What is Media Inventory?
Media inventory allows you to limit what options the planners can choose from in different situations. Similar to tag hierarchies, it enables you to determine acceptable relationships between all fields; not just tags. Therefore it can be used in addition to tag hierarchies.
For example, a tag called "Format" might have thirty options, but only a few of these are relevant to certain Media Vehicles. This creates a risk of a media planner mistakenly selecting a format, like a 1200x300 banner, that doesn't work with the intended Media Vehicle, such as Facebook.
In this situation, you could use the Media Inventory to relate Format to Media Type and limit the available options for Format, based on whether you are planning for Facebook, a local newspaper, or any other relevant Media Vehicle.
Configuring your Media Inventory reduces human error and keeps your data accurate and conforming to your own best practices.
How to Set Up a Media Inventory
⚠ Admin access is required to set up and modify a media inventory.
All Media Inventory settings are managed through the Media Types and Fields settings page and the Media Inventory settings page:
Media Types and Fields Settings: Used to define how fields are related to each other.
Media Inventory Settings: Used to specify allowable options within those relationships.
Set up media inventory relationships
Follow these steps to set up relationships between fields (for example "Organization -> Media vehicle -> Placement -> Format"):
💡You can also include Start Date and End Date in your inventory, allowing you to set a time frame for your options
Activate Media Inventory: Navigate to the Plugins section in Settings and toggle the Media Inventory option to activate it.
Go to Media Types and Fields: Select one of the available Media Types.
Select a Plan Field: Choose the most specific option for your media inventory, such as "Format" in the example provided.
Enable Media Inventory: Scroll down and check the box labeled 'Use media inventory.'
Define Relationships: A field named 'Relationships' will appear. Add the preceding options to your media inventory hierarchy in an appropriate order. For the example given, you would add "Organization" first, then "Media Vehicles", and "Placement".
Save Changes: Click the 'Update field' to save your settings.
Enable Media Inventory to Other Fields: Do the same steps with the other fields in the relationship. For the example given, you would go to the "Placement" field and add the preceding options - "Organization" and "Media Vehicle".
Note: If you miss this step, the inventory will not auto-populate the fields in the sheet view, then planning may be affected.
Enable Media Inventory for Media Vehicle: If the Media Vehicle should be part of a relationship, this step is crucial. Navigate to the Media Vehicles section in Settings and toggle the option in the top right corner to activate it. This ensures that Media Vehicle is correctly integrated into your relationship settings.
⚠️ Each plan field should be involved in only one relationship to prevent issues, as fields operate independently within the inventory.
You've now successfully set up a sheet for your media inventory.
💡 You can set up as many relationships as you need. Each new relationship you create will appear as a separate tab under Media Inventory in the settings.
⚠️ You don't need to enable Media Inventory for the default fields such as Organization, Created By, Edited By, Start Date, and End Date. Once they're included in other fields, they'll appear in the hierarchy automatically.
Populating the Media Inventory
Populate it manually
Follow these steps to populate your media inventory:
Navigate to Media Inventory: In the Settings section, locate media inventory. You should now have a sheet that follows the structure you've created in Media Types and Fields.
Access the correct tab: If you have multiple sheets you need to locate the correct one.
Populate the sheet accordingly: The easiest way to populate this is to start with your most specific option (to the right) and then fill out the rest of the row.
For each option, you need to create a new row. For example, if we have three format options for Instagram, you need to enter three rows with each of the options.
⚠️ When using Media Inventory, ensure that you list all possible options for each field to maintain full functionality.
Copy and paste from an external sheet
Navigate to Media Inventory: In the Settings section, locate media inventory. You should now have a sheet that follows the structure you've created in Media Types and Fields.
Access the correct tab: If you have multiple sheets you need to locate the correct one.
Copy and Paste the Data:
Open your external sheet and select all the rows and columns you intend to add.
