Naming conventions are key to tracking advertising performance. They have to be perfect 100% of the time. But creating them is tricky and error prone.
Without the right system, enforcing placement naming conventions is like herding cats. Every time you look away there’s another problem.
Here’s how to automate your process to guarantee flawless naming conventions, every time.
What is a Naming Convention?
In advertising, a naming convention is a text string that is encoded with data that is used to track and analyze advertising performance.
Here’s an example of a placement naming convention:
You can probably guess the first part of this string “NYT” is short for “New York Times.” Is “HRECT” short for “Horizontal Rectangle?” Those numbers, 300×250, must be the ad dimensions.
Why are Naming Conventions So Important?
Most advertising platforms are limited in their capability to store custom data needed to properly track and analyze advertising performance. Naming conventions give you the ability to extend the data model of your ad platforms without requiring modifications.
Encode Media Plan Data into Naming Conventions
What about all the other missing dimensions of advertising performance you need to analyze? Every one of them can be coded into the placement name. However, due to the limited space in the placement name field we are required to compress all the values into short-coded versions to squeeze them all in there.
Decode Naming Conventions into Database
The first thing your analytics team does when they pull the performance data from your advertising platforms is parse the placement name and load it into their designated database fields that link to their decoded values.
Now they can run all those amazing and insightful reports.
What Should Go into a Naming Convention?
Naming conventions should contain any data you need for analysis that is not already sourced from a designated field in your advertising platform. Since most advertising platforms are quite limited in this area, you’ll need to stuff a lot of intelligence into the placement name field.
The Wrong Way to Create Naming Conventions
One way to construct placement names is with Microsoft Excel. Here is how:
- Create a “Placement Naming” spreadsheet with a column for each of the fields
- In the same workbook, add other lookup spreadsheets that enumerates the valid values for each of the fields on the first spreadsheet and its associated codes
- Apply Excel data validation to each of the columns on the Placement Naming spreadsheet to ensure that users select from the valid list
- Finally, add a “Placement Name” column to the Placement Naming Spreadsheet. This is a calculated field which connects the coded versions of each of the fields using Excel functions CONCATENATE, VLOOKUP, IF, and other Excel wizardry.
Your spreadsheet will look something like this:
The key to all of this is the excel formula that constructs the naming convention. In this example, our formula is
This formula may seem complicated, but actually it’s relatively simple compared to formulas that you’ll find at some ad agencies.
Want a copy of this template? Download the sample Placement Naming Conventions Template.
The Problems with Excel-based Naming Conventions
While you can certainly use Excel to create naming conventions, it’s important to be aware of the problems that come with this approach:
- Extra steps. Creating naming conventions adds extra steps to your media planning process. It’s already complicated enough. You don’t need any extra steps.
- Transcription errors. Even with the perfect spreadsheet, it’s likely there will be transcription errors in trafficking.
- Clunky Excel UI. Excel’s data validation lookups are limited. There’s no typeahead. The list picker is slow and annoying.
- Fragile and confusing formulas. The Excel formulas for calculating naming conventions are confusing, especially when VLOOKUPs are involved. The only person that truly understands it is the person who created it. One small change and the formula breaks.
- Hard to update. Once this spreadsheet is in use, it’s difficult to update it. It’s hard to keep everyone on the same version resulting in inconsistent naming.
- Difficult to maintain. Keeping the lookups up-to-date and accurate is a daily burden, especially for lists of websites and advertising offerings.
- Hard to be consistent. Although you might have your own standard, some of your clients will require you to follow their standard. You’ll need to maintain and enforce numerous standards and be smart enough to know which spreadsheet to use given the situation.
With all these problems, you may wonder why anyone uses Excel for naming conventions. Until recently, there’s been no better alternative. That’s all changed with Bionic…
Automate Your Naming Conventions with Bionic
Bionic media planning software will automate perfect naming conventions. With Bionic, your process will be 100% automated and fool-proof.
Create Custom Fields
Each of your clients will want you to encode their proprietary data into their naming conventions. Bionic enables you to add all the fields you need for reporting along with the set of valid values and codes.
Create Custom Media Plan Templates
To make these custom fields available to your media team, Bionic enables you to create custom media plan templates.
Enforce Custom Naming Conventions
You’ll want to make sure your media planners operates within the constraints of the naming conventions. Bionic enables you to limit the media plan options to only those approved by the client.
Traffic Naming Conventions to Your Ad Platforms
When it comes time to traffic your ads to your advertising platforms, you’ll want to ensure the naming conventions are implemented correctly. Bionic automates this process.
How to Automate Your Naming Conventions
If you’re using Bionic for Agencies, you already have all of the capabilities described above. Please contact the Bionic support team to put these tools to work for you. Remember, your Bionic subscription comes with unlimited training and support.
If naming conventions are giving you a headache, maybe it’s time for you to try Bionic.