Custom software for advertising space placement plans
Appfront builds software for media owners who sell and schedule their advertising space. It holds pages, positions, screens, billboards or airtime, along with their availability per period. For each campaign a placement plan is created, with options and bookings, and conflicts such as category exclusivity are flagged. The delivery of material, the placement and the proof are then monitored, and the invoice follows from the plan.
What is advertising space placement planning software?
A media owner sells space: a page in a trade magazine, a position on a website, a roadside billboard, a screen in a railway station, or a spot on local radio. Each space has a format, a period and a price, and can only be sold once. An advertiser or media agency often buys a package across several titles or locations, and wants a plan showing what appears where and when.
In practice, availability is kept in a spreadsheet per title or location, and options are tracked by email. Two salespeople book the same position. A competitor of an advertiser with exclusivity appears on the same page. Material arrives late or in the wrong format, and nobody notices before the deadline. And the invoice is made separately from the plan, so a changed placement isn't always invoiced correctly.
We build custom solutions because media owners differ: which media they run, what inventory they have, how and through whom they sell, and which systems they use for layout, playout and invoicing. Your rates and terms come from your own price list, and the software applies them.
Inventory at a glance
Every page, position, screen, billboard or spot with availability per period, for all salespeople.
Plan per campaign
Options and bookings in a placement plan, with checks for double bookings and exclusivity.
From material to invoice
Delivery, placement and proof monitored, and the invoice generated from the same plan.
How we build your advertising space placement planning software
We start with your sales: which media and inventory, how options and bookings are currently tracked, how material comes in, and how invoicing is done. Often each title or location has its own way of working. We bring these together into one inventory, without smoothing over the differences between media.
Your media, inventory, salespeople, material and systems.
Space with format, period and availability.
Options, bookings and placement plans per campaign.
Material, placement, proof, invoice, and ongoing management.
What advertising space placement planning software actually does
The components below come up with almost every media operator. Which ones you need depends on your media.
Inventory
Space with format and position.
Availability
Per period, for all sellers.
Bookings
Options and bookings per campaign.
Conflicts
Double booking and exclusivity.
Materials
Specifications and deadlines.
Placement
Confirmation and proof.
Who we build placement planning software for advertising space
The software is designed for those who sell and plan advertising space.
Publishers
Many titles and editions. The inventory is the core.
Outdoor advertising
Boards and screens per period. Availability matters most.
Local broadcasters
Airtime and spots. The placement plan is what counts.
Location media
Screens at stations and events. Proof of placement is the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about selling and planning advertising space. For publishers, see our page on publishing software, for the advertiser's side our page on an app for campaign planning and media budgets, and for reach our page on an app for media monitoring and reach reporting. You can read about how we work at custom software development.
For orders and invoicing with discounts and agency commission, see our app for advertising invoicing with agency commission.
Why choose Appfront for your placement planning software for advertising space?
An item sold twice, or an advert that doesn't run because the material arrived too late, costs a client. That is what we build around: inventory at a glance, a plan per campaign, and tracking of materials through to invoice.
Never double-booked
One inventory for all sellers.
Placed on time
Materials tracked ahead of the deadline.
Invoice matches
Invoiced from the same plan.
Security and privacy in placement planning software for advertising space
The software holds data on advertisers, campaigns, rates and revenue. Access is set by role, and an advertiser or media agency sees only their own plans in a portal.
The software runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage, daily back-ups and sign-in with a second factor.
Frequently asked questions about placement planning software for advertising space
Questions media owners ask before getting started.
It keeps track of inventory and availability per period, records options and bookings in a placement plan per campaign, flags double bookings and exclusivity conflicts, tracks materials and deadlines, records placement and proof, and invoices from the plan.
Yes. The inventory can contain different types of space, each with its own units, such as a page, a period on a board, or a spot at a set time. A plan can combine space across different media.
A seller can place an option on space for an advertiser, with an expiry date. Other sellers see that the space is under option. If the option is not converted into a booking, the space is released again.
For each booking you can record that a category may not appear alongside or in the same edition or period. A booking that conflicts with this is flagged before it is confirmed.
Each placement shows its specifications and deadline. Material that has not arrived on time, or does not meet the specifications, is flagged so the seller can still contact the client.
Yes, if those have an interface or export. The plan can go to the layout or playout system, and placement confirmations can come back as proof.
Ask that first. There are packages for advertising space sales, and those may be enough. Custom development makes sense if you combine different media types, if availability is currently kept in spreadsheets, or if invoices don't match the plan.
Advertising space that is never sold twice?
Tell us which media you operate, how you currently manage options and bookings, and how materials come in. We'll show you what the inventory, the plan and the placements look like.