After release notes | Ocast
We have successfully released a completely new version of Ocast, built from scratch. We have received lots of feedback and are continuously improving on every point we receive. Here is a down to the detail report after our release. Even though the Covid-epidemic has brought forward some challenges for a lot of companies, including ourselves — we are now more optimistic than ever and look forward to a great 2021. We are only at the start of our journey with our mission to digitalize the media industry.
Ocast in numbers:
- Present in 6 countries
- Last year 1,7 million visits on the platform. (Ocast.com and client pages)
- Thousands of ad-requests being sent through our platform.
- Approx 1000 medias active on the platform.
Let us briefly explain what will happen during 2021
Ocast was built as a place to visit for media information. We are now taking the next step of our journey.
What happened when we released and just after:
- Total change of infrastructure. This is a big step for any company. Old code replaced with new and sustainable code.
- Migration and implementation of the new ad portals and marketplaces and all content.
- Categorizing media information, great functionality for advertisers to filter media solutions. Advertisers can now filter products within different categories like podcast, outdoor, print and many more.
- Loads of small features and bugs. A normal thing with big releases is that the first weeks/months are usually spent focusing on unexpected bugs and fixes. Some are more critical than others — but we are seeing a huge increase in stability at this point.
What can be expected from Ocast 2021
We are continuously improving the platform and are about to take a leap into the next version of our marketplace. We believe Ocast plays an important role for the media industry, where there is a massive need for more transparency and ease of finding media information.
Customer features Feb 2021 / March
Based on a lot of feedback from our customers, we are working on several features/projects that are expected to be released within the near future.
NEW — What we are working on right now:
- Drag and drop functionality for different parts of the mediakit. This feature is almost done and you can soon expect more flexibility in creating your media kits.
- Advanced permission settings. For our larger organizations, there is a need to give or restrict additional user permissions.
- Translations — A functionality that had to be paused due to a bug. This will soon be reactivated.
- Simplifying the request flow — Deduction in the amount of mandatory fields
- Implementation of Orvesto data API, (Sweden only).
Soon to be released:
- Better structure and search for objects in the admin panel.
- Better search flexibility on Ocast.com when searching for brands or products in the search box. Relevant search results and suggestions.
Our goals for 2021
Our biggest aim is to create value for our customers, but also for the advertisers (our visitors). We have reports of many advertisers and agencies using Ocast today and we have built tools for them to easier create requests on brand and product level which was not possible in the previous version of ocast.com. By today we have already processed over 1100 advertising inquiries through our platform since nov 2020.
A major improvement in the upcoming months
When browsing thousands of media solutions, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of information our platform contains. In order to redirect the advertiser towards the right channel, we are paving the way for a completely new way to request media.
NEW (Soon Q2): Release of central request function
A general request tool will be launched during 2021 on ocast.com. This means that advertisers will now be able to quickly fill in their desired campaign criterias and be connected to our customers/brands matching those criterias. We are striving to connect all of our brands with relevant buyers and our aim is to give both parts the platform to connect.
Feedback from the industry regarding our central request functionality
Both advertisers and agencies are eagerly waiting for it. The market is evolving everyday and if we cling to old fashioned ways of advertising, more money will flood towards the global platforms. Ocast plays an important role in highlighting many independent brands and traditional media companies. Therefore our focus will be to attract even more advertisers and agencies to our platform.
The new platform has only been live for a very short period and we welcome the upcoming period with open arms.
Cheers & Regards
The Ocast team
