Dynamic assignment of media advertising orders to broadcast inventory
A planning system obtains an order attribute table associating media advertising orders with flexibility attribute values that indicate scheduling flexibility, and generates an inventory table having cells representing station-daypart combinations. The cells of the inventory table are assigned flexibility attribute values corresponding to the flexibility attribute values of orders booked into corresponding station-daypart combinations. The planning system makes a comparison between a first flexibility attribute associated with an un-booked order and a second flexibility attribute associated with a booked order already booked in a particular station-daypart combination, where the comparison shows that the un-booked order has less scheduling flexibility than the booked order. In response to the comparison, an association between the booked order and the particular station-daypart combination is replaced with an association between the un-booked order and the particular station-daypart combination. A plan lineup is then generated based on the inventory table.
1. A method comprising:
obtaining, at a planning system, an order attribute table associating media advertising orders with flexibility attribute values that indicate scheduling flexibility;
generating, at the planning system, an inventory table having cells representing station-daypart combinations, wherein the cells are assigned flexibility attribute values corresponding to the flexibility attribute values of orders booked into corresponding station-daypart combinations;
at the planning system, making a comparison between a first flexibility attribute associated with an un-booked order and a second flexibility attribute associated with a booked order already booked in a particular station-daypart combination, wherein the comparison shows that the un-booked order has less scheduling flexibility than the booked order;
in response to the comparison, replacing an association between the booked order and the particular station-daypart combination with an association between the un-booked order and the particular station-daypart combination; and
generating a plan lineup based on the inventory table.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving the plan lineup at an order delivery system; and
splitting the plan lineup into station-specific orders.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
wherein the order attribute table includes both booked and un-booked inventory; and
assigning flexibility attribute values indicating maximum scheduling flexibility to cells not-yet associated with booked orders.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating overall flexibility attribute values for individual orders based on a plurality of attributes associated with corresponding orders; and
assigning the overall flexibility attribute values to the cells.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
automatically modifying over time an overall flexibility attribute associated with a particular order.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of attributes includes at least one of flexibility attributes, restriction attributes, or target attributes.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the flexibility attributes include one or more of a day part flexibility attribute, a station flexibility attribute, a weather flexibility attribute, or a week-to-week flexibility attribute.
8. A method for use in a media automation system, the method comprising:
obtaining, at a planning system, an order attribute table associating media advertising orders with flexibility attribute values that indicate scheduling flexibility;
generating an inventory table having cells representing station-daypart combinations, wherein the cells are assigned flexibility attribute values corresponding to the flexibility attribute values of orders booked into corresponding station-daypart combinations;
making a comparison between a first flexibility attribute associated with an un-booked order and a second flexibility attribute associated with a booked order already booked in a particular station-daypart combination, wherein the comparison shows that the un-booked order has greater scheduling flexibility than the booked order; and
in response to the comparison, leaving an association between the booked order and the particular station-daypart combination unchanged; and
generating a plan lineup based on the inventory table.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
receiving the plan lineup at an order delivery system; and
splitting the plan lineup into station-specific orders.
10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
wherein the order attribute table includes both booked and un-booked inventory; and
assigning flexibility attribute values indicating maximum scheduling flexibility to cells not-yet associated with booked orders.
11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
generating overall flexibility attribute values for individual orders based on a plurality of attributes associated with corresponding orders; and
assigning the overall flexibility attribute values to the cells.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
automatically modifying over time an overall flexibility attribute associated with a particular order.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of attributes includes at least one of flexibility attributes, restriction attributes, or target attributes.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the flexibility attributes include one or more of a day part flexibility attribute, a station flexibility attribute, a weather flexibility attribute, or a week-to-week flexibility attribute.
15. A system comprising:
a planning subsystem including a processor and associated memory, the planning subsystem configured to:
obtain an order attribute table associating media advertising orders with flexibility attribute values that indicate scheduling flexibility;
generate an inventory table having cells representing station-daypart combinations, wherein the cells are assigned flexibility attribute values corresponding to the flexibility attribute values of orders booked into corresponding station-daypart combinations;
make a comparison between a first flexibility attribute associated with an un-booked order and a second flexibility attribute associated with a booked order already booked in a particular station-daypart combination, wherein the comparison shows that the un-booked order has less scheduling flexibility than the booked order;
in response to the comparison, replacing an association between the booked order and the particular station-daypart combination with an association between the un-booked order and the particular station-daypart combination;
generate a plan lineup based on the inventory table; and
a delivery subsystem including a processor and associated memory, the delivery subsystem configured to:
receive the plan lineup from the planning subsystem;
split the plan lineup into station-specific orders; and
transmit the station-specific orders to traffic systems associated with corresponding stations.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the planning subsystem is further configured to:
assign flexibility attribute values indicating maximum scheduling flexibility to cells not-yet associated with booked orders.
17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the planning subsystem is further configured to:
generate overall flexibility attribute values for individual orders based on a plurality of attributes associated with corresponding orders; and
assign the overall flexibility attribute values to the cells.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the planning subsystem is further configured to:
automatically modify over time an overall flexibility attribute associated with a particular order.
19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of attributes includes at least one of flexibility attributes, restriction attributes, or target attributes.
20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the flexibility attributes include one or more of a day part flexibility attribute, a station flexibility attribute, a weather flexibility attribute, or a week-to-week flexibility attribute.