• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, October 15, 2010

Bid4Spots, which operates online reverse auctions for remaindered radio and cable advertising inventory, is overhauling its platform as it prepares to expand to new markets. The upgrade will make it easier for both buyers and sellers to participate in the weekly auctions and help determine which ad strategies are most effective.

One of the key upgrades moves all of the online marketplaces from .net to .php; this uniform language should allow Bid4Spots to get auctions for new markets up and running more quickly, according to Bid4Spots Chief Strategy Officer Tim Anderson. It will also allow big advertisers to execute ad buys targeting multiple Zip codes more easily.

Plus, the upgrade streamlines integration of metrics from Arbitron and Nielsen into the auctions, depending on the marketplace being served, and provides a new platform for electronic verification with built-in analytics detailing demographic targets and other data.

Anderson said Bid4Spots can track "what weeks advertisers were in, how much they spent, in which markets, with what frequency and what kind of demographic criteria." The information is used to offer each client insights based on the performance of their previous campaigns.

The new system allows Bid4Spots to switch out metrics and create new auction marketplaces for other types of media, if desired.

Currently, Bid4Spots says over 3,000 radio stations have signed up for its weekly reverse auctions, in which multiple stations bid the price of their remaindered inventory down for a single ad buyer, who sets the geographic and demographic criteria for the ad buy.

That represents 21% of the approximately 14,000 radio stations in the U.S.

Bid4Spots does not disclose which stations the ads run on, to protect station rate cards, but it provides confirmation that the ad buys meet their target criteria.