Why should media data not stay with the agency?

Data in agency systems is unavailable after switching partners. With the Paid Media Ecosystem, all data resides in the advertiser's system — an agency change means changing access credentials, not losing data.

Plan IQ is the integrated AI layer of the Campaign Management Platform — embedded directly in Media Desk. It delivers contextualized planning recommendations based on your own historical campaign data.

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The agency delivers. You have the overview. Media plans, bookings and performance values visible in one system – comparable, analysable, controllable.

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Paid Media Ecosystem for Advertisers: Data ownership, full transparency, and control over all campaigns, budgets, and performance

Paid Media Ecosystem for Advertisers: Media Desk, Intelligence Qube and Finance Desk as integrated Campaign Management Platform by Digital Control

For Marketing & Media All current and planned campaigns at a glance — cross-channel, in real time. Agencies plan in your ecosystem, not their own.

For Management & C-Level Budgets, KPIs, and agency performance accessible live at any time. All data and learnings remain permanently with you — regardless of agency changes.

For Finance & Controlling Media plan and financial processes seamlessly linked — including E-Invoicing. Insertion orders and incoming invoices matched without manual exports.

For Agencies & In-house Teams All partners work on your platform — with clear roles, approval workflows, and traceable processes. Plan IQ, the integrated AI layer, supports planning.

Trust that is measurable — since 2011.

ISO 27001 certified. Over 1,000 active users. Leading solution for Cross-Channel Advertising — confirmed by OMR Reviews.

15+Years of
Market Presence

1,000+Active
Users

26 %Released
Resources

ISO
27001Certified

Awarded on OMR Reviews

Current OMR Reviews confirm: Digital Control is the leading solution for Cross-Channel Advertising in Germany — Top Rated and Leader in Q1 and Q2/26, reviewed by verified users from advertisers and in-house teams.

OMR Reviews — Media Desk Top Rated Q1/26

Media planning and activation at its best: Automates the majority of process steps in the value chain from planning, buying to reporting. Supports decisions and negotiations algorithmically, eliminates manual sources of error.

Collects, aggregates and normalizes data from all advertising media, marketing and tracking systems. Analysis and optimization in a central data hub. Basis for all machine learning and modelling. Saves several man-days for reporting.

Optimizes accounting and controlling with a focus on operational finance processes. Automates job management, invoicing and document entry. Seamless API integration with tools such as Media Desk, SAP, DATEV, Salesforce and more.

Media Planning, Transparency, and Controlling — all in your ecosystem

Marketing & Media

All campaigns — planned, booked and managed in your system

Media Desk

Media Desk maps the entire campaign planning End-to-End — from the first briefing through planning, booking, and ad management to ongoing performance control. Your agencies plan directly on your platform. All purchasing prices and bookings belong to you — forever.

Management & Performance

Data becomes performance steering — cross-channel

Intelligence Qube

Intelligence Qube is not a reporting tool — it is a performance system. Campaign data from all Paid Media channels is harmonized into a coherent, decision-relevant picture. From mere verification to genuine performance analysis: measurable, historically comparable.

Finance & Controlling

From media plan to final invoice — without media breaks

Finance Desk

Finance Desk links media planning and financial processes seamlessly — including E-Invoicing. Insertion orders, incoming invoices, and budgets run in one system. Quotes and outgoing invoices are generated directly from the media plan, without double entry.

The overview, performance, and AI support you don’t have today

All budgets and campaigns at a glance

How much is being spent right now? In which channel, at what price, against which budget? Media Desk gives you the central overview of all running and planned measures — cross-channel, in real time, without asking the agency.

Measure agency performance and purchasing prices objectively

What did a placement actually cost? Which KPIs were achieved against which budget? Intelligence Qube makes agency performance and purchasing prices measurable and historically comparable — from verification to genuine performance analysis.

Plan IQ: AI-powered planning directly in the ecosystem

Plan IQ is the integrated AI layer of the Campaign Management Platform — not an external chatbot, not a parallel tool. It analyzes campaign data and delivers planning recommendations and budget allocation support directly in your system, based on your own historical data.

Ready to go in four weeks: The structured rollout process

Analysis

We understand your processes before we start — system landscape, agency structure, use cases, and roadmap are developed together with your teams.

Requirements Roles & Rights Roadmap

Setup

Technical setup and integrations with ad servers, DSPs, BI, ERP, and finance systems — accompanied by structured onboarding for advertiser teams and agencies.

Ad Server & DSPs BI & ERP Going Live

Rollout

Ongoing requirements management, feature expansion, and individual customizing — your ecosystem grows with your requirements. Long-term partner, not a one-off project.

Ongoing Support Feature Expansion Customizing

What the Paid Media Ecosystem concretely provides for advertisers

Complete overview of all advertising measures All campaign data, purchasing prices, and budgets in one system — permanently yours, not with the agency.

Performance analysis instead of pure reporting Intelligence Qube harmonizes all channel data into a coherent picture — historically comparable, decision-relevant, available as BI feed.

Full purchasing price transparency All bookings and conditions at the highest granularity in your system — media audit on the fly, without external audit teams.

Finance Desk with E-Invoicing Media plan and financial process seamlessly linked. No manual transfers, no double entry.

