Centro

Overview

Centro, originally an independent ad technology provider, is now a core component of the Basis Technologies platform. The integration consolidates programmatic ad buying, ad management, and creative services into a single system. This platform is engineered for advertisers, agencies, and media professionals who require a unified solution for managing digital advertising campaigns across multiple channels, including display, video, connected TV (CTV), audio, and native formats.

The Basis platform, incorporating Centro's legacy capabilities, aims to streamline the entire media workflow from planning and activation to optimization and reporting. It provides tools for demand-side platform (DSP) functionalities, allowing users to bid on ad inventory in real-time across various ad exchanges. This includes features for audience targeting, bid management, and campaign pacing, which are critical for maximizing return on ad spend.

Beyond programmatic execution, the platform offers comprehensive ad management features. These include tools for campaign setup, trafficking, and performance monitoring. Users can manage creative assets, implement tracking pixels, and generate reports to analyze campaign effectiveness. The emphasis is on providing a holistic view of campaign performance, enabling data-driven decisions for optimization.

From a developer's perspective, interaction with the platform primarily occurs through the Basis API. This API offers programmatic access to functionalities such as reporting, campaign creation, and bid adjustments, facilitating automation and custom integrations with other marketing technology stacks. The platform supports various compliance standards, including SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and CCPA, which are relevant for data privacy and security requirements in advertising operations.

The system is particularly suited for organizations that manage complex advertising portfolios and require granular control over their media buying strategies. It serves as an alternative to managing disparate tools for different aspects of digital advertising, consolidating capabilities that might otherwise require separate DSPs, ad servers, and analytics platforms. For example, while Google Marketing Platform offers a suite of tools including a DSP and analytics, Basis Technologies aims to provide a more integrated and potentially streamlined experience for certain users Google Marketing Platform for Enterprises.

Key features

• Basis DSP: Programmatic ad buying across display, video, CTV, audio, and native channels, with real-time bidding capabilities and access to global ad exchanges.
• Basis Ad Management Platform: Centralized campaign setup, trafficking, optimization, and reporting across various digital channels, designed to streamline operational workflows.
• Basis Creative Management: Tools for managing and optimizing ad creatives, including dynamic creative optimization (DCO) capabilities and creative versioning.
• Cross-Channel Advertising: Unified management of campaigns across multiple digital media types and inventory sources, providing a consolidated view of performance.
• Media Planning and Activation: Functionality to aid in strategic media planning, budget allocation, and activation of campaigns based on defined objectives.
• Reporting and Analytics: Customizable dashboards and detailed reporting tools to monitor campaign performance, analyze key metrics, and derive insights for optimization.
• Audience Targeting: Advanced audience targeting options, including demographic, geographic, behavioral, and retargeting capabilities.
• API Access: Programmatic interface for integrating with external systems, automating tasks, and custom data extraction for reporting and analysis.

Pricing

Basis Technologies operates on a custom enterprise pricing model, which is tailored to the specific needs and scale of each client. Details are not publicly disclosed beyond a general statement on their website.

For specific pricing inquiries, Basis Technologies directs potential clients to contact their sales team directly.

Common integrations

• Data Management Platforms (DMPs): Integration with various DMPs for enhanced audience segmentation and targeting, leveraging third-party data.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems: Connects with CRM platforms to align advertising efforts with customer data for personalized campaigns.
• Analytics Platforms: Exports data to external analytics tools for deeper insights and cross-channel performance measurement.
• Ad Servers: Compatibility with various ad servers for creative delivery and tracking.
• Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) / Ad Exchanges: Direct connections to numerous SSPs and ad exchanges for access to programmatic ad inventory.
• Business Intelligence (BI) Tools: API access allows for integration with BI tools for custom reporting and data visualization.

Alternatives

• The Trade Desk: A public demand-side platform (DSP) offering programmatic ad buying across various channels, known for its extensive inventory access and data capabilities.
• Google Marketing Platform: A suite of integrated advertising and analytics products, including Display & Video 360 (DV360) for programmatic buying and Campaign Manager 360 for ad serving.
• MediaMath: Another demand-side platform providing programmatic advertising solutions for agencies and advertisers, focusing on omnichannel campaign management.
• Criteo: Specializes in performance marketing, particularly retargeting and customer acquisition, leveraging proprietary commerce data Criteo Retargeting Solutions.

Getting started

To begin interacting with the Basis platform API, developers typically need to obtain API credentials, which include an API Key and an API Secret. These are used for authentication when making requests. The following Python example demonstrates a basic API call to retrieve a list of available reports.

First, ensure you have the requests library installed (pip install requests).

import requests
import json

# Replace with your actual API Key and Secret
API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
API_SECRET = "YOUR_API_SECRET"

BASE_URL = "https://api.basis.com/v1"

# Authentication headers
headers = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "X-Basis-Api-Key": API_KEY,
    "X-Basis-Api-Secret": API_SECRET
}

def get_available_reports():
    endpoint = f"{BASE_URL}/reports/available"
    try:
        response = requests.get(endpoint, headers=headers)
        response.raise_for_status() # Raise HTTPError for bad responses (4xx or 5xx)
        reports = response.json()
        print("Available Reports:")
        for report in reports:
            print(f"- {report['name']} (ID: {report['id']})")
    except requests.exceptions.HTTPError as e:
        print(f"HTTP error occurred: {e}")
        print(f"Response content: {response.text}")
    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    get_available_reports()

This script constructs a GET request to the /reports/available endpoint of the Basis API, including the necessary API key and secret in the headers for authentication. The response, if successful, is parsed as JSON, and the names and IDs of available reports are printed to the console. For more detailed API documentation and specific endpoint references, refer to the Basis API documentation.