More advertisers will be buying media online in the near future, if two fast-growing virtual rep houses have anything to say about it.
Both AvailableMedia.com of Toronto and OneMediaPlace.com of San Francisco, Calif. offer online listings of advertising space in a variety of media. Media planners and buyers can check out the avails, submit their plans in order to receive tailored proposals based on their strategies, and make purchases – all electronically.
AvailableMedia.com, which launched quietly at the end of March, lists nearly a half-million dollars worth of properties in out-of-home, print, broadcast and online media. Suppliers include Telemedia Radio Network, the National Trivia Network and YTV’s Video & Arcade Top Ten.
OneMediaPlace.com was established in 1997 under the name AdAuction.com. The company, which specializes primarily in out-of-home and online media, is now moving north of the border, although it has yet to introduce many Canadian listings.
Scott Neslund, managing director of Toronto-based Starcom Worldwide, says that services like these could ultimately play a significant role in the media buying landscape.
In the short-term, he predicts, media suppliers will use virtual rep houses mainly for surplus inventory, specials and one-time-only offerings. "But eventually, they’re going to want to test it on a broader scale."
Any system that allows for real-time electronic transactions is bound to create advantages for both buyers and sellers, says Neslund, who adds that the industry appears to be moving toward a blend of high-tech and traditional methods of doing business.
Lorraine Hughes, media director with Toronto-based TBWA Chiat/Day, agrees.
As electronic buying and selling evolves, she says, it should eliminate much of the paperwork that now bogs down buyers, speeding up the transaction process and giving advertisers a better shot at the properties they want.
Some media sales reps worry that electronic transactions may diminish their role, but Hughes doesn’t see that as a likelihood. There will still be many situations in which the negotiating skills of reps will be called upon, she says.
If anything, improved communications systems will render sales reps more effective, Hughes says. "The reps can spend more time being ambassadors for their stations and publications," she explains.
Mike Wixson, CEO of AvailableMedia.com, says the company is working to set up a French-language version of the site, and to add Quebec media properties to its listings. The virtual rep house has also begun making forays into the U.S. market.