Ensure the selected data matches the number of columns and rows in your Mediatool media inventory to maintain accurate placement.
Copy the selected data from your external sheet.
Paste it into the Mediatool media inventory. You can paste multiple columns and rows simultaneously, but remember to verify the alignment to ensure data integrity.
Import an Excel file
You also have the option to import an Excel file. The data will be added to the current tab that you are in when importing. You will find the import option right above your media inventory view.
Navigate to Media Inventory: In the Settings section, locate media inventory. You should now have a sheet that follows the structure you've created in Media Types and Fields.
Access the correct tab: If you have multiple sheets you need to locate the correct one.
Initiate the import: Begin by clicking on the 'Import' button.
Upload Your File:
Drag and drop your file into the designated blue area. Make sure your file is properly formatted according to the guidelines provided below to ensure file compatibility.
Select Sheets for Import:
Choose the specific sheets you want to import from your file. Once selected, click 'Next' to proceed.
Match Columns Accurately:
Verify that all columns from your file correctly correspond to the destination columns. Ensure accurate data mapping to avoid errors.
Complete the Import:
After ensuring all settings are correct, click the 'Import' button to finalize the process.
Ensure file compatibility
Make sure your file only contains raw data like in the image above
Column headers should be in the first row of the file
Data should be formatted according to their types:
Dates as dates, numbers as numbers, etc.
Dates are not guaranteed to be correct from CSV
The date format in the CSV file must match your date format in Mediatool
Let Planners Add and Edit Options in Media Inventory
By default, only admins can edit the Media Inventory settings. If you want planners to have the ability to edit and add options, follow these steps to change the permissions:
Access Media Inventory Settings: Navigate to Media Inventory and click on the cogwheel in the top right corner.
Change Editing Permissions: Toggle the option to allow all editors to modify the inventory. This gives planners the flexibility to add more options as needed.
Revert Permissions: If necessary, toggle the option back to make the inventory read-only for editors, restricting editing to admins only.
This adjustment is important for managing who can edit and update the Media Inventory, ensuring control while enabling necessary contributions from planners.
Enable Media Inventory on Your Subsidiaries
By default, the media inventory plugin (found under the Settings) is disabled for new organizations. To ensure all subsidiaries "listen" to the media inventory set from the Global account, you need to activate the plugin. Here’s how to do it:
Navigate to Settings: Go to the Settings section in your subsidiaries account.
Find the Media Inventory Plugin: Look for the Media Inventory plugin in the list of available plugins.
Activate the Plugin: Switch on the Media Inventory plugin for each subsidiary to enable it.
By following these steps, you’ll ensure that all subsidiary organizations are aligned with the Media Inventory settings from the Global account.
Possible Media Inventory Issues
Combination of Options Not Allowed: If you enter a combination of options in the sheet view that is not allowed in your media inventory sheet, you'll see an error stating 'Data integrity check failed,' and users will be unable to save their current entries/planning data. The solution is to add these options to your media inventory.
Parent and Child Organization Conflicts: When both parent and child organizations have Media Inventories, any overlaps or conflicts will result in the child organization's data taking priority in the sheet view. If the same settings are found in both, only the child organization's rules will be applied.
New Tag Not Appearing: If you've added a new tag but it doesn't appear in the Sheet View drop-down list, it's likely because a relationship for it hasn't been set up in the Media Inventory.
Inventory Not Working for a Subsidiary: If your inventory doesn't seem to work for one of your subsidiaries, it is most likely due to the media inventory plugin not being enabled for that specific organization. Please refer to the section above on how to enable the media inventory plugin for the organization.
New Inventory Not Displaying: If you've created a new inventory but it doesn't appear in the media inventory settings section, it might be due to the last field in the inventory's relationship being used in another inventory. Each inventory is defined by its final field in the relationship, which must be unique and cannot be reused across multiple inventories. However, fields positioned in the middle of a relationship are not subject to this restriction and can be utilized in more than one inventory.
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