Booking Agent
Copyright 2005-2011 LAN International and/or its commonly-owned affiliated companies. All rights
reserved. VIERO, VIERO RADIO FUSION, VIERO BEST RATE, VIERO transACT, VIERO BOOKING
AGENT, VIERO e-PIF, VIERO STREAMING, LAN International, and the VIERO and LAN
International logos are registered trademarks of LAN International and/or its commonly-owned
affiliated companies. VIERO RMS and VIERO MERS are trademarks of LAN International and/or its
commonly-owned affiliated companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners. VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler and VIERO BEST RATE rate and yield management
are patent protected. Patent pending for VIERO transACT electronic business platform.
Contents
Booking Agent ............................................................................................................................ 1
Welcome to VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler ................................................................... 1
Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler ................................................................ 2
Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler ................................................................ 2
About VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler.......................................................................... 3
Spot placement process ......................................................................................................... 4
VIERO RMS features that support BOOKING AGENT .......................................................... 6
Changes in inventory affecting avails ................................................................................... 10
Understanding the Booking Score ........................................................................................ 11
About the scoring algorithm .................................................................................................. 13
Managing Activity.................................................................................................................. 16
Managing Activity.................................................................................................................. 16
Monitor activity...................................................................................................................... 17
Pause the VIERO BOOKING AGENT .................................................................................. 19
Glossary .................................................................................................................................... 20
Index .......................................................................................................................................... 21
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Welcome to VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
Booking Agent
Welcome to VIERO BOOKING AGENT
Scheduler
Summary
Topics
VIERO BOOKING AGENT® scheduler is
a high-performance Microsoft Windows
service that works behind the scenes
without a user interface. It searches
available inventory and evaluates each
spot for placement. If unsuccessful, it
moves the spot to the pool, but
continuously evaluates the pool in order to
place spots and optimize revenue.
Overview of Booking Agent
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Managing Activity
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Booking Agent
Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
Summary
Topics
This section provides an overview of the
VIERO BOOKING AGENT® scheduler
process for placing spots.
About VIERO BOOKING AGENT
scheduler
Spot placement process
VIERO RMS features that support
BOOKING AGENT
Changes in inventory affecting avails
Understanding the Booking Score
About the scoring algorithm
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Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
About VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
VIERO BOOKING AGENT™ scheduler is a high-performance Microsoft Windows service that works
behind the scenes without a user interface.
When booking an order line, all of the spots on that order line immediately enter a queue so that
VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler can schedule the new spots. Its logic attempts to place spots at
an ideal date and time. It searches available inventory and moves each spot through a multiphase
decision-making process to place a new spot. If unsuccessful, a spot is moved to the pool in the last
phase. However, VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler continuously considers the pool in order to
place spots. As a result, any change in inventory is also a chance to place new and pool spots and to
optimize revenue. Manual spot placement is also an option.
VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler also supports an alternative pod fill process that enables
stations to schedule spots so there are fewer commercial interruptions in programming. When Pod
Fill Order is checked on the Detail tab of Programs/Special Events in the Clockworks module,
users can determine the order in which pods should be filled by VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler
within a generated program/special event for a specific station. VIERO BOOKING AGENT uses the
Pod Fill Order number to determine placement within the bind-to period. Setting a pod fill to number
one (1) causes VIERO BOOKING AGENT to attempt to fill that pod first. If there are requirements for
advertiser separation, industry codes, break types, spot lengths, and so on that prevent placement,
then the next pod fill order number is considered.
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Booking Agent
Spot placement process
The flow diagram below illustrates the process that VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler uses to
place spots if you are not using the alternative pod fill order process. Spots are booked according to
this sequence:
•
Available inventory phase and scheduling logic - The first phase of the VIERO BOOKING
AGENT process is to schedule spots into an open avail in an ideal time and hour.
