Challenge

We want to make sure that customers can only book dates that are available in our publication schedule.

Solution

We've created a Publication Date selection feature that helps customers quickly find and book available dates.

Two modes for the Publication Dates section are available: one mode displays just the dates, while the other mode includes colour coding to show the availability status of each date. Use visually appealing and distinguishable colours, and provide explanations for each status in a legend.

What are Publication Dates and Why are these important?

Generally, all the ADvendio inventory is available every day of the week. Publication Dates are important for Print customers to define on which dates their newspaper or magazine is published to sell the ads. For Out-of-Home customers, Publication Dates can be used to define the dates when weekly campaigns are started to guide the Sales team during the Campaign creation process.

An example of the use of Publication Dates in the print world can be a weekly newspaper which might have certain dates when it is published: from Monday to Friday. This means that for every month these publication dates will be defined only from Mondays to Fridays. The result is that sales users will not be able to select Saturdays and Sundays.

Selecting Publication Dates (without availability mode)

To select Publication dates please follow the steps below:

• Start the Campaign Builder via the Media Search or open it for an existing campaign from the Campaign item Related List

• In the Period section find the column Publication Dates

• Click on the calendar sign modal and the window Selected Publication Date will open. The window will display two fields: Selected Year and Date Range. The Selected Year drop-down menu has its range set by default to the current year but you can switch between past and future years. The Date Range is available in 1 month, 2 months and 3 months.

• Alternatively, on the top right, you can use arrows ◀️ ▶️ to move between years and months in the calendar

• Below the Selected Year and Date Range, you will see a calendar which reflects which Publication dates you can choose.

Selecting Publication Dates (with availability mode)

We also support a Publication Date selection view with availabilities in the Campaign Builder. This view will show each date which was set up as Publication dates for the inventory product. With the Availability option, you will see which days are still free to book and if there are any contending ads blocking you to book certain dates.

Working with the Availability Mode

Check this video on Publication Dates with Availability modes:

Colour Legend explained

The Legend below the calendar will explain your availability descriptions based on its colours:

• Available

• Offered

• Booked, Reserved or Offered (enough available)

• Booked, Reserved or Offered (Not enough available)

• Not available

• Overbooked or over-reserved

Selection Dots colours explained

There are the following options :

• Blue dots - will show you which dates you selected

• Grey dots - will show you more details about already Offered or Booked dates and which Campaigns are already running on your selected date

• Upon clicking on the grey dot the new window will open helping you to discover more information on Booked, Offered and Available Inventory:

Using Manual Date Ranges with Publication Dates

In the Media Configuration, Publication Dates typically set the "From" and "Until" dates of a Campaign Item. However, if the "Manual Date Range" field is included in the Campaign Builder, custom date ranges can be set for the campaign item. This can be done by checking the manual date range checkbox on the Campaign Item.

Placement-Based Scheduling for Publication Dates

Information about Placement-Based Scheduling for Publication Dates introduced in version 2.167 can be found on this wiki page: https://advendio.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SO/pages/126775350/4.3.9+Publication+Dates#Placement-Based-Scheduling-for-Publication-Dates

Setup

To activate the availability mode, click the checkbox labelled "Enable Availability Mode Calendar" in the Item Configuration Settings.

Integrating Inventory Forecast in the Campaign Builder's Publication Date Calendar

From version 2.168, we have Inventory Forecast (Booking Calendar Service) available in the Publication Date Calendar of Campaign Builder, and you can check to have this feature active in the administration settings:

• From the App launcher navigate to Administration Settings

• Check the box labelled Use Inventory Forecast Service