Agencies tap high-tech software to track ad billings
Donovan Data Systems Ltd., a New York-based company with more than $1 million in annual revenues, just signed up two new clients here for DDS Onsite, a software program to help agencies track media planning and billing.
ITI McCann-Erickson and J. Walter Thompson Parintex, two of the country's largest agencies, are the most recent agencies to sign up for the program that keeps track of spending and schedules in all media. They join DMB&B, Young & Rubicam and Bates Saatchi & Saatchi.
DDS, which has 100 clients in the United Kingdom, so far only has 10 in Eastern Europe. But as the market develops here and more information on media becomes available, the firm is making a major push into the region. "Now we are seeing the fruits of development come true because the data are available," said Lori Friedman, managing director of DDS in London, who was recently in Warsaw to sponsor a one-day demonstration of the software program to local ad execs.
She noted in particular, the new cooperation between opinion pollster OBOP and U.K.-based Taylor Nelson AGB to introduce People Meters here to monitor television viewing habits.
And with the Polish market being the biggest, it's only natural that DDS should make the biggest push here, she added.
DDS has even gone so far as to develop products specifically for the Polish market - for example, a feature that tracks pre-billing, which is done here and not in developed advertising markets. The firm has also developed a Polish-language version, translating 40,000 words from 4,500 screens. Friedman said agencies usually pay a percentage of billings for the product, which includes modifications and service, but declined to be more specific.
While small agencies tend to use programs such as Excel for keeping track of orders, large international agencies say they need outside help.
"In a growing marketplace as this, many of the administrative structures, which are in place in the West, are not in place here," said Malcolm Etheridge, executive media director with ITI McCann-Erickson, which expects to get DDS installed within the month. "So people who should be media planners spend a lot of their time doing ancillary activities such as accounting."
Once the new software program is up and running, he said, "our planners can spend all their time planning and our buyers can start buying."
Bottleneck
In separate meetings with soft drink giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi this week, the Consumer Federation is attempting to get to the bottom of what went wrong with each company's bottle-cap promotion.
Both companies are alleged to have wrongfully denied consumers cash prizes in special promotions. Coca-Cola claimed that some bottle caps were misprinted with winning numbers, while Pepsi executives argue that some of the caps that contestants sought to redeem were tampered with.
After a meeting Wednesday, Pepsi sent the questionable bottle caps to the Warsaw Prosecutor's Office to test for tampering. Federation lawyer Hubert Plater said the federation would not take any further action until the test results come back.
Meanwhile, the federation's four civil lawsuits remain pending against Coca-Cola regarding its "Go for the Gold" promotion.
Early this week, Coke suggested a new system of verifying the numbers on the winning caps, said Plater. Originally the company verified numbers through a notary.
But the company's actions may do little to undo the public relations damage of the campaign gone sour, Plater said.
"Some customers don't trust Coca-Cola, so perhaps they won't agree with this new verification procedure," he said.
Mixed signals
The National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council expects to issue decisions concerning a few of the 187 applications for radio frequencies in the next two weeks, but decisions on television frequencies could take longer.
Cezary Mroczkowski, director of the council's licensing department, told the Business Journal that there are "some problems" concerning some of the TV applications, but declined to elaborate further. Regional licenses in northern and central Poland are among the mostly highly contested fields. The council had originally expected to award TV frequencies by March.
Fare deal
Poznan's leading radio station, RMI FM, has found a somewhat unique advertising outlet - mobile billboards, also known as taxis, writes Dorota Dabrowski.
The station has a barter advertising partnership with a local radio-taxi service to get its name out among the listening public. The cooperation began two years ago when the station was looking at advertising possibilities, said Wieslaw Gawryszak, director of 200-car Radio Taxi RMI. (Although both companies have the RMI name, they are separately owned.)
The taxis continuously play RMI FM while on the road with passengers, who become captive listeners. The taxi company also provides service for RMI FM's reporters and for special and promotional events.
Ryszard Oszmian, RMI radio director, estimates the station saves about zl. 100,000 ($39,000) a month in advertising costs. He bases this figure on the cost of renting 200 billboards for the station.
The taxi company saves as well. In exchange for its services, the company gets three, 30-second ads aired daily on RMI FM, credit for the traffic report and the constant reminder of the partnership's slogan, "Listen to the radio you ride. Ride the radio you listen to."
Given the station's fee of zl. 300 ($118) for a 30-second spot, Radio Taxi RMI receives about zl. 27,000 ($10,590) in free air time each month.
