Pretty exciting news today, we’ve officially launched a new product called Balihoo Publisher Edition.  You can read the full press release here.  This is a product we’ve been working on for several years, so you can imagine our thrill at finally being able to publically announce it to the marketplace. 

Balihoo Publisher Edition is basically a white-label portal solution that allows media sellers to make the full breadth of their advertising inventory available for purchase online in a publisher branded portal.  There are significant benefits to the publisher in such a solution:

• Drive efficiency into the direct sales model, freeing up sales reps to focus on high-value, high-margin strategic selling efforts 
• It gives publishers the ability to combine and bundle media vehicles for true cross-medium sales efforts
• Reach the long-tail of the buyer market with a self-service portal
• Easily capture incremental budget from existing customers  

The other exciting news (that you won’t find in the press release) is that we are currently implementing the product with a major Publisher customer and we’re only a few weeks away from it going live and announcing that to the market.  More news to come on that soon!

Interesting article on MediaPost today:  Audience Fragmentation Challenges Media-Buying Process. 

 Naturally this article struck a chord, as the concept of “media fragmentation” was one of the primary reasons Balihoo was founded to begin with.  We’ve been covered several times in this vein: 

Get more relevant with niche media

A Media Planning Solution for a Fragmented World

The angle that I think is missing from this article is the concept of cross-medium planning and buying.  As ad platforms become more sophisticated, it’s critical that we as technology providers allow seamless cross-medium planning and execution.  While medium-specific tools are still valuable for the vertically-organized media group, more and more the industry is moving towards horizontal buying and planning organizations that are responsible for reaching a customer across their media consumption habits.  As a major media organization, or even a small shop, I would seriously hesitate to invest in any ad planning/buying technology that did not enable true cross-medium functionality. 

Balihoo is continually dedicated to streamlining the manner in which the media planning process is carried out. For both parties involved in the process (buyers and sellers) there seems to be an ever-escalating need for heightened efficiency in the RFP/RFI (Request for Proposal/Request for Information) process. The Balihoo Worksheet is one component of our system that seamlessly and effectively conducts and manages RFP’s and RFI’s for you. Resulting in accurate, rapid and customizable data (which undoubtedly results in fewer migraines for you) the Worksheets are equally valuable to both the buyer and the seller.

 From the Seller’s Perspective - Balihoo’s Worksheets 

The Worksheet jumps into action when you receive a RFP.

The Worksheet offers you an efficient, online and centralized location where you can respond to the RFP’s you receive from Balihoo. The responses that you enter will automatically flow into the buyer’s Worksheet, thus ensuring that the number exchanging process goes flawlessly.

In addition, the Worksheet allows you to save responses. By offering a tool that allows you to quickly respond with “standard” responses you are able to focus your attention on what’s really important:  the strategic components of the RFP process.

From the Buyer’s Perspective - Balihoo’s Worksheets

The Worksheet jumps into action when you begin to receive responses to your customizable Request for Proposals (RFP).

When you issue a RFP the responses to that RFP automatically flow into an online worksheet. The great thing about our worksheet is that it is completely customizable and was built on the premise of simplifying the comparison process.  With the Balihoo Worksheet you no longer have to tediously copy/paste section after section in an attempt to compare responses; the system filters and files your customized RFP responses automatically into an easy-to-use spreadsheet. The Excel-compatible worksheet allows you to easily identify and compare the information that you need, thus allowing you to spend more of your valuable time focusing on the strategic components of the RFP process.

Just another reason why Balihoo truly is the media planning professional’s best friend.

We’ve outgrown our current office space, and we’re starting construction on 11,000 square feet. No more 2 page directions to our office- we’ll be right outside the elevator on the 3^rd floor. Check back for construction progress and pictures!

Almost 20 years had passed since I actually owned a bike, but on Father’s Day this year I got a new bike from my kids. I live in Boise – officially the City of Trees, but to many the Biking City due to its many accolades for the abundance of biking trails in and around town. Despite the myriad biking opportunities, both on trail and off, in town and in the foothills, I had never biked in Boise. I do plenty of outdoors stuff, but so much that there was never room for another hobby like biking.

Well, last Wednesday morning I decided to bike into work. The ride was about 6 miles each way, and I was able to bike the entire way along the Boise Greenbelt – a paved walking and biking path that runs continuously along the Boise River. I was immediately struck by a few things:
- First, the sheer number of people along the path – proves what an outdoor-oriented place Boise is. People of all ages were walking, jogging, riding bikes, walking dogs, walking with kids, etc…
- The serenity of it all – there were no traffic lights, cars, or cacophonous noises like on a road. Moreover, you pretty much see the river the entire way and lots of wildlife.
- The weather – Boise gets hot during the day, but the mornings are amazingly calm and cool. Unfortunately, the afternoons are significantly hotter, but the greenbelt’s shade made it pretty comfortable.

These combined factors make for a great spirit and mindset coming into work each morning. Moreover, it’s really amazing to live in a capital city and have such amazing access to the outdoors right in the center of the city. Here are a few pictures of the sights you see along the greenbelt:

Certainly one of my motivations for biking is to save a little gas money. I’d imagine that the number of people on the greenbelt has increased because of gas prices, but Boise has always been a biking town. Proof positive of this is the number of bikes parked outside our office entrance every day! I don’t see biking replacing my other outdoor passions, like fly fishing (see previous blog post), but it’s definitely a great way to start the day.

