Due to client demand, we have started a discussion of the Omniscope Connector for MediaMind (AKA Eyeblaster). The current MediaMind API is limited in scope, and we would welcome your input into how MediaMind could improve the accessibility of their data via API.
We are about to begin work on the Omniscope media mind connector. It would be very useful if we could get a brief set of requirements for the connector functionality. For example, if I was describing the requirements for the DoubleClick connector:
- The ability to select the query from: Single Advertiser, Network, Geography... - After selecting a query the configuration options that appear in report central are shown. - Executing the query will execute and retrieve the report data specified.
We then need to make sure that everything that people want to be able to do can be done with the API in its current form (hopefully Gen will be able to advise on that).
Please provide as much detail as possible, as anything not specified now may not be implemented as part of the 2.6 release.
After we have collected the requirements we envisage it will take us around a week to implement and test the connector. This will obviously depend on the complexity of the connector we need to build.
1. Specification of account 2. Specification of advertiser(s) 3. Specification of campaign(s) - inc. 'select all' option to automatically include new campaigns when they're added 4. Date resolution (by day, week, month, etc.) 5. Date range (custom, rolling, etc.) 6. Dimension selection 7. Metric selection
In the DoubleClick connector you also need to specify which report you want to download (eg SingleAdvertiser, Network, Geography etc). Does the same sort of thing exist in MediaMind? If so which reports do you want to be able to download?
There is a set of standard reports that can be downloaded, as well as functionality to create and save custom reports. The standard reports are:
Ad format comparison Conversion summary Creative summary Custom interactions metrics Delivery summary by ad Delivery summary by placement Delivery summary by site Detailed video metrics Engagement summary ROI summary Unique metrics summary
When a user selects one of these standard reports the relevant dimensions and metrics are simply populated in the custom report builder, so I'd assume that these standard reports aren't available via the API. This wouldn't be much of an issue as they can be replicated quite easily manually.
It would be ideal if we could have the ability to select any of the custom reports that we have stored within mediamind via a dropdown list. We have a custom report where there is around 100 fields we use for our computation.
The standard reports should also be made available via a dropdown list as well.
PS. On a side note, would the media budget related elements by downloadable? I don't see any when checking out the Google Analytics API but I might be missing something.
Hi thanks for all the info. I've emailed Gen at MediaMind with these requirements to check that everything that's been asked for is feasible, however it appears the API may not be available to use at the moment. I'll keep you posted, and as soon as it is available we'll implement the connector.
It looks like we can make a start on developing the connector. I'll keep everyone updated with the progress and post any questions about the functionality.
Please see attached for a screenshot of the connector. We have been unable to test the connector as we are waiting for an account with some data to be setup for us. Please note the connector is not yet available in the application (its only available internally for now).
Not all of the requirements specified are possible using the API. As such there is no way to select a list of dimensions/metrics and it is not possible to retrieve custom reports. We will implement this functionality if and when it becomes available, but it might be worth talking to MediaMind directly if this is an urgent requirement.
I've had a quick look at the connector, and have got a few initial observations:
1. The list of campaigns doesn't change depending on the advertiser selected 2. It's not possible to select multiple (or all) campaigns for a particular advertiser or agency. Is it possible to update this? 3. I understand you point above re not being able to select specific dimensions / metrics, however many essential dimensions and metrics seem to be missing, e.g. site name, placement name, ad format, creative description, unique clicks, unique impressions, video plays, expansions, etc. 4. It's not possible to select the periodicity of the data extract - is it possible to add this?
1. This was fixed yesterday. The fix should be in the latest Omniscope build. 2. We can add the functionality to select multiple campaigns. If we do we will have to retrieve a separate report for each campaign and append the data together. The API only allows us to retrieve data for a single campaign at a time. Does this sound OK? 3. There is nothing we can do about the missing dimensions/metrics. Please speak to MediaMind directly about this, if enough people put pressure on them to include this I'm sure it will be done more quickly. 4. The API only allows us to select the start date and end date. Again please speak to MediaMind about this functionality.
Thanks Chris - I'll update to the latest build. Re appending reports for different campaigns - this should be fine............and re the missing dimensions and metrics - without these the connector isn't really of much use as many of the dimensions and metrics that we need are missing (and presume this is the case for other users as well). I'll follow up with MediaMind.............
In tomorrow's Omniscope 2.6 release you can choose to download data for all campaigns related to a specific advertiser. To do this simply don't select the "Filter campaigns" checkbox.
It also appears that there is quite a bit of additional fields that we can download for the MediaMind report. Although MediaMind don't provide this in the report data, we can request information such as brandID, campaignStartDate, campaignEndDate directly from the MediaMind server. There is still no way to manually select Dimensions/Metrics, but you should see the amount of information in each report increase significantly. We envisage that this functionality will be available at the beginning of next week.
I've been speaking to MediaMind about this. It doesn't seem like there is a new API. I told them that the key requirements are:
- Metric/Dimension selection - Access to custom reports - Access to standard reports such as Ad format comparison, creative summary etc
I was told the following:
"As for know the “AnalyticsDataService” does not cover all media mind analytics offering via the platform. we do have plans to extend the API analytics flexibility but I am not sure have accurate timelines for the new version yet."
I will keep chasing them up, but it might be worthwhile speaking to them directly if this is high priority. In the meantime is there anything that we can improve on the current connector given the limitations with the API?
"Unfortunately, we do not have an estimate for additional features for API reporting services. The issue is under discussion at the moment. I will update you once the time lines are set."
I tried using the Mediamind connector yesterday, and found it wasn't very helpful. Very different set of dimensions and measures came back (no customisation possible) than are available in the Mediamind reporting console. So, having read the notes above on the API I reached out to Mediamind on twitter - they told me yesterday that their new API is up and running:
"Hi. Report API for analytics is ready to go. Pls contact your account manager or DM us your details and we will be in touch"
I noticed that the connector doesn't require an API key - so is it working by screenscraping, or actually using the API?
Really hoping this works.. as it'll save us a lot of time in reporting!
Thanks for the email. We are currently using the MediaMind API and not screenscraping. We do use an API key, but we pass this internally.
I suspect the API mentioned is simply the API we are already using. I have emailed MediaMind directly, and you can see my request and the response in the January 9/10 post. It seems that MediaMind are telling people that there is a new API, but it turns out that this is not actually the case. I know this has caused some frustration to several Omniscope users.
We are keen to improve the MediaMind connector, and as soon as there is a new API we will implement it. Until then please continue to put pressure on MediaMind to make these changes.
I've not heard of anyone reporting this problem before. This is something we probably need to speak to MediaMind about directly to determine why this is occurring. I've sent you a private email so we can get to the bottom of this problem.
I emailed MediaMind and asked them about the limit. Apparently the limit of 1000 API calls/day applies to Omniscope as a whole rather than a single username/password. This is something we were not aware of.
I have asked MediaMind to increase our allowance to 5000 calls per day for the time-being.
Please let us know if you see this message again and we can ask MediaMind to increase the limit further.
While we're on the subject of MediaMind, is there a way to make the advertiser pulldown menu selection optional in order to query all advertisers at once, just like with the campaign menu?
Is this something that should be requested from MediaMind?