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CMS Overview

Introduction​

Oohdesk offers an ecosystem of products for managing screens and content.
CMS (Content Management System) is designed for screen management and running advertising campaigns by your managers.

The CMS interface consists of a header, a left sidebar, and the main area.
Key sections for managers:

  • Devices – physical screens with the player installed, linked to the system via a unique PIN code.
  • Advertisers – folders containing client ad content. Content is uploaded by managers.
  • Advertising campaigns – time‑limited events (start and end dates). A campaign includes one or more advertiser creatives, placed on one or more devices using a scheduling algorithm.
  • Fillers – content (typically your own) that plays when there are no client creatives. If no campaigns are active, fillers play in a loop.

Devices​

When creating a device in CMS, you must specify a name and location (coordinates and time zone).
Coordinates allow you to:

  • see devices on a map;
  • let advertisers run their own campaigns via another Oohdesk product – DSP – by selecting your devices on the map.

Newly added devices are initially inactive. After linking a physical screen to the system, the device becomes online or offline. Offline means no connection between CMS and the device.

Important

  • If a device breaks, playback stops and statistics are not updated.
  • If internet is temporarily lost (but the device is functional), playback continues – the schedule is downloaded several days in advance. Once the connection is restored, the device synchronises.

For managers: it is useful to check which campaigns a device is used in and whether it is active (checked once per minute).
The Audience tab is used for DSP integration (allowing advertisers to run campaigns independently). Integration requires additional information about each screen.

Advertisers​

To upload content, create a folder for the advertiser. Recommendation: one advertiser = one folder.

Inside the folder, content is uploaded. For correct operation on stands with two sizes (fullscreen and mini‑player), you must upload multi‑version content – the same content in two resolutions.

Process:

  1. Prepare the content in the required sizes in advance.
  2. Upload the first size, select vertical orientation (screens are considered vertical).
    Example size: 1440×720.
  3. Upload the second size with the same content (e.g. 576×288).

After saving, the content has a primary and an additional size and is ready to be placed on a device via an advertising campaign.

Advertising Campaigns​

Each campaign places content on one or more devices.
1 campaign = 1 advertiser. Multiple campaigns can run on the same device.

The schedule (plannogram) shows the final playback plan.
Example: one campaign with one creative plays once every 2 minutes. The remaining airtime is filled with fillers. The cycle repeats indefinitely.

Creating a campaign​

  1. Select start and end dates.

  2. Choose a scheduling algorithm:

    • Floating frequency – each creative in the campaign plays X times per hour. For example, 20 times per hour = once every 3 minutes.
    • Ad block – define the block duration (e.g., 30 seconds). If you add a 5‑second creative, it plays and the remaining 25 seconds are filled with fillers. The cycle repeats.

    Recommendation: floating frequency is more flexible when multiple campaigns run on one device.

  3. Choose campaign mode:

    • Normal – all creatives of the advertiser are shown within the interval. For example, three creatives over 3 minutes (one minute each).
    • Cycle‑in‑cycle – only one creative is shown per interval, rotating. First interval → first creative, second interval → second creative, etc.

  4. Select the advertiser.

  5. The “Alternative content” checkbox is for DSP. In CMS, a campaign is created where your content is replaced by the advertiser’s content from DSP (if they want to play something via DSP). This allows you to reserve airtime for DSP. (In this example, DSP is not used.)

  6. Set screen orientation (vertical).

  7. On the second step, upload the content of the selected advertiser (e.g., one creative).

  8. On the third step, select a device.

    If the device is already fully booked by other campaigns (no free airtime), it will be hidden from the list.

Important: Devices are assigned to a scheduling algorithm on a separate page. Only one algorithm is allowed per device. In this example, all devices were added to the floating frequency algorithm.

  1. Add a device (e.g., test2). It may be offline – this does not prevent campaign creation.
  2. Click Next, Save. In campaign details, you will see one creative and one device.

Starting content​

To start playback, the content must be delivered to the device. Manually click the sync button – it sends an update signal to all required devices (if they are online). Manual sync avoids overloading devices with frequent automatic requests.

The schedule for device test2 shows, for example, 180 seconds and one creative – once every 3 minutes. The remaining time is filled with fillers.

A report can be downloaded from the campaign (currently empty; over time it will contain playback data).

Fillers​

Fillers are content that plays on all devices during free airtime. Use multi‑version content.

Grouping fillers:

  • Each filler can be assigned a tag (e.g., group1 or group2).
  • Fillers participate in the playback plan, so after changes you must manually sync.
  • If a device is given the same tag, only fillers with that tag will play on it.
  • Untagged fillers play on all devices.

Example: assign tag group1 to device test1 – the schedule will show only one filler from group1.