Complimentary Technologies Help Agencies Holistically Manage Their Business and Speed Processes; Enables Advantage Customers to Onboard Centro’s Basis, a Unified Programmatic Advertising Software
Chicago – Centro (www.centro.net), a provider of enterprise-class software for digital advertising, today announced an integration of its Basis software platform with Advantage Software (www.gotoadvantage.com). A trusted provider for the media industry and widely used among agencies, Advantage offers enterprise resource planning (ERP) software suited for managing accounting, reconciliation and finance. Centro’s Basis is the only SaaS solution that boosts team and campaign performance by seamlessly unifying programmatic advertising alongside digital media planning, buying and optimization. Agencies using Advantage’s agency management system, AQUA, can now cleanly absorb media buying and delivery data generated from using Basis — streamlining the resources needed for reconciliation. To request information on Basis, visit http://www2.centro.net/Basis.
Reducing the Burden of Reconciliation
Basis helps agencies maximize the value of their ERP software by enabling users to consolidate campaign media data and tailor it with the codes their finance teams use in AQUA. This reduces the manual labor for data entry to streamline resources needed for reconciliation. Data from media-buying does not normally translate easily to finance systems, making monthly and quarterly reconciliation into a major pain point for agencies. Other factors contribute to this friction:
• In digital media, agencies’ teams use disparate systems to manage media transactions for direct- and programmatic-buying, so there is a lack of centralization.
• Agency finance teams rely on media teams and publisher partners to submit data separately, usually occurring at infrequent, inconsistent and unpredictable intervals.
• The problem is exacerbated because of dynamic pricing through programmatic buying, where CPMs can change constantly.
• Reconciliation is a heavy burden on both the finance and media teams because they need to dedicate personnel and resources to find data from different systems and verify them.
“Advantage and Centro share a mission to build one of the most sophisticated software ecosystems for agencies and advertisers,” said Ellen Coulter, President of Advantage Software. “We admire Centro’s foresight in creating technology that elegantly blends together the day-to-day tasks of media professionals and naturally integrates with agencies’ existing software infrastructures.”
Advantage’s AQUA operations and finance software is widely used among advertising and media organizations. It has strong adoption among regional, independent agencies. Advantage’s 650+ customers can easily use Basis to improve digital media-buying and campaign performance while reducing the time needed for monthly reconciliation and billing.
The Basis technology platform empowers agencies with accurate, real-time reporting available on-demand because it tracks media delivery data daily and verifies it with contracts, no matter the buying tactic — fixed CPMs or dynamic bid pricing. A short series of clicks generates the files for upload to AQUA, pre-programmed with specific codes to associate line items with appropriate clients and vendors.
Basis streamlines the reconciliation of dynamic pricing common to programmatic advertising because delivery reports are generated in real-time within the system. This gives campaign teams the most accurate reflection of what has been delivered by publishers, whether it’s a direct-buy or through real-time bidding channels. Agencies that outsource programmatic buying to different partners can also manage these vendors within Basis with the option to buy with a fixed or dynamic CPM. Agency media teams benefit by funneling all their partners’ data into a single system for easy management and organization.
“We admire the trust Advantage established with its customers, which was earned through superior solutions that affect business outcomes,” said Shawn Riegsecker, CEO of Centro. “The Centro-Advantage combination represents a next-generation media management system that transforms business operations into a differentiator and empowers agencies to strategically manage their entire organization.”
Centro is a recognized digital media-buying technology provider, having worked with 300+ regional, independent agencies in the past year. Its SaaS offering, Basis, automates and organizes the entire digital media process — from planning to activation to performance to financial reconciliation — via a single interface.
About Advantage
Advantage is the leading provider of enterprise-level software specifically designed for advertising agencies and marketing companies. Advantage automates all aspects of accounting, billing, project management, digital asset management, creative proofing, media management, and client relationship management with the specific needs of agencies and their clients in mind. Robust and customizable modules are fully integrated to streamline processes, ensure accuracy, and deliver excellent management reporting. Advantage Software is headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina.
About Centro
Centro (www.centro.net) is a provider of enterprise-class software for digital advertising organizations. Its technology platform centralizes, organizes and automates all digital media campaigns across all channels, accessing both guaranteed and biddable inventory, to achieve any objective. Our holistic approach gives marketers a single system of record to fulfill their research, planning, buying, optimization, reporting and reconciliation needs. Headquartered in Chicago with 32 offices in North America, Centro has received numerous accolades for its commitment to employees and workplace culture.