Data ownership — permanently with the advertiser All campaign data, learnings, and historical purchasing prices remain in your ecosystem — regardless of any agency change.

All agencies and teams on one platform Clear role management, approval workflows, and individually adjustable collaboration depth for internal teams and external partners alike.

Pitches directly in your ecosystem All pitch participants plan on identical data in your system — full comparability, direct insight into planning quality and price levels.

ISO 27001 — GDPR-compliant, data in Germany Certified infrastructure, data hosted on servers in Germany, flexible rights model down to planning position level.

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Agency-driven Media vs. Paid Media Ecosystem

Criterion	Agency-driven Media	Paid Media Ecosystem (Digital Control)
Data Ownership	Data resides with the agency — largely lost when switching	All data permanently in your ecosystem — regardless of agency changes
Purchasing Prices	Intransparent — in agency systems, no direct access	Fully in your system, granular, historically comparable, auditable
Performance Analysis	Delayed reporting, manually consolidated, separated by channel	Intelligence Qube harmonizes all channel data — from verification to performance analysis
Finance & Invoicing	Manual reconciliation between planning and finance	Finance Desk with E-Invoicing — seamlessly from plan to invoice
Agency Switch	Data loss, months of setup time, learnings lost	New partner, same system — structured onboarding instead of a restart
Media Audit	Complex, time-intensive, requires external teams	Media audit on the fly — all historical data retrievable in a structured way
Pitches	Presentations without real comparability	All agencies plan in the same system — on identical data
AI Support	External tools, no data access, no system context	Plan IQ as integrated AI layer — recommendations based on your own data

FAQ

Frequently asked questions — Paid Media Ecosystem for Advertisers

What is the Paid Media Ecosystem and how does it differ from conventional media software?

The Paid Media Ecosystem is not a single tool — it is the integration of Media Desk (planning, booking, execution), Intelligence Qube (performance analysis across all channels), and Finance Desk (financial processes including E-Invoicing) into a single ecosystem that belongs entirely to the advertiser. Conventional media software resides with the service provider. The Paid Media Ecosystem resides with you: all data, all learnings, all conditions — permanently and independently of any agency change.

Why should my media data not stay with the agency?

Media data in agency-owned systems is no longer available to the advertiser when switching agencies. Campaign learnings, historical purchasing prices, publisher conditions, and performance KPIs often cannot be handed over. With the Paid Media Ecosystem, all data resides in your system from day one. Every agency you engage works within your ecosystem. An agency switch then means only one thing: changing access credentials, not losing data.

What is Plan IQ and how does it support advertisers?

Plan IQ is the integrated AI layer of the Campaign Management Platform — not an external chatbot and not a parallel tool. It is embedded directly in Media Desk and accesses your own historical campaign data. Plan IQ analyzes booking patterns, KPI trends, and budget allocations to deliver contextualized planning recommendations — based on your data, in your system.

How do I get transparency over my agency’s purchasing prices?

In Media Desk, all bookings, purchasing prices, and contract terms are stored at the highest level of granularity directly in your system. Agencies plan and book on your platform — making every price, every booking, and every change visible to you. Historical comparisons, price trends, and agency performance over time are retrievable in a structured way. We call this “Media Audit on the fly”.

What do Intelligence Qube and Finance Desk specifically deliver for advertisers?

Intelligence Qube is not a conventional reporting tool — it is a performance system. Campaign data from all Paid Media channels is harmonized into a decision-relevant overall picture. Reports are immediately available for Power BI, Looker Studio, and internal dashboards. Finance Desk seamlessly connects media planning and financial processes — including E-Invoicing. Insertion orders, incoming invoices, and outgoing invoices are generated directly from the media plan, without manual transfers.

What channels does the Campaign Management Platform cover?

The Campaign Management Platform covers all relevant Paid Media channels in one system: Digital IO (Display, Video, Audio, Native), Programmatic (including DSP connections), Social Media Advertising, and classical media (Print, TV, OOH, Radio). All channels are managed in a unified planning and booking system — with a central budget overview and a consolidated performance picture across all types.

How long does the rollout take for advertisers?

The rollout follows a structured three-step process: Analysis, Setup, and Rollout. For a typical advertiser, a fully operational setup can be realized in four weeks. More complex structures — multiple brands, international markets, extensive ad server and ERP integrations — typically require 6–12 weeks. The Digital Control team in Düsseldorf accompanies the entire process.

Is the platform GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001 certified?

Yes. Digital Control is ISO 27001 certified. The platform is fully GDPR-compliant and all data is stored on servers in Germany. The flexible role and rights model ensures that only authorized users can access campaign, purchasing, and financial data — controllable down to planning position level. For advertisers with specific compliance requirements, Digital Control offers individual security setups.

Which markets is the Paid Media Ecosystem designed for?

Digital Control is a Düsseldorf-based SaaS provider with a focus on the German-speaking market — Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH). The platform covers the specific requirements of the DACH media market, including common publisher structures, local booking formats, E-Invoicing standards, and GDPR-compliant data handling. It is also used by advertisers running international campaigns. Support and implementation are delivered by the team on-site in Düsseldorf.

Contact Person:

Martin Stark
Senior Project Consultant

Digital Control GmbH & Co. KG
Kaistraße 16a
40221 Düsseldorf

+49 (0) 211 97532080

info@digital-control.de