Update the Audience Information

You can add your own first-party audience data from each of your screen locations. Your sales team will know how many impressions are available to clients.

Note: Having valid Audience information is mandatory to start Programmatic sale. The information will be transmitted in the programmatic ad requests, will be visible in the Guaranteed Campaigns Sales, and will be included in the Content and Network Management reporting.

Note: The Inventory page is available to users with the Admin , Direct Sales Admin, Programmatic Admin, and Static Admin roles. See User Permissions for more information.

The following video describes how to update audience data on the Broadsign Platform.

Note: This instructional video is also available in French and Spanish.

You will need to create a .csv file with the appropriate data. Broadsign provides an audience data template for you. To speed up the calculation process, you can update only the screens that need an update.

To update the audience data:

Digital Inventory

Creating the .csv file requires three general steps:

  1. Select and export the audience data template from the Broadsign Platform.

    This template contains all the current audience information. On a new domain, the columns will be empty. See Step 1 – Export the Audience Data Template.

    Note: You must follow the format of the audience data template. Otherwise, Broadsign will consider the file to be invalid.

  2. Enter your first-party audience data into the file, respecting the format. You can leave existing columns blank, but you cannot add columns to the file. See Step 2 – Enter Your First-Party Audience Data.
  3. Import the file, now containing your first-party data, back into your domain. See Step 3 – Import the File into Your Domain.

    4. Note: Broadsign can import files with up to 1,000,000 rows.

The audience data template provides the allowable columns and correct format. On a new domain, the columns will be empty.

To export the audience data template:

  1. In the Inventory list, select the screens for which you want to update the audience data.
  2. Click Update Audience.

    3. Update audience

  3. In the Update Audience window, click Download Audience CSV to download a .csv file for the audience data of your selected inventory.

    4. Download Audience CSV

    • Your system will download a .csv file.
    • The file name is in this format: audience_update_[year]-[month]-[day]. For example: audience_update_2022-01-01.

Note: You must follow the format of the audience data template. Otherwise, Broadsign will consider the file to be invalid.

To open the audience data file:

  1. Open the audience data .csv file you downloaded (we recommend Microsoft Excel or similar spreadsheet program).

  2. Enter your first-party data as described in Step 2B – Format the Audience File.

The audience data file includes several columns (see CSV File Column Details).

Supported Encoding

Broadsign supports the following data file encoding formats:

  • ASCII
  • UTF-8
  • UTF-16
  • 2143-ordered
  • 3412-ordered
  • Big5
  • EUC-JP
  • EUC-KR
  • EUC-TW
  • GB18030
  • GB2312
  • HZ-GB-2312
  • IBM855
  • IBM866
  • ISO-2022-CN
  • ISO-2022-JP
  • ISO-2022-KR
  • ISO-8859-2
  • ISO-8859-5
  • ISO-8859-7
  • ISO-8859-8
  • KOI8-R
  • MacCyrillic
  • SHIFT_JS
  • TIS-620
  • UTF-16BE
  • UTF-16LE
  • UTF-32BE
  • UTF-32LE
  • windows-1250
  • windows-1251
  • windows-1252
  • windows-1253
  • windows-1255

CSV File Column Details

Column Letter Column Name Description

A-D: Screen identification columns

These columns contain information imported from our Content and Network Management solution. They help to identify the screen on your domain and its location in the field.

Note: You cannot modify columns A-D. If you try to edit them in the file, Broadsign will revert them to what was imported from our Content and Network Management solution.
A screen_id

The ID number of the screen.
B display_unit_id

The ID of the corresponding display unit screen in our Content and Network Management solution. This information is optional.

This parameter cannot be edited in the Broadsign Platform. Changes must be done in our Content and Network Management solution.
C address

Address of the screen taken from the Display Unit.

This parameter cannot be edited in the Broadsign Platform. Changes must be done in our Content and Network Management solution.

Example: 21 Greens Road RD 2 Ruawai 0592
D internal_name

Name of the screen autogenerated based on the Display unit name and Frame name. See Screen Naming.

This parameter cannot be edited in the Broadsign Platform. Changes must be done in our Content and Network Management solution.

E-O: Schedule columns

These columns contain scheduling information for your screens. It is possible to have more than one schedule per screen.

If using a schedule per screen (you have audience tied to a schedule), create another row with all the schedule columns E-O filled. The Start Date, End Date, Start Time, and End Time fields are mandatory.