To determine the ideal time and hour, BOOKING AGENT considers a number of factors in
addition to the days and dates indicated on the order line. These factors include specific
binding information, pod-based scheduling with separation by industry and/or product code,
and horizontal and vertical rotation of spots. BOOKING AGENT also takes into consideration
the positional placement indicated on the order line (first, last, unplaced, bookend) as well as
the pod design of your break structure.
•
Bump phase - BOOKING AGENT uses the booking score to determine if spots in inventory
should be bumped to the pool for placement of a higher scoring spot. Spots in the target avail
with a lower booking score are bumped. (See Understanding the Booking Score).
FYI: Booking Score is weighted 100% to Priority. Tie-breaking rules include
Rate and Bump Wider parameters. In the current implementation, neither the
Booking Score nor the tie-breaking rules can be configured by users.
•
Auto-schedule phase (Auto-schedule must be set to On in the order line.) - BOOKING
AGENT attempts to auto-schedule spots outside the ideal placement in open avails without
exceeding the maximum spots per day.
•
Flex schedule phase (Flex scheduling parameters must be set in order line.) - If an avail still
does not exist, BOOKING AGENT schedules according to the flex scheduling parameters on
the order head, using open avails first, and then bumping spots from avails based on the
booking score.
Once BOOKING AGENT goes through all the placement phases, it sends unbooked spots to the pool.
Pool spots are continuously re-evaluated. Order lines that are unbooked or cancelled are set to the
top of the BOOKING AGENT queue to free up inventory (see Changes in inventory affecting avails).
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Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
If you select Pod Fill Order in Clockworks, VIERO BOOKING AGENT will search within the requested
hour and fill pods with spots based on the pod order number defined in Clockworks, #1 being the
highest fill priority. Assuming there are no conflicts such as industry code or product separation,
VIERO BOOKING AGENT completely fills the #1 pod first and then fills the next designated pod. This
reduces the number of programming interruptions that can occur under the above-described spot
placement process because you can strategically place pods and define the order in which they
should fill.
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Booking Agent
VIERO RMS features that support BOOKING AGENT
Features that support VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler functionality include:
•
Scheduling by pod
Originally, breaks were used to manage advertiser separation. But when contiguous or
stacked breaks were created, two advertisers with the same industry code could schedule next
to each other. The pod concept returns control of advertiser separation to the user. A pod,
which consists of one or more contiguous breaks, is used by VIERO BOOKING AGENT
scheduler to:
ƒ
Retain industry code separation within the stop set.
ƒ
Ensure advertiser separation from the end of one pod to the start of the next pod.
ƒ
Ensure positional placement.
The pod is created in ClockWorks, where required fields consist of the industry code(s)
allowed in the pod and the bookend flag. The pod also appears in Log Manager. When users
manually place spots in Log Manager, they are prompted (when positional or advertiser
separation violations occur) to decide if they want to continue the placement, or not.
•
Bind to dayparts, programs, and special events
An order line can specify that a spot play during one specified Daypart, Program, or Special
Event. Dayparts are defined in the Daypart Designer module. Bind-to Programs and Special
Events (and associated Stations) are defined in ClockWorks. VIERO BOOKING AGENT
scheduler matches inventory with order lines using this criteria. Examples of bind-to
parameters include:
•
•
Fixed time
•
Daypart
•
Special Event
•
Program
•
User-defined daypart
Booking score
A booking score is determined for each order line. The values and rules for booking scores
(and tie-breakers) are defined in System Data but cannot be edited by users. The VIERO
BOOKING AGENT scheduler reviews the queue continuously and places new spots quickly,
based on the designated hierarchy of parameters, priorities and weights.
The default booking score parameter is currently set to Priority, but additional variables such
as rate, order line end date proximity, spot length, client since (days min/max), or date
ordered, may be added in the future and assigned a weighted value. See Understanding the
Booking Score.
