Donovan Data Systems announces full availability of iDesk at Venice Festival of Media

DDS today announced at the Venice Festival of Media that iDesk, its digital campaign management system, is now handling full-scale digital media transactions successfully for client campaigns ranging from major car manufacturers to cosmetics companies.

• Worldwide rollout underway in US and UK
• New system already handling full scale digital media campaigns
• Early adopters show major gains in transaction speed and processing
• Agency productivity levels for media buying increased by around 300%
• Fully aligned to IAB / IPA UK industry standards

iDesk has been developed for media agencies faced with the high volume of small transactions in the fast-growing digital medium. It streamlines processes by eliminating the huge volume of faxes, spreadsheets and paper notes; greatly improving productivity and helping agencies to manage their digital media campaigns more effectively.

Since its introduction, iDesk has been adopted as the system of choice among agencies processing high media spends ' in one case transacting a million dollars of spend for one campaign alone in just a matter of seconds.*

'As a system innovator, we recognised early on that digital changed everything,' says Michael Donovan, DDS chairman and CEO. 'Worldwide, digital advertising now accounts for about 12% of media spend. Online TV and news are proliferating, at home, in the office, and everywhere in between, and in this response-based medium, every click needs to be counted. That's why agencies are becoming overwhelmed and why DDS has responded with iDesk that can improve agency productivity by some 300%.*

'Feedback from early adopters in our pre-launch trials illustrated that, in some cases, media planning that typically took 30 to 60 minutes was now being accomplished in under five minutes!' *

Designed by agencies, for agencies

'The fast-changing market required accelerated product development,' says Donovan. 'We incorporated extensive research, roundtable workshops and user trials to deliver what is a highly innovative application, designed by agencies for agencies, based on industry standards with interoperability built in.'

Henry Lawson, DDS president, says: 'Our goal has always been to lead innovation and be the first in the industry to help manage all the business processes in today's digital world. We're now proving that we have delivered just that. iDesk's innovative and flexible design brings all the relevant trading data together, putting everything at your fingertips in an intuitive and effective way.

'The reliability and scalability that DDS can introduce was a major factor in developing iDesk, with productivity, business continuity and corporate governance all built in. With iDesk, DDS is the only company providing systems for marketing communications that embrace the digital revolution so comprehensively,' adds Lawson.

Summing up, Donovan commented: 'In collaboration with the agency community, we will continue to innovate and evolve our systems throughout 2008 and beyond with the addition of many advanced features such as traffic department integration, creative partner integration, plan approval, video adserving, mobile and search.

'Digital changes everything; how we behave as consumers, how agencies work and, as you see today, what DDS delivers to its clients in terms of real benefits.'

* DDS company data based on pre-launch trials and user feedback

For further information, please contact:

Linda Conway DDS Tel: +44 (0)20 7255 7099 Email: linda.conway@dds.co.uk

Neville Rawlings Bell Pottinger Tel: +44 (0)20 7861 2502 Email: nrawlings@bell-pottinger.co.uk