Warning: Imagine that you have a screen with four schedules. You want to update only one of the schedules. It is important to leave intact the three that will remain the same and change only the schedule you want. If you save the file with one schedule, you will lose the other three.
E reference_id

Field available to the Publisher in which they can insert a reference ID for this screen. The field is limited to 255 characters.
F start_date

The date from which the audience data schedule begins. This information is mandatory.

Note: Date format is "yyyy-mm-dd".
G end_date

The date from which the audience data schedule ends. This information is optional. If you leave this field empty, the schedule is considered valid indefinitely. You will need a new update to replace this schedule.

Note: Date format is "yyyy-mm-dd".
H start_time

The time from which the audience data schedule begins. This information is mandatory.

Note: Time format is "hh:mm".

Tip: To define an audience value for an hour, use "10:00:00" as Start Time and "11:00:00" as End Time.

I end_time

The time from which the audience data schedule ends. This information is mandatory.

Note: Time format is "hh:mm".
J mon

Enter "1" if the schedule applies to this day of the week; enter "0" if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week. If you leave this field empty, Broadsign considers that the schedule does not apply and uses "0".
K tue

Enter "1" if the schedule applies to this day of the week; enter "0" if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week. If you leave this field empty, Broadsign considers that the schedule does not apply and uses "0".
L wed

Enter "1" if the schedule applies to this day of the week; enter "0" if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week. If you leave this field empty, Broadsign considers that the schedule does not apply and uses "0".
M thu

Enter "1" if the schedule applies to this day of the week; enter "0" if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week. If you leave this field empty, Broadsign considers that the schedule does not apply and uses "0".
N fri

Enter "1" if the schedule applies to this day of the week; enter "0" if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week. If you leave this field empty, Broadsign considers that the schedule does not apply and uses "0".
O sat

Enter "1" if the schedule applies to this day of the week; enter "0" if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week. If you leave this field empty, Broadsign considers that the schedule does not apply and uses "0".
P sun

Enter "1" if the schedule applies to this day of the week; enter "0" if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week. If you leave this field empty, Broadsign considers that the schedule does not apply and uses "0".
Q impressions_per_hour

Total impressions per hour. This information is mandatory.

Note: You cannot enter the character "-" or any other special character.

Once the audience data file has been properly filled out, you can import it into the Broadsign Platform. If you encounter issues when importing the file, contact Broadsign Services.

The Upload screen allows you to select your audience data file and upload it in the system.

Note: Broadsign can import files with up to 1,000,000 rows.

Warning: You can import as many times as required, but be aware that each new import of schedules for a screen replaces the existing schedules. Also, make sure that all the schedules of the same screen are updated at the same time.

To upload the audience data file:

  1. In the Update Audience window, click Continue to Upload.

    2. Continue to Upload

    The Update Audience window is displayed. You can upload any .csv, .tsv, or .txt file with any set of columns, as long as it has one record per row.

  2. Click the Upload data from file button.

    3. Upload data from file

  3. Navigate to your data file and select it.

The Match screen allows you to match your spreadsheet columns to the right data points. You will be able to clean up or remove any corrupted data before finalizing your report. For more information on the data that you must use for each column, see Interface Column Details.

To match your data:

  1. Check your audience data file encoding. If your data in this preview does not look right, you may need to try other encoding schemes. See Supported Encoding.

    2. Audience data file encoding

  2. Define whether your file has column headers.

    3. Selecting your first row of data ensures that you will have the data that you need to move ahead.

    Tip: Once you have selected the useful data and the row containing column headers, you can skip this step in the future.

    Only one row of header data is currently supported.

  3. The import tool has selected the row that it considers as the header row. Select one of the following possibilities:

    • To accept this row as the header row, click Yes.

      • Accept row as the header row

    • To select another row in the file as the header row, click Select another row. Click the radio button next to the row that should be the header row, and then click Confirm.

      • Select another row

    • If your data file does not have a header row, click No header row. You will need to properly match each column in your file.

      • No header row

    The next screen allows you to finalize your data matching. It indicates whether your data columns match the template columns that Broadsign needs.

  4. Do one of the following:
    • If all of your columns already have a match, click the Review button at the bottom of the screen.

      • Columns already have a match

    • If one or more of your columns do not have a match, use the Lookup matching fields drop-down menu to select a corresponding column. Once done, click Review.

      • Columns do not have a match

    • You can confirm the mapping column by column by clicking the Confirm mapping button. After doing it once, you won't need to do it again.

    • If you do not want to use a column in your file, click Ignore this column. It may be useful if you are using a template that is not the one provided by Broadsign and it has extra columns.

