Product News | October 11, 2021

Managing programmatic yield with Broadsign Reach

Managing network yield is a perennial issue, a nut that owners are anxious to crack in order to maximize inventory revenue. We know that transacting programmatic in an open bidding process, rather than just sticking with private deals, is one big step to take. What else?

Our Broadsign Reach product owner, Matthew Mercuri, laid out the process in a recent talk. Have a watch, or else read on for the details below.

Step 1: Ask yourself these questions

Before making any moves to upgrade your network or make significant changes to your programmatic strategy, it’s important to take stock of where things stand. Ask yourself a few questions to get a better picture of the current state of your business. Better still, write the answers down in a document you can reference in the future.

Why do buyers purchase my screens?

If you’re selling media on your network (and we’ll presume that you are), it’s because you’re meeting somebody’s needs. Who are they? Are you appealing primarily to buyers in a particular industry – healthcare, automotive, technology – or to buyers with broad target audiences? And what is it about your screens that makes them desirable to your buyers

Don’t just go with your gut – check your actual sales numbers. It’s possible you’ll be surprised by what you uncover.

What’s my fill rate?

Depending on your fill rate, you’ll want to approach developing your programmatic business a little differently. Is your fill rate a stone’s throw from 100%, or is it hanging out closer to 50%, or even lower? Take a note. We’ll have tailored advice for your specific position down below.

How do I price my non-programmatic deals?

Pricing can already be a complex thing in direct sales, and programmatic has the potential to make things a little more complicated just by its nature. That’s why it’s important to lay out exactly how you price your non-programmatic inventory and use that as kind of a guideline for what comes next.

What is your floor price? What are your CPM rates? What are some other factors that might influence your pricing? This is a critical question, so make sure you spend some time thinking about it.

Who is part of my audience?

One of the core concepts behind programmatic is that it allows the buyer to target audiences rather than just screens. For buyers, it’s a chance to reduce “wasted” spend on unintended audiences. For sellers, it presents an opportunity to charge a slight premium for a more targeted buy. Everybody wins.

Who sees your screens? Does it vary substantially by location, time of day, or other factors? Take the time to determine who your network reaches.

Understanding your audience is a key element of identifying the strengths of your network

Step 2: Go for the “easy yield money”

Quick wins are a great way to build some momentum and start making the best use of your inventory sooner. To help you achieve a few of these, we’ve identified some of the key areas that publishers can quickly improve to bring in more revenue.

Speed up your content approval process

Through the first three quarters of 2020, more than 83 million loss notifications were fired in Broadsign Reach. These notifications are indicators to the DSP of why it is losing a bid, and had just half of them actually been successful bids, each publisher could have made an additional $12,000. Not a huge amount, but every little bit helps.

Close to 40% of all these loss notifications came because the creative was not approved, and with an average time to approval of about 5 hours and 30 minutes, that’s no surprise. Buyers may just shift their bids to a different screen where the creative is approved, just to get their ad out there. These typically won’t be your screens.

The way to staunch this bleeding is to lower your approval times. This can can done by setting up auto-approval for trusted DSPs, seats, or advertisers, allowing certain types of media to be auto-approved, or even auto-approving any creative that your team doesn’t review within a certain time frame.

These can be pretty significant actions to take, but they can also make a big difference in driving down content approval time. Only adopt any measures you are comfortable with having on your network.

Finding ways to peed up your content approval can help you snag more deals

Use your screen’s fill rate to inform programmatic strategy

Your fill rate is a great, simple tool to gauge current supply and demand for your network, so be sure to use it to guide your next steps in programmatic.

If a screen’s fill rate is over 80%, it’s a good sign that you’d benefit from increasing programmatic supply to take advantage of demand. Alternatively, you might think about raising floor prices to capitalize on that demand instead.

On the flip side, if a screen’s fill rate is consistently below 50%, it’s probably time to consider reducing programmatic supply, or else dropping floor prices. Just be sure to keep your programmatic floor price at or above the same level as your direct floor pricing, or else you risk significantly devaluing your inventory.

Step 3: Take a look at bid range and adjust if needed

By and large, DSPs want to pay the lowest price possible, and they’ll use strategies like bid shading to arrive at a cheap, accurate price for a given bid. Our own Campsite DSP is an example of one DSP that employs this strategy.

If the bid ranges are small, you have a good opportunity to move your deal floors higher. The algorithms should follow your pricing up quite easily.

