Imagine Communications acquires Marketron REV sales platform
Imagine Communications has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Marketron REV broadcast sales and order management platform. By integrating the sales growth engine into its core ad tech portfolio, Imagine now offers a comprehensive monetisation solution that enables broadcasters to transform daily sales operations, maximise revenue and prepare for a future of converged orders and expanded audience measurement. The product will be re-released as CrossFlight after some key enhancements for broadcast TV and is expected to be available in early 2024.
CrossFlight is a cloud-based broadcast sales platform that automates management of ad sales, proposals, pricing and audience forecasting. The platform integrates with Imagine’s OSI traffic and billing solution, providing a modern, unified monetisation solution that enables salespeople to deliver more revenue more effectively. As development continues, the rapidly evolving platform will enable broadcasters to make more money in a cross-platform world by selling an audience across linear and streaming from a single, converged system.
“We are excited to integrate Marketron’s innovative technology into our ad tech portfolio, which will enable us to deliver the exact right solution at the right time for the North American broadcast market,” said Rob Malcolm, general manager of ad tech at Imagine Communications. “Our OSI customers will realise immediate benefits from this extension to our core solutions, allowing them to reduce the workload on their sales teams and run their businesses much more efficiently ― while at the same time preparing to successfully navigate a converged linear/digital future.”
CrossFlight delivers an array of sales tools designed to help broadcasters maximise revenue. Built-in pipeline management capabilities allow salespeople to easily manage prospects and customer accounts. Avail requests and proposals can be converted with one step, and orders are executed in TV traffic systems using a modern, web-based user interface. Dynamic pricing capabilities enable inventory to be sold at the best possible price point. Sales performance is easily monitored via an interactive dashboard that provides visibility into pipeline, committed orders, top sellers and how stations are performing against targets.
“With Marketron REV, our team built an unrivalled platform for sales efficiency, and we are confident that Imagine is the ideal partner to take the platform to the next level of success, while we focus on bringing innovation to the radio industry,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, CEO at Marketron. “Imagine’s deep customer relationships in broadcast TV will enable them to move quickly on development to further meet the industry’s requirements for audience-based and converged linear and CTV sales solutions.”