Imagine Communications, which aims to enable broadcasters and content owners monetise TV, has entered into an agreement with Sky advertising sales arm Sky Media to transform the way that multiplatform media advertising is bought and sold.
In a collaborative five-stage project, Imagine will work with Sky Media to evolve its existing, on-premises Landmark Sales application into a cloud-based, fully managed service for cross-platform campaign sales management, inventory optimisation and adaptive audience fulfilment.
Central to the project is Sky Media’s One Campaign, which allows advertisers to buy a single campaign that is delivered and measured holistically across multiple platforms, including linear and on demand, and receive one invoice. The capability was successfully developed in 2020 and is now live.
Another element is Imagine’s xG GamePlan, a cloud-native booking optimiser that brings improved efficiency to audience-based campaigns to reach target goals with less inventory. It will enable Sky Media to plan even last-minute campaigns accurately and effectively, ensuring all opportunities are monetised without over-delivery.
Finally, the project will see Landmark Sales transition from a standalone application to a next-generation cloud-based platform including modern, browser-based user interfaces.
By next year all of Sky Media’s ad management operations will be fully migrated to the cloud and operated by Imagine Managed Service.
“At Sky Media, we are always looking at how we can simplify the TV advertising market. One Campaign has only recently launched, but it is already proving to be a huge success in the market. It is transforming the way TV advertising is planned, measured, traded and managed by focusing on audiences, not platforms," explained Sky Media managing director John Litster.
“Once the new cloud platform is fully rolled out in the UK, the logical next step will be to deploy it across our international footprint, enabling the Sky Media teams in every European territory to operate as a fully integrated hub from a single common platform.”
Added Tom Cotney, CEO of Imagine Communications: “Our vision for the future of ad tech is a comprehensive, cross-platform advertising planning and delivery platform that runs in the cloud, provides a modern, intuitive user experience, and is readily and seamlessly integrated into all the systems around it. When we discussed this vision with Sky Media, they enthusiastically embraced it and were eager to work with us to bring it to life. This is a game-changer not just for Sky, but for all broadcasters and media businesses that need centralised, consolidated, cross-platform and highly efficient advertising technology.”
