Self-serve campaigns are built in a full-screen planner. You set your criteria one step at a time on the left, matching inventory appears on the map as you go, and you create the campaign once the plan looks right.
This article covers how to start a campaign, what each step sets, and what happens when you create it. Every step also has its own article with the detail.
Starting A New Campaign
Open your Campaigns dashboard.
Click New Campaign.
If more than one campaign type is available to you, choose Self-serve — it carries a GO badge and reads "Browse inventory and book it yourself."
The planner opens on a new draft immediately. There is no separate form to complete first, and nothing is sent to anyone until you create the campaign at the end.
The Planner Layout
Three areas do all the work:
The step list on the left — click any step to open its panel. Steps can be completed in any order, and you can go back and change one at any time.
The map — fills the rest of the screen and updates as you narrow your criteria.
The Campaign Overview panel in the bottom-right — a running summary of what you have set, plus your headline numbers.
A yellow Draft badge sits beside the campaign name for as long as the campaign is unpublished.
Naming Your Campaign
A new draft is named "[Campaign Name]" until you set a name. Click it, type, and press Enter to save — or press Escape to cancel.
A name is required before you can create the campaign. If it is missing when you try, the placeholder turns red.
The Build Steps
Step | What you set |
Advertiser | Which advertiser the campaign belongs to. |
Dates | Your flight dates, and whether they are strict, flexible, or multiple flights. |
Locations | The markets you want to advertise in. |
Budget | Total spend for the campaign. |
Formats | Static or digital, and which media types to include. |
POIs | Specific locations to target around, and how far from each to look. |
Audiences | Audience segments to score inventory against. |
Attachments | Briefs or other documents to share with media owners. |
Media Owners | Which media owners are included, and who at each one receives the request. |
Steps with a problem are flagged in the list, and the panel itself explains what needs fixing. Dates, Locations, Formats and Advertiser all have to be valid before you can create the campaign.
The Campaign Overview Panel
The panel in the bottom-right lists everything you have set so far — advertiser, dates, budget, locations, formats and POIs — and three numbers at the bottom that update as you work.
Figure | What it means |
Matched Units | Units that match your campaign criteria. These are potential fits and do not guarantee availability. |
Est. CPM | Projected cost per thousand impressions based on your current selections. Actual CPM may vary with final inventory and timing. |
Est. Impressions | Forecast audience exposures from available inventory and dates. Final delivery depends on the units you book. |
*Note: Matched units are not held or reserved. Availability is confirmed once requests go out to media owners.
Creating Your Campaign
When the plan looks right, click Create Campaign at the bottom of the Campaign Overview panel.
If you have media owners on the campaign, you are shown which ones will receive a request and asked to confirm before anything is sent. You can send the requests, or create the campaign without sending them.
To create a campaign shell now and approach media owners later, remove every media owner on the Media Owners step first. You can send requests at any time afterwards from Manage → Send RFPs.
After Your Campaign Is Created
You land on the Plan tab, where the campaign's units are shown on a map you can filter, tag and organise. The Draft badge is gone, and the campaign now appears on your dashboard as a live campaign.
The campaign stays editable. Changes to a created campaign are made as a set and applied together, so you can review exactly what will change — including any units that would be removed — before committing.
Each Step In Order
How To Set Your Advertiser
How To Set Your Campaign Dates
How To Choose Your Locations
How To Set Your Campaign Budget
How To Choose Your Formats
How To Add Audience Targeting
How To Attach Files To Your Campaign
How To Select Media Owners
How To Review And Create Your Campaign
The POIs Step In Detail
POIs have more to them than the other steps, so they are split across several articles:
How To Add Points Of Interest (POIs) — start here.
How To Import POIs From A File — for a long list.
How To Set A POI Radius
How To Filter Units By Your POIs — read this one, or your POIs will not affect the plan.
How To Review And Remove POIs