Glossary A–ZLetter Y
Yield management
Yield management is the control of prices and sales channels with the aim of earning the highest possible revenue from a limited advertising inventory.
The term comes from industries with fixed capacity, such as hotels and airlines. In screen networks, the capacity is the advertising time in the loops.
In practice, the operator decides which slots are sold directly, which through private deals and which in open auctions, and at what prices. Popular times and locations are offered at higher prices, weaker ones are bundled or priced lower. An example: Friday afternoon slots in the shopping centre go first to direct clients at fixed prices; whatever is left goes into the auction with a floor price.
Yield management requires good data: utilisation, prices achieved and demand per time and location. A floor price that is too high leaves slots empty, while one that is too low gives revenue away and can annoy direct clients if they can buy more cheaply elsewhere. Operators should also make sure that filler content and house ads are not crowded out where they matter for the location.