What Is a Radio Traffic System?

What Is a Radio Traffic System?

In short, a radio traffic system is software that manages the entire lifecycle of an ad spot that plays on the radio. Its role is to work as an inventory management system, with the inventory being airtime programming and the ad spots available.

These platforms have many features to manage this entire process. The intent of the technology is to ensure that purchased airtime by advertisers receives proper scheduling, billing and tracking.

A radio traffic system is the hub for airtime revenue operations. While there are many options on the market, they are not all the same in terms of architecture and capabilities.

Key Functions of Radio Traffic Software

What do traffic systems do? So many things, including:

• Order entry: Traffic managers or salespeople input airtime bookings to start.
• Approvals: The software can streamline approvals, which may involve credit, copy, sales and traffic.
• Inventory management: The system tracks the avails for each daypart and schedules spots.
• Log preparation: This task ensures that spots are placed at the correct times based on the buy.
• Billing and reconciliation: After ads run, the software generates invoices, matching what was ordered and what aired.
• Proof of performance (POP): This capability verifies that a spot ran as scheduled.
• Reporting: Radio traffic software can have many reporting capabilities that enable greater insight into inventory, sales and more.

What Makes Radio Traffic Solutions Modern?

These are the basic features of broadcast traffic systems. A sophisticated and modern solution goes beyond this to offer things like:

• Automated workflows to reduce repetitive tasks
• Integrations with a variety of solutions, including digital ad sales, payment processing, electronic invoicing, CRMs, playout/automation systems, production management and more
• Data sharing capabilities

The big difference in a platform’s ability to do this depends on its architecture. Is it flexible? Is it SaaS-based? If the foundation is legacy, there will be challenges in advancing its functionality.

Central to this are APIs (application programming interfaces). Open APIs enable data sharing across systems securely and reliably. Asynchronous APIs don’t work this way. They can only request information and wait for a response. Timeouts often occur because the data pull is so large, leading to lapsed data issues.

To future-proof traffic operations, stations need a solution that is agile and one with continued innovation. Otherwise, organizations cannot achieve operational efficiency goals.

What Should Stations Seek Out When Comparing Options?

How should you evaluate radio traffic systems? Here are some tips:

• Define the different types of users you have and what their needs are.
• Review reporting options, as some systems don’t offer much here. Advanced reporting leads to more actionable data.
• Look for upgraded features like advanced scheduling using algorithms, automated log scheduling and inventory maximization tools.
• Explore how the traffic platform connects to other software and what gaps exist that could keep you from having a unified ecosystem.
• Assess the electronic invoicing and payment options and reconciliation of payments; you want a fully integrated payment solution to avoid human error and manual work.
• Investigate the support provided by the software company and its roadmap for future features.