Alternatively, if your bid ranges and bid density are wide, you’ll need to be a bit more careful about moving floors. Moving the floor upwards could price some of the buyers on the lower end out of the inventory, ultimately reducing density and CPM both.

Review your bid ranges and ensure they’re set to maximize the value of your inventory

Step 4: Make use of the waterfall

Smart automation is key to success in programmatic, and the waterfall is a great way to use automation to your advantage. The waterfall allows you to assign different levels of priority to different kinds of deals, and then give preferential access to programmatic inventory based on the types of deals “competing” for a slot. For example, you might have a lucrative private marketplace deal targeting specific screens set to your top priority level, followed by slightly less lucrative private deal targeting all screens, and then maybe a relatively low-CPM open auction deal targeting remnant screens at the bottom of your waterfall.

Right now, about 70% of all publishers in Broadsign Reach only use one type of deal for their programmatic transactions. Nobody in Reach is using the waterfall just yet.

It’s a big missed opportunity. In addition to establishing general rules for what should constitute P1, P2, etc. deals in Broadsign Reach, you can also create parameters to promote different kinds of deals over the others if it is to your advantage to do so. For instance, a P1 PMP deal might be worth a guaranteed $80,000, but if you’re presented with a P2 private programmatic offer valued over $100,000, that P2 deal can automatically be promoted to top priority.

Take the time to communicate with buyers to make sure they understand what is possible. Ideally, you should tailor your offerings to your buyers’ preferences and needs, and find creative ways to price your media to everyone’s mutual benefit. It will maximize the value of your inventory and keep your buyers coming back for more.

Work with buyers to find creative pricing arrangements that work for everyone

Step 5: Act Like a DSP

DSPs are useful for picking out good screens and then triggering a transaction whenever the conditions a buyer is looking for are met. If a DSP is unable to do this job for a given transaction and you step up, that’s added value that should be accounted for when pricing the deal.

Broadsign Control’s preemptible slots, which allow ad spots to appear within a loop under specified conditions, are a good example of a tool that can help you deliver on the kind of targeting a DSP would offer. Additionally, you could sell by data signals like the presence of analytics technology, information about visibility based on where screens are compared to the direction of the sun at a given time, or just the specific venues a buyer might want to reach.

These kinds of offerings are the kinds of things that buyers crave. If you opt to offer them up, you can charge a premium on your inventory for doing so.

Give buyers additional tools for reaching their audience and you can charge a premium

Step 6: Get DSPs to support features that enhance your business

There are a bunch of features within Broadsign Reach that can make life easier and more lucrative for your business. Trouble is, not all DSPs have adopted them on their side. By taking some time to convince them to onboard some of our APIs, you can unlock hidden value in your programmatic business.

Here’s a look at some of the benefits that can be realized:

Publisher API: DSPs that use this API include 40% more publishers in their campaigns, dispersing money more evenly
Screens API: Leads to a 12% higher CPM floor vs DSPs who don’t use the API
Audience API: Offers a 20-30% greater likelihood of the DSP hitting the original spend goal
Deals API: Creates a 35-40% higher change of a campaign activating on time

Communicating the value of these integrations is an ongoing process for us at Broadsign, and a little help never hurts. If you’re interested in realizing these types of benefits through your DSP, talk to them and help convince them to bring all of our features to life. There’s a lot to be gained in doing so.

Looking to get a great start transacting DOOH programmatically?

Request a free demo to see how Broadsign Reach can help!

Product News | October 11, 2021

Cotswold Outdoor Group Expands Retail Media Strategy to In-Store with Broadsign and IUF

Exterior view of a Cotswold Outdoor store in a shopping centre, featuring a large digital display in the storefront showing an outdoor campaign.

Collaboration delivers scalable display network infrastructure, creating new omnichannel opportunities for advertisers and driving measurable results

MONTREAL – (October 6, 2026) – Retail media technology provider Broadsign and in-store media integrator IUF announced a collaboration with UK retailer, Cotswold Outdoor Group, to expand its retail media network (RMN) with a new scalable in-store advertising infrastructure. The upgrade provides a unified workflow that streamlines media planning, management, and measurement in-store and across onsite and offsite channels. It enables Cotswold’s brand partners to seamlessly execute omnichannel ad campaigns that engage shoppers at the point of purchase and beyond.

Broadsign, Cotswold Outdoor Group, and IUF designed the network with long-term growth in mind. It presently includes 149 till, shelf, totem, large format, and front-of-store displays across 23 stores, which are powered by the Broadsign Platform (specifically the Broadsign CMS and Ad Server) and support a range of media.

