The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch purchased a 250-seat Atex Mactive advertising system that will be used to manage ad production at The Dispatch, its Web site, and more than 30 other publications operated by the company.

The app will let The Dispatch oversee all of its ad functions, including classified, retail, preprints, Web ad order entry, Internet sales, contracts, billing, accounts receivable and business analytics, said Joe Gallo, the paper’s vice president and chief information officer.

The Analytix tool was among the most attractive features for the publisher, he said.

“It enables us to do a lot more analysis and business intelligence type queries on our application,” he said. “It will actually let the end user in the finance and sales department go in and quickly ascertain how a customer’s orders are tracking and (allow them) to do ‘what if’ scenarios. It’s a real-time way of peeling back a problem or discovering opportunities.”

The Atex Mactive software will replace a legacy Atex Enterprise app.
 

Improving experience

The Dispatch (daily, 201,105; Sunday, 333,055) has a longstanding relationship with Atex; however, Gallo said the newspaper looked at a number of vendors when it came time to replace its Enterprise software.

“We actually looked at several others and because of Mactive’s acquisition by Atex we were able to stay with Atex,” he said.

Gallo said the Web capability of AdBaseE would allow the publisher to improve customer and self-service functions.

The new software, for example, will allow advertisers to manage their display ads in addition to their classified liners.

“We see definite benefits in getting to self-serve and in having the ability to understand what’s happening with the customer base and how they’re actually purchasing and using our different properties,” Gallo said.

The rollout should be complete in first quarter 2009.