Inventory forecasting: hints and tips from Geisla Turner
Since 2000 Geisla Turner has been exploring online advertising operations and now runs the ad ops team at CNET Networks in London. Geisla sits on our Academy Steering Board and when she dropped by at our last Academy, we asked her for a few extra hints and tips to share for how to approach inventory forecasting.
. Build up your intuition about the website; you can't beat your instincts. Start by doing manual forecasting so you get a real sense of the data and how traffic behaves on your site
. Remember that things are never 100%: you can't be perfect in forecasting, but you can be methodological and conservative. And always factor in that contingency so there's no danger you won't have the inventory that's been booked.
. Ask Sales to provide ALL targeting criteria at point of request, including frequency capping and Geo targeting.
. Work with the technology vendors to understand what your existing adserver or data management tools can do
. Think about buying an 'inventory manager' solution to help you get the numbers more accurate and to manage more complex forecasts. Push the vendors regarding testing and implementation to ensure the product you buy suits your business needs.
. Longer term the development of reach and frequency currencies will create new types of challenges for ad ops teams
. Automating your workflow process is the key to greater efficiency