Creating a bulk content plan
If don't want to track the media spend information of your ads, importing a content plan is the quickest way to create and customise your adaptations. It allows you to prepare a spreadsheet with the creative requirements.
Navigate to Content plans and then click on Create content to get started.
You can select between:
- New plan - a blank plan that will allow you to add and clone placements in the platform
- From spreadsheet - generate a spreadsheet template to fill out and create placements in bulk
Creating a content plan from blank
You will be guided through a form to complete the basic details of the plan, including the name, the campaign and media type. You can also optionally select the market and country the plan is for. This will give you access to any country specific ad specifications.
After completing these details, you will see the empty content plan. Click Add your first placement to get started. In the form that appears, select the placement and format your content is for, then the language. This will display the Master Templates available for selection. Enter the start date (the date your ad will be live from) and the copy date (when the artwork is due) and any other required information.
You can then complete the content customisation to update the details. Images, videos, text and tables that can be customised will appear in different sections to make it clear what you are customising.
Text will either be populated from a translation form (if translations exist for your selected language) or from the default copy in the selected master template.
Once you have completed all the details, click Create. To add the next adaptation, either click add new placement or click on the menu against the placement you have just added and chose the clone option. This will open a duplicated form, which you can adapt to your requirements.
Creating a content plan from a spreadsheet
You will be guided through a step by step process to import your plan. First complete the basic details by giving the plan a name and selecting which campaign, media type, market and country it is for.
Next you can download an Excel file with the specific details for the Master Templates you need to create content from. Only Master Templates available for your Campaign and Media Type will be shown in the selector. Once you have made your selections, download the file.
The Excel file you generate will depend on whether the selected master templates are customisable:
1. Non-customisable templates - if you select only templates that aren't customisable, you will download a spreadsheet with a single tab. Each row you complete in the spreadsheet will be a new adaptation. You will need to enter details for the following:
- Template - a drop-down of the templates you selected when generating the spreadsheet
- Placement - this is the name of the publication/ site that you are creating the adaptation for. Note - it needs to exist in the media database for the country and client you are creating the ad for.
- Format - this is the specific ad format you require. This must be available to the placement selected.
- Start date - the date your ad will run from
- Copy date - when the ad needs to be supplied. Note the copy date is used to calculate due dates for proof review tasks in the platform
- Language - each adaptation needs to have a language specified. You can select from all the languages available in the platform from a drop-down here. Note - if your templates are linked to a translation form, the language selected which copy is included.
2. Customisable spreadsheet - if you select any templates that are customisable, you will download a spreadsheet that contains a tab for each of the Master Templates you selected. You will need to enter details for the following:
- Placement - this is the name of the publication/ site that you are creating the adaptation for. Note - it needs to exist in the media database for the country and client you are creating the ad for.
- Format - this is the specific ad format you require. This must be available to the placement selected.
- Start date - the date your ad will run from
- Copy date - when the ad needs to be supplied
- Language - each adaptation needs to have a language specified. You can select from all the languages available in the platform from a drop-down here.
- Content customisation - here you will find a column for each of the variable elements of the selected Master Template. Simply enter your text (pressing option + return to add a line break) and add the display name of any image/ videos in these variable elements.
Once you've completed your spreadsheet, save as an XLSX file and upload on the next screen. Click Import & Validate to import.
If all your details are correct, you will be shown a success message. Click on View content plan to view and manage your content plan.
If there are any errors in your spreadsheet, these will be listed out for you.
Troubleshooting your spreadsheet
There are a number of reasons your content plan import can fail. These are all easy to fix and will be explained to you on the error screen.
1. Placement/ format doesn't exist
The name of the placement needs to match exactly the name of a placement in the database for the client and country you are creating the plan for. Check the spelling and remove any spaces or line breaks that may have appeared if you are copying and pasting the name. If you are still having problems, contact your CreateTOTALLY Account Manager to check the placement exists for your selected client/ country.
2. Asset doesn't exist
If your content customisation includes a asset option, make sure to enter the display name of the asset you want to appear in that placement
3. Dates incorrectly formatted
The start and copy dates need to be entered in dd/mm/yyyy format to be correctly processed.
4. Language incorrect
The languages that are available on the platform will appear in a drop-down in the languages column. Always select from this drop-down to ensure the language is formatted correctly for the platform (you can copy and paste between cells, as long as the cell you are copying from was originally selected from the drop-down)
5. Missing data
All cells in a row need to be completed to create a content plan record. Make sure there aren't any blank cells.
Once you have corrected your errors, re-import your spreadsheet.
Manage your content plan
Once you've imported your plan, you will be able to review all the details of each of the placements, before submitting to the next stage. The Content Plan contains all the information that was in your spreadsheet, along with the ad dimensions and a job ID.
The plan is grouped by Master Template and you can use the filters to quickly find the placements you want to review.
When you are happy with the details, you can submit using one of the following methods:
- Single record - click on the menu against the row you want to submit and select submit row
- Multiple records - click on the check-boxes next to the rows you want to submit (or select the check-box at the top of the section to select all) and then click the submit all button in the bottom right hand corner
The status next to each placement you have submitted will update to show where it is in the automation process.
When a proof of your adaptation is available, the status will change to the first review stage and a thumbnail will appear at the start of the row.
Adding new placements
If you need to create new placements, you can do this in one of two ways:
- Clone a placement - select the "clone row" option from the menu of the placement you wish to clone. This will open a dialog with a clone of the information of that placement for you to quickly make changes to
- Add new placement - if you would like to start from scratch, you can click that add new placement button in the bottom right hand corner. This will let you fill in the form from scratch. Note - the content customisation section will only appear after a master template has been selected. Master templates are available to specific placements and formats, so please complete these details first.
Making changes in-flight
If your artwork has been created and is currently being reviewed, but you need to make a change, you can click edit row on the row that needs to be changed. Make your changes and then click submit row again to re-trigger automation. Your updated ad will be re-sent for approval