UK’s i-media taps Broadsign, Brysa to harmonise tech stack, increase operational efficiency by 40%

i-media, an OOH media owner based in the United Kingdom, has proven a leader in motorway advertising since its inception in 1995. The company provides advertisers with unique, innovative, and sustainable OOH solutions. Present in over 130 motorway service areas (MSAs), its network lets advertisers target a diverse set of audiences on the move who also stop to refuel and recharge, and many franchises use i-media’s screens to drive traffic to their restaurants and shops. National and regional advertisers also benefit from i-media’s network to promote their services and products to customers on the move.

i-media’s audience has grown consistently in recent years, and the business is thriving. To support the demand, the company has adopted a technology stack comprising the leading OOH advertising technology platform Broadsign and Salesforce, the world’s predominant CRM solution. Coupled with the guidance of UK-based Salesforce partner Brysa, the technology has enabled i-media to transform screen sites into a substantial digital network capable of evolving with its business. 

Scaling the i-media network 

Over the past year, i-media’s network grew from 50 full-motion D48 screens to 120 large-format screens, and the company expects that number to reach 130 soon. They’ve also installed over 500 digital 6-sheets and large-format DOOH posters for a collective digital inventory of 650 screens.

Campaigns were previously managed manually through an oversized spreadsheet. However, this was no longer feasible as the network expanded significantly in a short period. Requiring a robust system that could automate the content schedule and management of campaigns for its vast network, i-media onboarded the full network onto the Broadsign Platform.

Broadsign’s campaign planning and content & network management solutions have since allowed i-media to automate key operational processes, helping them maximize screen fill rates and optimize the use of their entire network. 

i-media heavily leverages Broadsign’s Dynamic Rebalancing feature, which modifies the pace at which a campaign is delivered. It will speed up or slow down campaign delivery to help under- or over-performing campaigns stay on target to meet the campaign objective.

As Martyn Perrie, Head of Digital Delivery at i-media confirms, “When our inventory was managed through a spreadsheet, we were continually reshuffling campaigns manually to try and maximize our digital inventory. With Broadsign, everything is done automatically. We add the screens and campaign parameters, and everything is organized for us at the click of a button.”

The team also uses Screen Reallocation, which is useful when an incoming request for an advertiser requires a screen that is already booked by another campaign. Broadsign automatically reorganizes how screens are allocated to each campaign whilst ensuring that newly allocated screens still fit campaign requirements. 

Seamlessly connecting i-media’s technology stack to boost efficiency

Salesforce is i-media’s main solution for customer relationship management (CRM), which means the sales team typically books and manages all of their customers’ campaigns directly through it. Once booked, campaigns previously had to be scheduled manually onto the Broadsign Platform. As i-media’s network grew, it knew this was no longer feasible, so the company enlisted the help of Brysa to connect its CRM to the Broadsign Platform. 

Making use of Broadsign’s API capabilities, Brysa was able to seamlessly integrate Salesforce with i-media’s campaign management workflow. With the integration, i-media’s sales team is now able to take full advantage of the CRM solution’s flexibility to build campaigns within it, which can then be simultaneously booked and scheduled directly within the Broadsign Platform. The new approach has increased operational efficiency by a substantial 40 percent.

The real-time sync between Salesforce and Broadsign has also given the i-media sales team immediate insight into available inventory, allowing them to reduce turnaround time for briefs to advertisers and agencies.

While the Broadsign platform has enabled i-media to automate most processes, the added synchronisation between the Broadsign Platform and Salesforce has allowed i-media to use its technology stack to its full potential. As the MSA media owner continues its transformation, it’s able to do so with confidence because its technology stack can seamlessly scale with its business.