The Broadsign Platform is helping to streamline operations and centralize content management and network health monitoring. The technology is also advancing screen monetization opportunities by scheduling ads, automating yield, and balancing complex campaign rules to help Cotswold Outdoor Group capture optimal revenue. With IUF’s ongoing deployment and support, the infrastructure allows the retailer to manage and scale in-store media operations efficiently while maintaining a reliable shopper and advertiser experience.

Through Broadsign’s omnichannel integration with Zitcha, Cotswold Outdoor Group’s retail media platform, brand partners, and agencies can easily extend omnichannel strategies into the physical store environment. The network is already delivering measurable results for participating brands, like HOKA, ASICS, and Nike. Most recently, a targeted HOKA campaign combining onsite and in-store media placements delivered a 13 percent lift in units sold per store, demonstrating the value of reaching shoppers at multiple touchpoints on the path to purchase.

In-store shoe display featuring running footwear from HOKA, ASICS, New Balance and other brands, with a digital screen showing a HOKA advertising campaign.

“At Cotswold Outdoor Group, we’re passionate about helping people get closer to the outdoors — and that starts with creating inspiring moments. Our brand partners are a big part of that journey, and this collaboration with Broadsign and IUF offers a powerful new way to connect with our customers in-store, alongside our onsite and offsite media channels,” explained Mary Antieul, Head of Commercial, Cotswold Outdoor Group. “It means we can bring the right messages to shoppers at the right moment, with less friction for brands and a more connected experience for customers. The early results have been really encouraging, and we’re excited to build on that momentum as we expand the network and explore future programmatic opportunities.”

“Retail media is evolving fast, and partnering with IUF, we’ve delivered an in-store media infrastructure for Cotswold that can scale rapidly. Together, we’ve designed a network that makes it easy for its team to add, manage, control, and monetize new screens and integrate programmatic trading capabilities down the line,” explained Frank Vallenga, Vice President, Platform Sales, EMEA and SEA, Broadsign. “By leveraging our integration with Zitcha, Cotswold has been able to connect audiences across their various retail media channels, which is a challenge many retailers have yet to solve.”

“This project went from tender to a live network generating revenue within twelve weeks which demonstrates the expertise of all of the technical partners involved,” said Josh Bunce, CEO, IUF. “Together we were able to deliver a cohesive customer journey so that Cotswold Outdoor Group can maximize its in-store retail proposition today but also ensure that it can scale easily into the future. The in-store channel is proving to be a competitive differentiator when advertisers start mapping out budgets with brands already seeing impressive results from the in-store activations.”

About Broadsign

Broadsign develops the leading global platform for managing and monetizing out-of-home (OOH) media. The company, which also operates Place Exchange by Broadsign, the largest independent SSP for Digital OOH, empowers media owners, media buyers, and retailers to harness the power and reach of out-of-home to connect with audiences in ways unlike any other advertising channel. More than 2.8 million static and digital signs along roadways and in airports, shopping malls, grocery and convenience stores, health clinics, transit systems, and more run on Broadsign.

About IUF

Making spaces perform, IUF is a leading technology solutions partner that delivers seamless, future-ready digital solutions across retail, stadiums, transport, DOOH, live events, attractions, workplaces and more. IUF designs, delivers and manages end-to-end digital signage, experiential and large-scale LED, transforming physical environments into intelligent, revenue-driving destinations. Founded in 2008 in Bristol UK, IUF is now active in over 30 countries.

Product News | October 11, 2021

A conversation with JB Hi-Fi: Why the future of in-store retail media is hyperphysical

Panel discussion at Mumbrella REmade 2026, with five speakers seated on stage in front of a blue REmade backdrop.

In-store retail media is moving beyond screens.

At Mumbrella’s REmade event in Australia this month, Broadsign joined JB Hi-Fi, a leading Australian consumer electronics retailer, Retail Media Works, a retail media consultancy, and Criteo, a global commerce media company, on stage to unpack what it takes to build a retail media network that connects the physical store with the wider shopper journey.

With more than 200 stores forming its retail media network, JB Hi-Fi is taking a distinctly “hyperphysical” approach, exploring how its stores can create value for shoppers, suppliers and advertisers while staying true to the experience that makes the retailer unique.

The conversation offered a look at where in-store retail media is heading, and more importantly, what retailers need to consider as they build and grow their networks.

Start with the shopper

For JB Hi-Fi, retail media starts with the store itself. Scott Browning, General Manager, Strategy & Insights at JB Hi-Fi, spoke about the role the physical store has always played in the brand and the importance of keeping the customer experience at the centre of its retail media strategy.

