Media Planning & Campaign Strategy

Successful media buying starts with a meticulously organized plan. Dolphin’s Media Booking software provides agencies with a centralized dashboard to build out complex, multi-channel media plans before a single dollar is spent. Media planners can allocate client budgets across various platforms—such as television networks, digital publishers, and social media channels—while forecasting estimated reach and frequency. The system allows users to generate detailed Insertion Orders (IOs) directly from the approved media plan, ensuring that the contracted rates, run dates, and ad specifications perfectly match the client’s original brief. By digitizing the planning phase, agencies eliminate manual data entry errors and ensure a seamless transition from strategy to execution.

Sales and Cost Breakdown (Financial Tracking)

The core of any profitable media agency is its ability to accurately track margins on every single ad placement. Our Sales and Cost Breakdown module provides a real-time, granular view of campaign financials. Whenever a media slot is booked, the system instantly calculates the gross amount billable to the client, the net cost owed to the publisher, and the agency’s resulting commission or markup. It easily handles complex pricing models, including flat fees, percentage-based commissions, and dynamic digital CPMs. This level of financial transparency ensures that account directors always know the exact profitability of a campaign at any given moment, preventing margin erosion and ensuring the agency’s bottom line is rigorously protected.

Publisher & Vendor Management

Managing relationships with dozens—or even hundreds—of different media vendors requires strict organizational control. Dolphin centralizes all publisher data, including negotiated rate cards, historical discounts, and specific contact information, into a single repository. When media buyers generate booking requests, the system automatically pulls the correct, pre-negotiated rates for that specific vendor, eliminating the risk of accidental overspending. Furthermore, the platform tracks volume commitments and agency rebates, alerting buyers when they are close to hitting spending tiers that unlock additional discounts. This empowers agencies to leverage their total spending power to secure the best possible rates for their clients.

Billing, Invoicing & Reconciliation

The reconciliation process is notoriously one of the most time-consuming and error-prone tasks for an advertising agency’s finance department. Dolphin automates this entire workflow. When publisher invoices arrive, the system automatically cross-references the billed amount against the original Insertion Order and the verified proof of performance (e.g., tear sheets or digital delivery reports). Any discrepancies are instantly flagged for review, preventing the agency from paying for undelivered or preempted media. Simultaneously, the software generates accurate, consolidated invoices for the client, combining all media costs and agency fees into a single, transparent document. This drastically accelerates the monthly billing cycle and improves cash flow.

Standard accounting software (like QuickBooks or Xero) can generate invoices, but it cannot manage the complexities of media buying. Standard tools lack the ability to handle Insertion Orders, track agency commissions separately from gross billing, or reconcile publisher tear sheets against planned ad schedules. Dolphin is a specialized media ERP that links the operational act of booking an ad directly to the financial ledger, preventing the data silos that standard accounting tools create.

• What is Dolphin Horizon Media Booking Software?
  Dolphin Horizon Media booking software manages the planning, purchase, and tracking of advertising space across digital and traditional channels. Dolphin Horizon adapts its job costing engine so each media buy is treated as a “job,” linking costs, commissions, and invoices to ensure profitability and transparency.
• How does the software handle agency commissions?
  Agency commissions are integrated into job costing. Dolphin Horizon records commission percentages against each media buy, automatically calculating margins and updating dashboards to show net profitability per campaign.
• Can it manage both digital and traditional media buys?
  Yes. Dolphin Horizon supports both digital (programmatic, social, search) and traditional (TV, radio, print, outdoor) buys. Each is logged as a BOQ line, with costs, impressions, and subcontractor invoices tied directly to the campaign.
• Does the system automate invoice reconciliation?
  Absolutely. Vendor invoices are matched against booked media lines. Dolphin Horizon flags discrepancies, applies retentions if needed, and ensures reconciled costs flow into the budget vs. actual dashboards.
• Is Dolphin Horizon Media Booking available in Arabic?
  Yes. Dolphin Horizon Media Booking provides Arabic interfaces and reporting, making it suitable for agencies in Lebanon, Dubai, and other Arabic‑speaking regions. This ensures finance teams, planners, and managers can all work in their preferred language.