Basis from Basis Global Technologies (formerly Centro) is a programmatic ad buying platform supporting digital advertising buying and placement across varying channels. Since the acquisition of SiteScout the platform also contains technology from the SiteScout AdServer.
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Google Ad Manager
Score 8.3 out of 10
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Google Ad Manager is a platform for publishers that combines the former DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange products.
Basis is able to reach ad exchanges that these platforms can not. Basis serves as a one-stop shop whereas these platforms require 3rd party integrations.
I would recommend Basis [DSP] for specific clients. Boutique agencies that do not require very complex programmatic solutions are the best fit. It is not very well suited for very big clients that want to run multicountries campaigns with objectives that are very much performance focused. Their dashboard is very good and the platform is easy to use so new entrants to programmatic will find it very useful.
I like that I can see several clients in one place, which can be convenient. However, the UX could be a lot better as outlined previously. In other words, the benefits of combining clients into the Ad Manager don't seem to be much more beneficial than logging into each client's ad account separately
Basis DSP does a great job of keeping their clients informed of new and upcoming features on their platform. They regularly host webinars to help keep their clients informed of what's up and coming and how to use new features.
Client relations with Basis is incredible. They're available on a regular, consistent basis. In addition, they check in throughout the on boarding process and beyond to help their clients understand they system.
The analytics tracking capabilities built into Basis DSP is fantastic. They provide many different options on how to pull and organize reports for clients.
The additional training offered through Centro Institute is fantastic, especially for beginners. Going to Chicago and training at the headquarters for a couple of days has helped with my company's success in building a programmatic advertising clientele list and building successful campaigns.
The obvious is the data - Google Ads Manager gives me essential and even critical data about which jobs and industries are hot right now and what is driving the most response.
Google Ad Manager gives us more control over the search engine results page as we get more visibility and real estate on our branded search terms and job/industry-specific search terms.
Google Ad Manager gives us the chance to compete with major national players in job recruitment, Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn, etc.
More detail on how and when the exchanges review submitted ad tags would help us set better expectations for our clients and client success teams during launch. Often a delay in ad approvals can result in lagging campaign metrics that must be made up later, often at the cost of performance.
More predictive tools / the ability to stop a campaign from bidding when a certain impression threshold is reached (in addition to the dayparting and budget rules that are currently in place and used for every campaign).
For some reports, such a geolocation reports, being able to visualize it on a map of some kind would make the data export more meaningful and less manual for our operations and client success teams seeking to explain to clients where their campaign was exposed.
Support. Not that they don't call or offer help, it's that our account people are bullies. I tell them I don't have time, so I am insulted and told that I need to get in front of the laptop otherwise I have "failed the company." I have never had a situation where I wasn't bullied by our Ad reps. They don't respect or value our time, which can make their calls frustrating.
Too quick on support. They don't take the time to understand the product. We are a preschool which shares a name with a popular motorcycle. An Ad rep insisted he knew the company so well that he could help me within five minutes. After being interrupted frequently, I just let him continue to tell me how I "could increase awareness of our aerodynamic seat design by creating ads with those keywords..."
Better management of trademark keywords and program awareness. We switched over to a new site, the domain changed for about ten seconds. All of our ads were unapproved and put on pause. The email stated it would be fixed very quickly, but I had to go in for the last 3 days to reactivate each one individually.
I think it's useful for our team and we rely on it to improve our business. It is within our budget also. Although we still will need an approval from the upper-level management team, I don't see any problem with that
While most of Google Ad Manager is user-friendly, certain parts of the ad creation process could use some improvements. Specifically, the way you insert keywords can be clunky and time-consuming, and I would like to see better and more keyword suggestions when designing a campaign.
We have a dedicated account rep. She makes it seem like we are her only client, she is very responsive, helps each time we have a question and understands our campaign goals. Anytime we need support, our rep is available either email or call and if she is not going to be available, she will let us know ahead of time to provide back up and inform them of our current campaigns so they can better assist us.
I could say a lot about this topic. As an agency, we get a new [representative] to talk to almost every quarter to go over select accounts and the campaigns within. Most of the time, these [educated representatives], don't provide any new feedback, or I just simply [disagree] with their approach. This is not all the time however. I have learned a lot from a rare few, [individuals] that have given me new strategies and access to betas early on. The other side of support, is the [overseas support platform]. [It] is usually not very helpful, but you can [emphasize] issues and they can research [them]. The Google Tag Implementation team is pristine though. When you need them, you need to set an appointment, which is usually 2 weeks out; they are so over-my-head intelligent, I've never had a bad experience with them and whenever I needed them for a fix, they solved it [within] the first call.
There are a ton of tactics and strategy to implement in the DSP platform. There isn't really a selection of the different types of campaigns or tactics to choose from, you just have to learn as you go. Once you figure out the strategy and goal of the campaign it is very easy to implement the tactic and to achieve its goals.
Advangelist, StackAdapt, Simplifi, Trade Desk, Media Math - overall most of the other platforms we reviewed were perfectly fine and can get the job done quite well. We have mostly stuck with basis because of the relationship that we have, the fact that they have continued to provide stellar support, and have a platform that delivers on everything they promise.
As I've said in prior comments, I like how the Google Ad Manager makes better use of the Google data and results compared to the others. Yes, I've tried them - I used to evaluate software for a former company. They will all do the job I didn't like their usage as much as I preferred the Google information - and I said even that had flaws - so you have to realize that nothing is completely perfect so far.
Affordable display option - The SiteScout platform runs comparable to other self-serve display platforms, and offers a very large network from which to choose.
More visibility for our brand - We've used SiteScout as an awareness tactic, and received millions of impressions at a reasonable cost.
