Modern DOOH Scheduling: Balancing Guaranteed Direct Sales and Programmatic Yield

Managing Guaranteed and Programmatic Inventory

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) networks have become significantly more sophisticated than the fixed loops that once defined digital billboard operations. Media owners now manage guaranteed campaigns sold directly to advertisers alongside programmatic demand that can help monetize available inventory.

The challenge is making sure guaranteed campaigns are delivered as contracted while giving programmatic demand an opportunity to fill the capacity that remains.

For DOOH operators, this means separating guaranteed campaign scheduling from programmatic fulfillment. Ad Manager Connect, built by Dot2Dot Communications, manages the guaranteed-sales side of this process, automatically assembling playlists based on booked campaigns, available capacity, spot lengths and required play frequency. The operator's chosen programmatic provider or providers can then manage content for the remaining available inventory through the CMS.

This creates a straightforward approach to DOOH inventory management: guaranteed campaigns are scheduled first, and available capacity is then offered to other sources of demand.

Managing Guaranteed DOOH Sales

Direct-sold DOOH campaigns come with specific contractual requirements. An advertiser may purchase a defined number of plays on particular digital faces during a specific campaign period, based on factors such as location, budget and desired frequency. The plant operator must take all this information and turn it into a successful campaign.

As networks grow, managing these requirements across multiple digital faces becomes increasingly complex. Each face can have different capacity, spot-length requirements, campaign dates and delivery obligations.

Ad Manager Connect provides a centralized way to manage these requirements through campaign management, inventory and booking information. Once guaranteed campaigns are booked, Ad Manager Connect automatically assembles the required playlists for each digital face based on campaign dates, existing campaigns, spot lengths and contracted play requirements.

Centralizing these rules also provides an operational advantage when requirements change. For example, if regulatory or operational requirements change the minimum allowable spot length, the change can be managed in Ad Manager Connect rather than requiring operators to maintain different scheduling rules across multiple systems.

Turning Available Inventory Into an Opportunity

Even after all guaranteed campaigns have been scheduled, a digital face may have available spots.

This is where programmatic DOOH can add value. Rather than Ad Manager Connect attempting to manage the programmatic bidding process itself, operators can use the programmatic provider or providers of their choice.

When the guaranteed playlist does not fill every available spot, the CMS can poll the configured programmatic provider for content. The resulting content waterfall is straightforward:

1. Guaranteed campaigns are scheduled according to their contracted requirements. 2. Programmatic content fills available spots where it is provided. 3. House ads or bonus content can be used when programmatic content is unavailable. 4. Alternatively, the system can move to the next scheduled advertisement, allowing paying campaigns to play more frequently.

This approach allows operators to choose the programmatic partners that fit their network without requiring their inventory management platform to also become the programmatic marketplace.

A More Practical Approach to DOOH Scheduling

Modern DOOH scheduling needs to account for the actual capacity of each digital face. The operator establishes the applicable sales policies for the face, including minimum spot length and number of spots in the loop. Campaign bookings then consume that capacity according to their contracted requirements.

Since Ad Manager Connect uses the booking information to automatically build the guaranteed-sales playlist, operations teams don't have to manually construct individual playlists every time a campaign is added, changed or removed.

This creates a direct connection between what has been sold and what needs to be scheduled, while leaving the remaining capacity available to the CMS and the operator's selected programmatic providers.

Managing Competitive Exclusions

DOOH campaigns can also include rules governing which advertisers can appear together or within a defined period.

For example, an automotive advertiser may have a contractual requirement that a competing automotive brand not appear on the same face within a specified period. Ad Manager Connect supports line-of-sight relationships and competitive scheduling requirements as part of the booking and inventory-management process.

The important consideration is that guaranteed-sales requirements are established in the inventory and booking system before the remaining capacity is made available to other sources of demand.

This allows operators to maintain control over their contractual commitments while using their chosen programmatic technology to manage additional demand.

Connecting DOOH Scheduling With Revenue Recognition

The benefits of structured DOOH scheduling extend beyond playback. For leased billboard locations, advertising revenue may form part of the calculation used to determine payments to property owners.

Ad Manager Connect's lease and revenue management capabilities automatically assign the revenue value of guaranteed-delivery contracts to the appropriate lease payments for calculation.

Operators can also enter revenue generated through programmatic advertising to complete the calculation.

This connects the value of guaranteed campaigns and programmatic revenue with the financial obligations associated with the digital face, without requiring Ad Manager Connect to become the programmatic marketplace itself.

A Practical Model for Hybrid DOOH Inventory

Programmatic DOOH doesn't have to replace direct sales, and managing both doesn't require an inventory management platform to control every part of the process.

A practical model is to make guaranteed delivery the foundation of the schedule. Ad Manager Connect manages the bookings, capacity and contracted play requirements, then automatically builds the guaranteed playlist for each digital face.

Any remaining capacity can then be made available to the operator's chosen programmatic provider(s). If programmatic content isn't available, operators can use house ads or bonus content—or simply allow the next paying campaign to play.

This division of responsibility gives operators the ability to manage their guaranteed DOOH sales and scheduling centrally while retaining flexibility in how they monetize available inventory.

There is also a direct financial benefit: Dot2Dot does not charge an additional fee for this programmatic waterfall service. One hundred percent of revenue generated through programmatic advertising is retained by the plant operator.

Ad Manager Connect manages what has been sold and guaranteed. Your CMS and programmatic partners manage what can be added to the remaining capacity.

Request a demo of Ad Manager Connect to learn how it can help manage your guaranteed DOOH sales, scheduling and revenue workflows.