What is Compass?

Compass is a sales tool for digital ad salespeople. Its goal is to help you sell more guaranteed premium inventory by delivering a steady flow of qualified and actionable sales leads.

What problem does Compass solve?

Digital ad salespeople hate the RFP for many good reasons.

That’s because the RFP is broken in so many ways. You spend months (or years) courting a media planner in the hope this relationship will someday bring a big order. But when that time finally comes, she forgets to RFP you. Or, she remembers to send you the RFP along with everybody else and their brother. She’s asking for 24-hour turnaround because she got the RFP out a week late and needs to get her campaign back on schedule. So, you and your team drop everything and spend a late night crafting the finest proposal you can.  Just before midnight, you say a quick prayer and hit the send button.

The next day you get no response. So, just before 5 pm you follow up with a phone call… voice mail. The next few days it’s the same routine. Radio silence.  Finally, a week later after working the org chart you learn you didn’t make the cut. You have to wonder if she ever seriously considered your proposal. How do you explain this to your boss?

How does Compass solve the RFP problem?

The RFP was built for the bygone Mad Men era when there were lots of campaigns and few media options (think ABC, NBC, and CBS). But with today’s digital media, the opposite is true: media options far outnumber the campaigns.  It’s no wonder the RFP is broken; it was built for yesterday.

So, we got our thinking caps on… how can we build a process that fits better with today’s “inside out” industry dynamics of far more supply than demand?

Compass does exactly that – it turns the RFP process inside out by employing a patent-pending Request for Consideration (“RFC”) process. Instead of cold-calling and waiting for RFPs to show up, you get alerted the instant a campaign gets created.  Instead of wondering if there are campaigns out there waiting for you, you use a Campaign Navigator to cherry pick the best campaigns. Instead of spending hours responding to RFPs, you spend a few minutes sending RFCs. Instead of wasting time spinning your wheels, you spend your time closing deals.

See how Compass Compares to the RFP Process.

How does Compass work?

Whenever a media planner creates a campaign using one of NextMark’s media planning tools, Compass springs into action. It analyzes the campaign’s criteria and compares it to the characteristics of your media programs indexed in NextMark’s data card database.

If one or more of your media programs match the campaign, Compass will immediately alert you via  email.

If you think your media program should be considered for the campaign’s media plan, it only takes a minute to submit a Request for Consideration (“RFC”) using an abbreviated proposal form. You can bolster your case with attachments such as a media kit or a long-form proposal.

The media planner will be immediately alerted to your proposal.  By clicking a link, the planner will evaluate your proposal for inclusion in their media plan.

How do I find campaigns that don’t match my inventory?

There are good campaigns that won’t be matched to your inventory because the campaign’s audience description doesn’t match closely enough to your inventory’s description. With a Pro subscription, you can see all active campaigns regardless of whether or not they match your inventory. This is especially handy for identifying non-endemic advertisers.

For example, suppose you operate a fishing website. A media planner creates a campaign to sell Ford F-150 pickup trucks.  Although your audience is a great match for this campaign, the matching algorithm will probably miss this. But by using Compass’ built-in Campaign Navigator, you find this campaign and submit a proposal that educates the media planner on the relevance of your site.

How does Compass help me with networking?

Old school networking can be fun, but it’s not the most effective way to hit your quota. Think of Compass as a “just in time match-maker.” Its purpose is to introduce you to media planners when you can help them the most – when they are formulating a media plan that matches your inventory. In other words, when you have the highest probability of closing a deal quickly and establishing a long-lasting relationship. And you can still have fun while closing deals.

Does Compass completely eliminate RFPs?

Sorry to say you’ll probably be getting RFPs from old school media planners for a while.  However, Compass reduces your reliance on the RFP to feed your sales pipeline. And by using Compass you’ll gain a competitive advantage.

How much does Compass cost?

Your basic subscription is free – including limited campaign alerts. See Compass Pricing for details on upgrades and proposal fees.

How do I get started with Compass?

That’s easy. Simply activate your Compass service.

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