We’re pretty excited around here to have such a great industry veteran on our Board of Directors.  Between Jack and Michael Browner, the industry experience and knowledge in our board meetings is overwhelming.  Press release below:

Balihoo appoints Jack Haire, former Executive Vice President of Time Inc, to the Balihoo Board of Directors.

Boise, ID; July 8, 2008 – Balihoo, the only on-demand media buying and planning platform that provides intelligent software-PLUS-services to media professionals across all mediums, announced today that Jack Haire, former Executive Vice President of Time Inc, a division of Time Warner, will be joining the Balihoo Board of Directors.

“We’re honored to have Jack join our Board of Directors,” said Pete Gombert, CEO of Balihoo. “As EVP at Time Inc, and with strategic guidance roles at CNET and Quigo, Jack has positioned himself as one of the foremost authorities on advertising and the technologies that will continue to drive the transformation of the industry.  His strategic vision and deep industry ties make him an invaluable member of our team.”

Haire spent more than 25 years at Time Warner in a variety of senior executive positions. From 2001 to 2006, he served as Executive Vice President of Time Inc. where he ran the Corporate Sales and Marketing Division and chaired the Time Warner Advertising Council. Earlier in his career, he served as publisher of TIME Magazine and President of Fortune/Money Group. Since then, he has served as an advisor to numerous companies, including CNET Networks, Hallmark and Quigo Technologies, where he assisted in developing innovative advertising strategies.

“Balihoo sits at the intersection of advertising and technology and delivers clear value to the agency, the publisher and the advertiser,” said Haire.  “I’m looking forward to working with such a dynamic, innovative team.”

About Balihoo’s Board of Directors
Composed of visionaries with extensive experience in the industry, the Balihoo Board of Directors also includes: Mark Solon (Co-Founder of Highway 12 Ventures), Sanford (Sandy) Keziah (Co-Founder of Lacuna Gap Capital), Michael Browner (former Executive Director of Media and Marketing Operations for General Motors Corporation) and Pete Gombert (CEO of Balihoo).

About Balihoo
Balihoo (www.balihoo.com), based in Boise, Idaho, dramatically streamlines the media buying process, allowing media buyers and sellers to shift more time from administrative work to high-value, strategic efforts.  This combined efficiency results in better media plans, increased sales and an overall greater return on invested time and resources.

To my niece and nephews who live in the UK, I lead a glamorous life. Often when I speak to them I am hustling through yet another airport, embarking on yet another flight. They equate airport and air travel with new adventures and summer vacations; loaded with ice-cream, beach antics, extended bedtimes, no homework and no school in the morning. If only. This current trip will put me at a staggering 35,000 miles flown in 3 months.

The advancement of self-service technology plays a major role in my life. I checked in online last night in an effort to streamline the process at the airport. Upon arrival at LaGuardia, I hunt down the self-service screens to check in my bag to accompany me on my flight. Seeing a long line at the “automated” bag check, I notice a queue-less Delta Medallion desk and think I can check my bag quicker there. The nice airline desk clerk (no -this is not yet an oxymoron) would have loved to help me but my Delta flight is operated by NorthWest Airlines, so I have to head down to NorthWest and try my luck there. Another self-service monitor and this time as luck would have it, no line. I fish out my pre-printed boarding pass, scan it and go through the directional screens which allow me to check my luggage.  Fast, efficient and easy. Well almost.

The self-service system still requires a real person to be standing on the other side of the system when it spits out my baggage tag. And there is nobody in sight. I wait patiently in front of the screen wondering if I had executed my actions incorrectly or perhaps the baggage tag machine is broken, sticky paper stuck somewhere between monitor and printer in print error purgatory.  Still waiting, I locate a NorthWest representative who is sadly on the same side of the desk as me and ask him how I might procure my baggage tag from the behind the counter; the answer to which is to wait patiently for a different real person to come back to their post and help me.  Surely self-service and technology innovation doesn’t mean no service?

At Balihoo, we stand behind our software PLUS services vision and value. Whilst we have a team of developers and product managers dedicated to building world class technology designed to streamline and drive efficiency into the media buying and selling process, we also fully recognize that technology can only go so far if we are to take our customers’ experiences seriously. The need for human interaction - sometimes intervention - is paramount.

When a media buyer using Balihoo sends an RFP to a multitude of media vehicles they still rely on a real person to complete the RFP. In the real world, media reps change, they even take time off to go on vacation, travel on business trips or just get really busy. In other words, like my NorthWest desk clerk, they are simply not around when you need them. Even though by using Balihoo, it probably took the media buyer half the usual time to build a consideration set, develop a custom RFP and send it to hundreds of media vehicles at once, Balihoo’s efficiency play doesn’t stop there.

When media sales reps go MIA, Balihoo’s data services support team kicks into gear. Balihoo’s advanced technology allows our support team (and the media buyer) to track if an RFP request has not been opened, acted on, or even submitted. Much like a Fed-Ex tracking system – we don’t know what is in the box (RFP), but we can tell you where it is and who touched it last. In this event, on behalf of the media buyer, our team of experts track down alternative solutions – they engage with the media owner company and find someone else who can help.  Whilst our support team is working on engaging the media owners, the media buyer can continue to work on more effective, more strategic, more revenue-generating customer facing activities with the knowledge that the RFP process is being well looked after.

Oh and if you call our support line at Balihoo, you will speak to a real person too.