“The store has always been the face of the brand. The website is actually the hidden face of the brand because you actually don’t see it in the real world until you arrive.”

That perspective is central to how JB Hi-Fi approaches retail media. The opportunity isn’t simply to add advertising to an existing retail environment. It is to understand how media can work within that environment in a way that feels natural to the shopper and stays true to the brand.

As Scott put it: “The way in which we position our brand, the way in which JB Hi-Fi is famous for what it does, we have to make sure that authenticity still comes through.”

That means thinking about the store as more than a collection of screens. It is a physical environment with its own customer journey, context and moments where media can add value. For JB Hi-Fi, retail media needs to build on that experience, not compete with it.

The screen is only the starting point

One of the key themes from the discussion was that creating an in-store media network requires more than installing digital screens. As Ben Allman, VP Platform Sales at Broadsign, explained, the physical screen itself doesn’t necessarily need to change. What changes is what happens behind it.

For a retailer operating hundreds of stores, that means having the infrastructure to manage inventory, campaigns, priorities and reporting across the network, while also being able to tailor content and campaigns to different locations and audiences. All while supporting the day-to-day needs of the retail business.

For JB Hi-Fi, the Broadsign Platform provides the technology to manage its in-store media environment across more than 200 stores. This allows the retailer to build on its existing digital footprint and bring those screens into a broader retail media network, rather than treating retail media as a completely separate business.

Measurement is key to making in-store a media channel

Another major theme of the conversation was measurement. As in-store media continues to grow, retailers need to give advertisers greater visibility into what they’re buying and how their campaigns deliver. That means bringing more accountability and measurability that advertisers expect from other media channels into the physical store.

The panel discussed the opportunity to make the store increasingly behave like a digital environment from a measurement perspective, while recognizing that measuring physical environments comes with its own considerations.

For JB Hi-Fi, this is part of building a network that can offer meaningful value to suppliers and advertisers while creating a better understanding of how media performs within the shopping environment.

Retail media goes beyond digital screens

The conversation also expanded beyond digital signage. Static placements, physical store assets, sponsored search, online channels and off-site media can all play a role in the broader retail media ecosystem.

That creates an important opportunity for retailers: rather than defining their media network around a particular format, they can think about how different touchpoints work together across the shopper journey.

For JB Hi-Fi, its physical footprint is a significant part of that opportunity. The store can work alongside digital channels to create a more connected experience for shoppers and more opportunities for brands to engage them.

Build, test and learn

Perhaps one of the most practical takeaways from the discussion was that retail media networks don’t need to be built perfectly from day one.

The panel spoke about the importance of testing, learning what works in the physical environment and evolving the offering based on shopper and advertiser needs. That mindset is particularly important as retailers continue to establish what in-store retail media looks like within their own businesses. Every store environment is different, and the most effective approach needs to reflect the retailer, its shoppers and its commercial model.

JB Hi-Fi’s approach is a strong example of this in action: taking an established physical network and building the media capabilities around it, while continuing to learn and evolve.

Looking ahead to the next phase of in-store retail media

The conversation at REmade made one thing clear: the future of retail media isn’t about choosing between physical and digital. It’s about connecting the two.

JB Hi-Fi is showing what that can look like in practice by bringing its physical stores into a broader retail media strategy, while keeping the shopper experience at the centre.

For Broadsign, we’re proud to support that journey by providing the technology infrastructure behind JB Hi-Fi’s in-store network and helping bring its vision for retail media to life across its stores.

Interested in turning your in-store environment into a measurable media channel? Connect with our team to see how Broadsign helps retailers grow their in-store media networks while keeping the shopper experience front and centre.

Product News | October 11, 2021

Context Networks Selects Broadsign to Scale Contextual Advertising Across Display Networks

A person plays a slot machine in a casino, with a digital ad displayed on the machine’s lower screen.

Broadsign Platform to unlock programmatic demand and scalable OOH operations across Context Networks inventory, with gaming environments a launch focus ahead of G2E

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – September 24, 2026 – Context Networks, a contextual advertising and monetization platform for gaming and network digital display environments, today announced a collaboration with Broadsign, the leading global platform for managing and monetizing out-of-home (OOH) media, to support the next phase of growth of Context Networks’ Contextual Promotions Media Network™ (CPMN™). As a result, Context Networks now has a unified foundation for managing, delivering and monetizing screen-based media as the company expands across gaming and other controlled display environments.