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Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
Tie-breaker parameters are also defined in System Data for each station in the event that
there is a tie between two or more competing spots with the same booking score. Currently,
tie-breaker parameters include rate and bump wider. (Bump wider looks at the bind-to range of
competing spots that have the same priority and rate, then bumps the one with the wider bindto range.) These are not user-configurable parameters at this time.
•
Separation by industry code and/or product code
Industry Codes are assigned in the Advertiser module of System Data. Each station can also
determine how industry codes and product codes (which can be thought of as a secondary
Industry Code) should affect spot placements. The following options are configured in System
Data, and they allow VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler to consider advertiser separation
by:
ƒ
Industry Code or
ƒ
Product Code overrides Industry Code
In the following example, three advertisers want to run commercials for specific products as
shown below. If System Data is configured with:
ƒ
Industry code. VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler places the Macy’s and Zales
commercials in this pod, and does not place the Robinson's May commercial because
of a conflict with Industry Code.
Advertiser
Industry Code
Product Code
(1) Macy's
Department Store
Jewelry
(2) Zales Jewelry
Jewelry
Jewelry
(3) Robinson's May
Department Store
Shoes
ƒ
Product Code overrides Industry Code. Then VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler
could place both Macy’s and Robinson's May commercials in the same period,
because even though they have the same Industry Code, they have non-competing
products. Zales Jewelry does not place in this pod because of a conflict with Product
Code.
Advertiser
Industry Code
Product Code
(1) Macy's
Department Store
Jewelry
(2) Zales Jewelry
Jewelry
Jewelry
(3) Robinson May
Department Store
Shoes
•
Horizontal and vertical rotation
If you are not scheduling by pod number order, the horizontal and vertical rotation process
produces a different spot placement result. Horizontal rotation provides advertisers with evenly
spaced spots across multiple days of the order line. Vertical rotation provides spot rotation
within a daypart or a day.
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Booking Agent
ƒ
Horizontal rotation rotates through multiple weeks.
ƒ
Vertical rotation additionally rotates spots through hours, dayparts, days and across
one or more weeks.
Following is an example of an order line for 16 spots using both horizontal rotation over two
weeks and vertical rotation within a daypart. The order line specifies: M-F, AMD (6am to 10
am,) 6/27-7/8, 8/week, Auto-Schedule On.
The following table represents the pods within each hour of the daypart. To read this table,
follow the spot numbers sequentially from 1 to 16 to see how VIERO BOOKING AGENT
scheduler places spots both horizontally and vertically.
06:00
06:10
06:20
06:30
06:40
06:50
07:00
07:10
07:20
07:30
07:40
07:50
08:00
08:10
08:20
08:30
08:40
08:50
09:00
09:10
09:20
09:30
09:40
09:50
10:00
Total
Mon
6/27
1
Tue
6/28
Wed
6/29
Th
6/30
Fri
7/1
Sat
7/2
Sun
7/3
Mon
7/4
Tue
7/5
Wed
7/6
Th Fri
7/7 7/8
13
5
9
2
14
6
10
3
15
7
11
4
16
8
12
2
2
2
1
1
---
---
2
1
1
2
2
Horizontal and vertical rotation can result in an even distribution of spots over the two week
period similar to the table above; however, other circumstances such as spots with higher
priorities, overselling, or advertiser conflicts, may result in a slightly different actual placement.
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Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
•
Scheduling by pod number
Scheduling by pod number is an option available in place of the normal spot placement
process used by VIERO BOOKING AGENT. Stations can create numbered pods for minimal
interruption of programming. According to selections made in Clockworks, VIERO BOOKING
AGENT schedules spots for a given bind-to period based upon the pod fill order number and
availability within that pod. If Pod #1 is full or there is a conflict with advertiser or industry code
separation within the pod, the spot is moved to the second designated fill order number in the
same period. Pods can be placed so there is minimal interruption of programming.
