Challenge

How can we make ensure that customers only book available dates according to our publication schedule?

Solution

We have developed a Publication Date selection feature that allows to select and book available publication date with ease, saving the time and effort. The Publication Dates section offers two modes: one that displays only the dates, and another that uses color coding to indicate availability status for each date. We are using visually appealing colors that are easy to distinguish, 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)

You have the flexibility to customize the columns in the detail table for contending items within the chosen Publication Date selection in the Campaign Builder.

In the Campaign Builder, we provide a Publication Date selection view that displays the availabilities for booking an inventory product. This view shows each date that was set up as a Publication date, along with the Availability option. By using the Availability option, you can check which days are still available for booking and if any contending ads are blocking you from booking 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 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 use it the following three things are needed:

1. Set the field Enable Availability Mode Calendar to true (checked) on Item Configuration Setting.

2. Set the field Use Inventory Forecast Service to true (checked) in Administration Settings.

3. Have authorized any connection for our Gateway.

Activate Availability Mode

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

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

To enable the Inventory Forecast (Booking Calendar Service) in the Publication Date Calendar of Campaign Builder, you can activate this feature in the Administration settings.

• From the App launcher navigate to Administration Settings

• Check the box labelled Use Inventory Forecast Service

Enabling Customization in Campaign Builder's Publication Date Selection

To implement the ability to configure columns in the detail table related to Campaign Items in the Campaign Builder's Publication Date Selection, you need to adjust various components and use the Feature Settings object.

In the App launcher, navigate to Feature Settings > PubDateDetailView and search for the feature named NewMediaConfiguration:

• If you want to modify the fields that are shown in the Details view, you can change the values in Feature Settings. You can either create a new setting or use an existing one that has all the required columns for the Details table. To do this, you need to make a list of fields related to the campaign item separated by semicolons: