Media selling and media buying be it print, tv, outdoor or online media has always been the crux of the revenue model across all media’s. Leaving aside subscription based models advertising is still the most profitable model that makes most of these media earn their bread, butter and sometimes jam.

So inorder to make sure that media sellers and buyers get the maximum out of this media space selling game Dentsu media an Indian arm of the Japan-based Dentsu group, is planning to launch a website in September, which will be a platform for the auction of unsold ad inventory across TV, print, outdoor and online ad inventory. Lets analyse whether it will work or it wont…

Why will it work?

The site will be called Lastminuteinventory.com and will be beneficial to both media sellers and buyers in the following ways:

Real time booking - Ads inventory will be traded online in real time hence blocking any possibility of losing out on a great space or spot.

Scarce/Event based inventory access - Something like a ad spot during a breaking news or a India match win can be booked last minute on the site.

Maximizes revenue for Publishers/Media sellers - The site would maximize revenue for media sellers as it is auction based.

Why wont it work?

According to statement by Manish Porwal, managing director, India, West and South, Starcom Worldwide  "Such endeavours have not been encouraged by the industry in the past. Though the market is getting digitally aware, you cannot ignore the human touch. It will help media owners whose inventory is in demand to spread it. But buyers will come to expect the same rates, and this could prove detrimental in the long run."

Conclusion: I think this is an interesting move and im sure media sellers would love to see what auction can do for their business but unless the inventory is hot property it may not fetch the media sellers good business through the auction model.

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