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Booking Agent
Changes in inventory affecting avails
VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler logic also considers new avails that occur in inventory as a
result of:
•
Cancelled, end-dated and unbooked order lines
•
Generating new inventory in ClockWorks
Cancelled, end-dated or unbooked order lines create open avails. Because this module's main goal is
to place spots on the log and open avails are the easiest place to put spots, the VIERO BOOKING
AGENT scheduler tries to maximize your number of open avails. Toward this goal, it immediately pulls
all spots from the log whose order lines are cancelled, end-dated, or unbooked. This frees up
inventory for spots on new orders and for pool spots to be placed.
Generating inventory in ClockWorks can also add to the total number of avails. For example, when
generating inventory where new breaks were added to pods, or new pods were added to programs,
then additional avails would exist for VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler to book or bump spots.
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Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
Understanding the Booking Score
In the current implementation, the booking score for each station is based on Priority and is not userconfigurable. In the future, stations may prioritize spot placement by using additional parameters such
as:
•
Rate
•
Nearness of order line (OL) end date
•
Client Since
•
Ordered Date
•
Spot Length
Once the Booking Score parameters are established in System Data, they impact all advertisers the
same way. Scoring weights, which indicate the relative importance of each of these parameters, are
configured in the System Data module for each station. Weights can be selectively added to all or
some of the parameters – and must total 100 percent, as illustrated in the Booking Score example
that follows.
The Orders module applies a spot scoring algorithm to the entries the user makes in the Priority, Spot
Length, and Rate fields on the order line using the weight values assigned in the System Data
module, from which the Booking Score is derived. If selected as Booking Score parameters, the data
for Nearness of OL End Date, and Ordered Date also comes from the order, while the Client Since
data is established in the Advertiser module. This score is dynamically recalculated if the user
changes the information in the Priority, Spot Length, or Rates fields, or changes the station on the
order.
The Booking Score displayed on the order line is used by VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler to
make preemption (bumping) decisions during the booking process.
Booking Score calculation
Below is an example of multiple parameters and assigned weighted values. Currently, Priority is the
only parameter used and its weighted value in System Data is 100%.
•
The second column is a visual representation. For purposes of this example only, each of
these parameters has a minimum to maximum range of 0 to 100 for all three parameters. At
the order line, the user enters a value for each parameter. The spot scoring algorithm then
calculates the relative value for each parameter by relating the offset of the parameter's value
from its minimum possible value (0) relative to its scale (0-100). The bolded numbers
represent the position on the scale of the result.
•
The third column displays the scoring weights assigned to these parameters in the System
Data module.
•
The fourth column is the result of multiplying the relative value by the weight to obtain the
weighted relative value for each parameter.
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Booking Agent
Parameter
Order Line Value Entered Creates the
Relative Value
Priority
0
Rate
0
Client Since
0
80
20
50
Weight in
System Data
Weighted
Relative Value
100
75%
60.0
100
20%
4
100
5%
2.5
100%
66.5
Totals:
The weighted relative values are then totaled: 60+4+2.5 = 66.5
The final Booking Score is derived by multiplying the sum by 100. Therefore, in this example,
Booking Score is (66.5 x 100) = 6650, which is displayed as the booking score on the order
line.
Also refer to the Scoring Algorithm Reference section for a more detailed description of how
Booking Scores are calculated.
Tie-breakers
The tie-breaker attribute is used if the Booking Score is equal for two or more spots. For example, if
two order lines both have a Booking Score of 5,000, VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler looks in the
System Data module to see if the Tie-Breaker parameter is configured. If the Rate parameter was
configured as the tie-breaker, and one of the order lines had a rate of $50.00 and the other had a rate
of $100.00, the second order line would win and be booked.
The tie-breaker attribute can also be used to ensure that one parameter is always given the most
weight. For example, if the Order Date is configured as the tie-breaker, then that parameter takes
priority over the rest of the parameters. Tie-Breaker parameters are: Rate, Priority, Bump Wider
(Wider Flight), and Order Date (First In).
FYI: Currently, Rate and Bump Wider are used as tie-breakers if the Booking
Score for two or more competing spots is the same. In the current
implementation, Booking Score is based upon Priority. The booking score and
the tie-breaker attributes can not be configured by users at this time.
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Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
About the scoring algorithm
The spot scoring algorithm used by the VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler is called "Get Relative
Value." Get Relative Value is the result of four tasks:
1. Determining a common scale for each parameter.
2. Calculating position within that scale. The result of this calculation represents the relative value
for each parameter.
3. Weighting the relative value.
4. Totaling the results.
Determine a common scale for each parameter
VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler calculates the "spread" between a parameter’s maximum
possible value and its minimum possible value to determine the scale:
Maximum – Minimum = Scale
Minimum and maximum values are assigned in System Data. For example, Priority could be
assigned a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 100. Therefore, the scale would be 90.
Calculate position within that scale
Position represents the parameter's relative value and is calculated by relating the offset of the
parameter's value from its minimum possible value relative to its scale.
Value – Minimum / Scale = Relative Value or
Value – Minimum / Maximum – Minimum = Relative Value
The parameter's value is entered on the order line by the user. Continuing with the above example, if
a user enters a value of 80 on the order line for Priority, then:
80 – 10 / 90 = .77 or
80 – 10 / 100 – 10 = .77
Weight the relative value
Weight is a whole number representing a portion of 100, and is therefore a percentage. The total of all
weights for all parameters used in computing the Booking Score for a spot must always equal 100.
Each parameter used in calculating Booking Score is assigned a weighted value in System Data.
For the third step of the algorithm, multiply the Relative Value by the Weight:
Relative Value x Weight = Weighted Relative Value or
(Value – Minimum) ÷ (Maximum – Minimum x Weight) = Weighted Relative Value
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Booking Agent
Continuing with the example above, if the user entered a value of 50 for the Priority parameter weight
in System Data, then:
.77 x 50 = 38.5
Total the results
Finally, total the calculated values for each parameter and multiply by 100.
For ease of understanding when displayed to the user, the result is multiplied by 100 in order to retain
at least two significant digits before converting to an Integer. Any remaining significant digits are
truncated as illustrated in the following detailed example.
Detailed example
The following example illustrates the algorithm used for a booking score with four parameters
configured in System Data: Priority, Rate, Client Since, and Ordered Date. Minimum, Maximum and
Weight are defined in System Data.
OL Value is the value assigned by the user on the order line.
Priority
OL Value
= 80
Minimum
= 10
Maximum
= 100
Scale
= 100 – 10
Relative Value
(RV)
= (80 – 10) ÷ 90
Weighted RV
= .77 x 50
= 90
= 70/90
= .77
= 38.5
Rate
OL Value
= 35
Minimum
=1
Maximum
= 1000
Scale
= 1000 – 1
Relative Value
(RV)
= (35 – 1) ÷ 999
Weighted RV
= .0340 x 25
Client Since
Calculated
Value
= 999
= 34/999
= .0340
= .85
(calculated value is: Today's Date - Client Start Date)
= (5/30/05 –
2/2/04)
= 481
Minimum
= 366
Maximum
= 3650
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Overview of VIERO BOOKING AGENT Scheduler
Scale
= 3650 – 366
Relative Value
(RV)
= (481 – 366) ÷
3284
Weighted RV
= .035 x 15
= 3284
= 115/3284
= .035
= .525
Ordered Date (calculated value is: Order Date - Today's Date)
Calculated
Value
= (5/30/05 –
5/1/05)
= 30
Minimum
=1
Maximum
= 365
Scale
= 365 – 1
Relative Value
(RV)
= (30 – 1) ÷ 364
Weighted RV
= .035 x 10
Total
= 38.5 + .85 +
.525 + .35
= 364
= 29/364
= .035
= .35
= 40.225
* 100
= 4022.5
= (Integer) 4022
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Booking Agent
Managing Activity
Summary
Topics
The BOOKING AGENT Web Monitor
provides station security staff and LAN
support staff with an overview of spot
processing activity. You can pause activity
to make changes in VIERO RMS and then
restart VIERO BOOKING AGENT
scheduler.
Monitor activity
16
Pause the VIERO BOOKING AGENT
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Managing Activity
Monitor activity
The BOOKING AGENT Web Monitor provides station security staff and LAN support staff with an
overview of spot processing activity.
Performance statistics. The primary performance statistic that onsite staff need to be concerned
with is Number of Threads Running. This statistic reports how many threads are currently being used
to process order lines. The other performance statistics provide LAN with information used for
analytical purposes.
Pausing and restarting. The Web Monitor allows the module to be paused and restarted.
FYI: Under normal conditions, the last line in the lower left-hand section of the
Web Monitor should say "Pause the BOOKING AGENT." This indicates that the
module is running.
To view the BOOKING AGENT Web Monitor:
•
On the VIERO launch bar, click Daily Schedule > Booking Agent. The BOOKING AGENT
Web Monitor opens.
Performance Statistics descriptions
The BOOKING AGENT Web Monitor tracks the following items:
•
Number of Threads Running The number of threads or multiple instances of the same
VIERO Booking Agent scheduler (channels) that are currently running and that can
simultaneously process order lines.
•
Total Requests Available The total number of spots that have been processed (either
booked or pooled) since the start of the program.
•
Total Bumpings Attempted The total number of times that a spot bump has been attempted.
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Booking Agent
18
•
Total Requests Booked The total number of spots that have been booked.
•
Total Requests Pooled The total number of spots that have been pooled.
•
Requests Per Second The speed of spot processing per second (the last time that
processing was done).
•
Total Breaks The total number of breaks that have been considered for booking.
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Managing Activity
Pause the VIERO BOOKING AGENT
VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler is continually looking at spots and trying to book them. Pausing
VIERO BOOKING AGENT scheduler enables you to go into VIERO RMS and update information.
FYI: Pausing should not be confused with locking a station. When changes are
made in Log Manager, Verification, or the ClockWorks calendar, the person
making the changes can lock the station. When a station is locked, VIERO
BOOKING AGENT scheduler works on any part of the station that is not locked
or on another station. When the station is unlocked, VIERO BOOKING AGENT
scheduler resumes regular activity.
To pause VIERO BOOKING AGENT:
1. Navigate to the BOOKING AGENT Web Monitor.
2. Click Pause in the lower left-hand section of the window. Pause changes to Restart, and the
module stops processing spots placements.
3. Proceed with the changes you need to make in VIERO RMS.
4. When through, return to the Web Monitor and click Restart to resume scheduling.
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Glossary
B
bump wider: Bump Wider is a tie-breaker parameter that looks at the bind-to range of competing
spots that have the same priority and rate and bumps the one with the wider bind-to range to
the pool.
H
horizontal rotation: Evenly spaced spots across multiple days of the order line.
V
vertical rotation: Spot rotation within a daypart or a day.
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Index
Index
Booking Agent
about ........................................................... 3
auto-schedule phase ................................... 4
bind to.......................................................... 6
booking score ........................................ 6, 11
breaks, total............................................... 17
bump phase................................................. 4
bumpings attempted, total ......................... 17
flex schedule phase..................................... 4
inventory and scheduling logic .................... 4
inventory changes ..................................... 10
monitoring activity...................................... 17
number of threads running ........................ 17
pause......................................................... 19
requests available, total............................. 17
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requests booked, total ................................17
requests per second...................................17
requests pooled, total .................................17
scheduling by pod ........................................6
scoring algorithm ........................................13
spot placement .............................................4
VIERO RMS .................................................6
Booking Agent Scheduler, about .....................3
Booking Agent score ...............................11, 13
Booking Agent spot placement process ..........4
spot placement ................................................4
tie breaker..................................................6, 11
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