Interface Column Details

Column Name Description
Screen identification columns

These columns contain information imported from our Content and Network Management solution. They help to identify the screen on your domain and its location in the field.

Note: You cannot modify these columns. If you try to edit them, Broadsign will revert them to what was imported from our Content and Network Management solution.
Screen ID

The ID number of the screen.
Display Unit ID

The ID of the corresponding display unit screen in our Content and Network Management solution. This information is optional.

This parameter cannot be edited in the Broadsign Platform. Changes must be done in our Content and Network Management solution.
Address

Address of the screen taken from the Display Unit.

This parameter cannot be edited in the Broadsign Platform. Changes must be done in our Content and Network Management solution.

Example: 21 Greens Road RD 2 Ruawai 0592
Internal Screen Name

Name of the screen autogenerated based on the Display unit name and Frame name. See Screen Naming.

This parameter cannot be edited in the Broadsign Platform. Changes must be done in our Content and Network Management solution.
Schedule columns

These columns contain scheduling information for your screens. It is possible to have more than one schedule per screen.

If using a schedule per screen (you have audience tied to a schedule), create another row with all the schedule columns filled. The Start Date, End Date, Start Time, and End Time fields are mandatory.

Warning: Imagine that you have a screen with four schedules. You want to update only one of the schedules. It is important to leave intact the three that will remain the same and change only the schedule you want. If you save the file with one schedule, you will lose the other three.
Reference ID

Field available to the Publisher in which they can insert a reference ID for this screen. The field is limited to 255 characters.
Start Date

The date from which the audience data schedule begins. This information is mandatory.

Note: Date format is "yyyy-mm-dd".
End Date

The date from which the audience data schedule ends. This information is optional. If you leave this field empty, the schedule is considered valid indefinitely. You will need a new update to replace this schedule.

Note: Date format is "yyyy-mm-dd".
Start Time

The time from which the audience data schedule begins. This information is mandatory.

Note: Time format is "hh:mm".

Tip: To define an audience value for an hour, use "10:00:00" as Start Time and "11:00:00" as End Time.

End Time

The time from which the audience data schedule ends. This information is mandatory.

Note: Time format is "hh:mm".
Mon

Click the check box if the schedule applies to this day of the week; leave the check box unchecked if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week.

Tue

Click the check box if the schedule applies to this day of the week; leave the check box unchecked if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week.

Wed

Click the check box if the schedule applies to this day of the week; leave the check box unchecked if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week.

Thu

Click the check box if the schedule applies to this day of the week; leave the check box unchecked if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week.

Fri

Click the check box if the schedule applies to this day of the week; leave the check box unchecked if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week.

Sat

Click the check box if the schedule applies to this day of the week; leave the check box unchecked if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week.

Sun

Click the check box if the schedule applies to this day of the week; leave the check box unchecked if the schedule does not apply to this day of the week.

Impressions/Hour

Total impressions per hour. It must be an integer equal to or above 0. This information is mandatory.

Note: You cannot enter the character "-" or any other special character.

The Review screen allows you to check your audience data one last time to ensure that everything is correct.

Review screen

You can do the following:

  • Select to only show the rows in your data file that have issues in them by toggling the Only show rows with problems option.

    • Only show rows with problems

    The problems are shown in red. You can hover over the problem to get a hint at what is wrong, and then correct it. For more information on the data that you must use for each column, see Interface Column Details.

  • Select to only show the modifications that you have done in the update wizard (not in your data file) by toggling the Show modifications option.

    • Show modifications

  • If there is missing information, you can type the proper value in the corresponding cell. If you type something that does not have the correct format, the cell is displayed in red. You can hover over it to get a hint at what is wrong, and then correct it.

Once everything is right, click the Continue button.

If you still have issues in your data, the following window is displayed:

Unresolved format issues

  • Click Go back to return to the Review page and fix the issue.
  • Click Continue to go on with the import process. The row that contains the problematic data will be discarded and will not be imported. The valid rows will be imported.

The Broadsign Platform finishes the import process. A successful import means that all the data provided has been checked and is compliant.

After this step, Broadsign updates audience information in the background. It may take a few extra minutes for the "Programmatic status" screens to update and for the audience data to refresh in our Guaranteed Campaigns solution.

You can get a URL that allows you to synchronize audience data with our Content and Network Management solution.

To copy the audience URL:

Digital Inventory

  1. In the Inventory list, click the Actions button button.

    2. Copy Audience URL

  2. Select Copy Audience URL.