Both sides in the barter deal find the arrangement to their liking. "We found a sponsor and a partner at the same time," said Gawryszak. "One company takes care of the other.'
ITI McCann-Erickson and J. Walter Thompson Parintex, two of the country's largest agencies, are the most recent agencies to sign up for the program that keeps track of spending and schedules in all media. They join DMB&B, Young & Rubicam and Bates Saatchi & Saatchi.
DDS, which has 100 clients in the United Kingdom, so far only has 10 in Eastern Europe. But as the market develops here and more information on media becomes available, the firm is making a major push into the region. "Now we are seeing the fruits of development come true because the data are available," said Lori Friedman, managing director of DDS in London, who was recently in Warsaw to sponsor a one-day demonstration of the software program to local ad execs.
She noted in particular, the new cooperation between opinion pollster OBOP and U.K.-based Taylor Nelson AGB to introduce People Meters here to monitor television viewing habits.
And with the Polish market being the biggest, it's only natural that DDS should make the biggest push here, she added.
DDS has even gone so far as to develop products specifically for the Polish market - for example, a feature that tracks pre-billing, which is done here and not in developed advertising markets. The firm has also developed a Polish-language version, translating 40,000 words from 4,500 screens. Friedman said agencies usually pay a percentage of billings for the product, which includes modifications and service, but declined to be more specific.
While small agencies tend to use programs such as Excel for keeping track of orders, large international agencies say they need outside help.
"In a growing marketplace as this, many of the administrative structures, which are in place in the West, are not in place here," said Malcolm Etheridge, executive media director with ITI McCann-Erickson, which expects to get DDS installed within the month. "So people who should be media planners spend a lot of their time doing ancillary activities such as accounting."
Once the new software program is up and running, he said, "our planners can spend all their time planning and our buyers can start buying."
Bottleneck
In separate meetings with soft drink giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi this week, the Consumer Federation is attempting to get to the bottom of what went wrong with each company's bottle-cap promotion.
Both companies are alleged to have wrongfully denied consumers cash prizes in special promotions. Coca-Cola claimed that some bottle caps were misprinted with winning numbers, while Pepsi executives argue that some of the caps that contestants sought to redeem were tampered with.
After a meeting Wednesday, Pepsi sent the questionable bottle caps to the Warsaw Prosecutor's Office to test for tampering. Federation lawyer Hubert Plater said the federation would not take any further action until the test results come back.
Meanwhile, the federation's four civil lawsuits remain pending against Coca-Cola regarding its "Go for the Gold" promotion.
Early this week, Coke suggested a new system of verifying the numbers on the winning caps, said Plater. Originally the company verified numbers through a notary.
But the company's actions may do little to undo the public relations damage of the campaign gone sour, Plater said.
"Some customers don't trust Coca-Cola, so perhaps they won't agree with this new verification procedure," he said.
Mixed signals
The National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council expects to issue decisions concerning a few of the 187 applications for radio frequencies in the next two weeks, but decisions on television frequencies could take longer.
Cezary Mroczkowski, director of the council's licensing department, told the Business Journal that there are "some problems" concerning some of the TV applications, but declined to elaborate further. Regional licenses in northern and central Poland are among the mostly highly contested fields. The council had originally expected to award TV frequencies by March.
Fare deal
Poznan's leading radio station, RMI FM, has found a somewhat unique advertising outlet - mobile billboards, also known as taxis, writes Dorota Dabrowski.
The station has a barter advertising partnership with a local radio-taxi service to get its name out among the listening public. The cooperation began two years ago when the station was looking at advertising possibilities, said Wieslaw Gawryszak, director of 200-car Radio Taxi RMI. (Although both companies have the RMI name, they are separately owned.)
The taxis continuously play RMI FM while on the road with passengers, who become captive listeners. The taxi company also provides service for RMI FM's reporters and for special and promotional events.
Ryszard Oszmian, RMI radio director, estimates the station saves about zl. 100,000 ($39,000) a month in advertising costs. He bases this figure on the cost of renting 200 billboards for the station.
The taxi company saves as well. In exchange for its services, the company gets three, 30-second ads aired daily on RMI FM, credit for the traffic report and the constant reminder of the partnership's slogan, "Listen to the radio you ride. Ride the radio you listen to."
Given the station's fee of zl. 300 ($118) for a 30-second spot, Radio Taxi RMI receives about zl. 27,000 ($10,590) in free air time each month.
Both sides in the barter deal find the arrangement to their liking. "We found a sponsor and a partner at the same time," said Gawryszak. "One company takes care of the other.'