Through the collaboration, Context Networks is connecting eligible CPMN™ inventory to the Broadsign Platform, the company’s complete, reliable Ad Server and Content Management System (CMS). This will enable Context Networks to manage business-critical content and advertising across its network of displays as well as the Place Exchange supply-side platform (SSP), Broadsign’s programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) SSP.

Context Networks brings contextual intelligence, a monetization model designed for controlled screen environments, specialized integrations, and operator and reseller relationships that can help extend Broadsign technology into non-traditional screen environments as the network grows. It introduces a differentiated source of digital inventory and vertical expertise for Broadsign in environments where customer attention, dwell time and operator-controlled screens create a distinctive media opportunity. Broadsign delivers enterprise network management, campaign automation, reporting and established programmatic demand connectivity.

While gaming is Context Networks’ immediate launch focus ahead of Global Gaming Expo (G2E), taking place September 28 through October 1 at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, the collaboration is designed to support its broader display network strategy. Context Networks’ business model extends beyond casino floors to operator-controlled environments that include distributed gaming, ATMs, kiosks, gift-card kiosk networks, digital faucets, hotel concierge apps and other connected screens.

The company’s current footprint spans 14 states and 23 designated market areas, with advertising and operator-owned content already running in distributed gaming environments. Broadsign provides Context Networks with a more scalable way to onboard additional screen networks and reseller partners while maintaining consistent campaign logic, delivery and reporting.

“Broadsign gives us a proven infrastructure to scale our model without losing what makes it valuable: contextual relevance, operator control and measurable monetization,” said Matthew Olden, Founder, COO & Executive Chair of Context Networks. “Gaming is an important launch market for this work, but the underlying opportunity is broader. Across network digital display environments, operators already control valuable screens and audience relationships. Our job is to help turn those assets into new commercial value while giving advertisers a better way to reach qualified audiences in the moments and environments that matter.”

For operators and media owners, the combined model creates a path to turn existing digital displays into measurable new revenue without requiring them to build a separate advertising technology business. Operators retain governance over eligible inventory, campaign rules, house content and the customer experience, while CPMN™ creates a new commercial layer around screens and systems they already own or manage.

Brands and agencies can now access differentiated inventory in high-attention environments that traditional media plans might miss. Contextual signals can help align advertising with place, activity, timing and audience value, while the Broadsign Platform makes eligible inventory easier to access through familiar OOH and programmatic workflows. As a result, advertisers get a stronger contextual fit, more relevant delivery and clearer performance feedback.

“Context Networks is opening a compelling category of inventory that fits naturally with the continued evolution of out-of-home,” said Robert Loftus, VP of Platform Sales at Broadsign. “By connecting Context Networks’ operator relationships and specialized integrations with the Broadsign Platform and Place Exchange SSP, we can help make these screens easier for buyers to access while giving operators the control, transparency and flexibility they need to participate with confidence.”

Operator control is particularly important in gaming environments, where security, regulatory oversight, and operational continuity are central considerations. Rather than asking operators to introduce an isolated advertising stack, the Context Networks model uses established digital signage and programmatic infrastructure while preserving operator control over what appears on each participating screen. Existing promotions and operational content can continue to run alongside paid advertising based on rules set by the operator.

During G2E, Context Networks will demonstrate how the combined technology stack can connect gaming and other operator-controlled digital screens to the broader advertising ecosystem, while meeting with operators, integrators, resellers, advertisers and agencies about opportunities to activate new screen inventory.

About Broadsign

Broadsign develops the leading global platform for managing and monetizing out-of-home (OOH) media. The company, which also operates Place Exchange by Broadsign, the largest independent SSP for Digital OOH, empowers media owners, media buyers, and retailers to harness the power and reach of out-of-home to connect with audiences in ways unlike any other advertising channel. More than 3 million static and digital signs along roadways and in airports, shopping malls, grocery and convenience stores, health clinics, transit systems, and more run on Broadsign. For more information, visit https://broadsign.com.

About Context Networks

Context Networks is a contextual advertising and monetization platform for gaming and network digital display environments, helping brands deliver more relevant, personalized messages in high-attention moments enabling operators to turn existing screens into measurable new revenue. By combining contextual intelligence, secure marketplace infrastructure, real-time buying, and operator-controlled delivery, Context makes emerging screen inventory easier to access, buy, measure, monetize, and scale. The result is a marketplace that helps advertisers improve campaign relevance and performance while helping operators create new commercial value without compromising the player or customer experience. For more information, visit https://www.contextnetworks.net.