Granite Makes the VCI Switch

So far, it has been smooth sailing as Granite Broadcasting move its eight stations from the Columbine traffic system to VCI Stars II+.

Marcy Timpone, Granite vice president of operational finance, offers this advice based on the experience: “It's important to involve people from the stations who will use the system every day. Then we go to VCI and tell them what sorts of things are important and what challenges we'll need to address.” Three stations have already made the switch.

Granite is using the VCI switch to coordinate stations' account numbers and codes, so they use the same numbers and codes for client spots and use the same names for similar advertisers. By limiting the categories and making the definitions more consistent, Timpone says, “now we can do business analysis at the corporate level” more easily by using the same language.

“Also,” she adds, “the new system interfaces with a product called SelfDesk that gives updates and analysis, so salespeople can see what's for sale. It's more accurate than our Columbine system.”