usually do not have a proper structure system that can help them in assigning the resources like creative, production, and operations once they get a campaign approved as per their workflow. Sometimes there are situations when coordination becomes a guesswork on each individuals end due to the low visibility towards the details of a project.

Manual Approach to Ad Placements

Still they were mostly using a manual approach for scheduling like – setting up digital ad placements over TV and radio station which usually was tracked through the spreadsheets and available old software systems. This was directly leading to issues when there were overbookings and making changes at the last times was almost impossible for them with missing campaign live windows.

Manual Invoice Generation & No Subscription Plan

The other main point here was that after a campaign was delivered invoices were to be created manually which often led to errors then to a delay in payments resulting in a poor cash flow cycle. Also, the never setup a subscription model that could directly help with their recurring clients that they already knew.

What helped: Ad Sales Workflow with Odoo Media Software

So, this Odoo media software was the right thing to choose as it was offering a single platform that would help them to align and address each and every challenge as discussed in the above section. It gave them the power to combine CRM, sales, projects, scheduling, invoicing, and analytics in one place.

Now, let’s check how after the implementation of the Odoo media software their compete ad sales cycle changed –

Leads were easily Managed with Odoo CRM

Now, the media house could easily capture leads using the integrated forms, segregate each by channel type like whether it was for TV, OTT, or Web and then send the lead to respective sales representative. Now, they are also able to add custom tags like they can set it in a customized way – high value client, time sensitive client which will eventually allow to prioritize the respective leads.

Added dynamic Rate Cards & Quotes

The are now able to create configurable rate cards with various options like – 30s Tv slot – prime or non-prime and can also generate quotations using templates that they have added for ad packages, sponsors, and combos. Also, they can apply pre approved discounts and manage approvals digitally.

Project Modules for Campaign Execution

Now, whenever a sale gets confirmed Odoo automatically generated a campaign project with all of the necessary tasks that are related to the campaign. They are able to assign creatives, track each and every progress using the Kanban or Gantt chart views available within the media software.

Once a sale is confirmed, Odoo auto-generates a campaign project with all necessary tasks. Assign creatives, schedule shoot/editing timelines, and track progress using Kanban or Gantt views.

Managing Scheduling and Inventory

Use custom views (Studio) to track slot availability across platforms. Add constraints for prime time, exclusivity, or frequency capping. Integrate APIs with traffic tools or DFP for auto-updates.

Invoicing & Subscription Billing

Confirmed quotes can now allow them to auto generate the invoices thereby lowering the time taken and that too without any errors. Using the subscription module they can easily assist the recurring clients along with tracking of any overdue payments and accordingly notify them for the same.

What Happens Without a Solution?

Now, let’s put the other main point what happens when a media company is still trying to stay on their disconnected systems to operate, so what are the risks related to that:

• Alas the revenue that they could have got will be lost as they are having a delay in providing the quotes to clients and still ads sales team are missing on their timely follow ups with the clients.
• As teams might be coordinating with each other this directly relates to their time wastage leading to operational delays.
• Clients can start getting frustrated and dissatisfied due to the poor visibility of what exactly is going on without any reporting from the ads sales team and when they are not able to execute the operations properly can cause much harm.
• If the media houses still make use of the disorganized file structure for their operations then it can lead to compliance issues as there is no way to make the audits.

What Media Firms Gain with Odoo Media Software

Implementing Odoo for ad sales transforms the way media businesses operate:

• 30–40% faster quotation turnaround, all credit goes to the options for dynamic template creation, approvals.
• 100% centralized campaign oversight as each and every individual works on a shared project timeline
• Higher slot utilization due to the visibility into the available inventory preventing overlaps or under bookings
• Accurate and on time billing as automation has reduced invoicing delays and improved cash flow cycles
• Scalable ad operations are there with automation allowing them to handle more clients and higher complexity campaigns without additional headcount

Ready to Modernize Your Ad Sales?

So, you must have got it, the advertising ecosystem is changing and clients need more efficiency, transparence, and are result oriented. Odoo strategically aligns with the media industry by creating a bridge between sales, creative, finance, and operations.

So, no matter if you are running around say 100 campaigns a year or may be 10,000, your systems should help your grow and not slow it down.

If you’re still managing workflows manually or using spreadsheets or through disconnected systems now is the time to act and make use of the Odoo Media Software to simplify your operations.

To know more how the Odoo media software can help you gain all of these operational efficiencies drop us a mail at sales@apagen.com