Operative or FatTail

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Published by: Anthony Diaz , Sporting News, us
Published on: January 26, 2012

We're a small site looking to alleviate the pain of manual billing that we go through each month and have met with Operative and FatTail to see which product suits us best. I would love to hear about any experiences (good, bad, or ugly) with these two companies. If preferred, you can email me directly at adiaz@sportingnews.com. Thanks and any information would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

#2 Jon Dwyer - February 21, 2012

Thanks Eric. I think you're a great guy too. And thanks to all of our fantastic clients for their continued support!

#3 Andrea - February 3, 2012

I've used both Operative Dashboard and Operative.One. Both platforms do a good job of managing the day to day business needs. The teams are wonderful to work with and truly go the extra mile when it comes to our input on advancements.

#4 Denise Leggio - February 1, 2012

I implemented AdBook with a BtoB and a BtoC publisher. I can't say enough great things about them. We use AdBook for our order management, inventory management, workflow,tasks, monthly billing files and traffick from AdBook to DFP at the click of a button. They customize the solution to you, not a one size fits all. Always updating based on the current industry challenges and their customer service is superb. We used to manually create a billing file and now have it created from FatTail in one easy report. Highly recommend their solution.

#5 Mary Ann Paniccia - February 1, 2012

Anthony, I have ran both print & online operations and when tasked to take on the inventory issues of overbooking, underselling and reporting it was a no brainer when meeting with various companies. The AdBook organization and their understanding of client needs and expectations was refreshing. I have used the FatTail system for many years--both as a new system within an organization and existing when I joined. Either way it has been a business partnership I have grown to appreciate more and more. Especially in the world of "Sign'em Up!" and talk to you when the contract is expiring. My most recent experience has been with integrating SalesForce (CRM) and FatTail--I could not have imagined doing this with any other company. FatTail has been with us through thick & thin, never throwing in the towel, always suggesting & working with us to find solutions. We are fully integrated now and it's amzaing! A rep is totally independent in knowing their inventory, what has been sold and what is on the books. As a company the benefit of having this integration--we are booking all products through one system. We would never have been able to do this without FT. Their staff, product and grows with you and your companies needs no matter how big or small! This will be a partnership I will take into the future. Good luck with your decision & I hope you make the right one--FatTail! Mary Ann Paniccia

#6 Veronica Tegen - February 1, 2012

Anthony,
I reviewed several solutions for this very same problem when I ran the ad department at Digg a couple year back. We decided to go with FatTail for several reasons.
1. They helped us set up the system right, from the beginning. I'm an ad ops expert, but they are experts on how to analyze inventory with their system. Having their advice early in the process was a huge time-saver.
2. There system had more flexibility, and their company was more flexible if we needed custom solutions (Digg had a proprietary ad server we wanted to integrate with). Most of the other companies would charge on-going fees to maintain custom solutions, instead of just 1 up-front fee.
3. I like their business practices the best.

I'll shoot you an email in case you want to chat and ask more specific questions, review what ad servers you have to integrate with, etc.

#7 Melissa Sauer Kitchen - February 1, 2012

Hi Anthony,

I have experience using Fattail with two large b to b companies and cannot say enough good things about them. As the Director of Ad Ops at both, I had the chance to review pretty much every mgmt solution out there. Fattail won hands down both times. Their customer services is first class, I have not worked with any vendor who is more responsive and helpful, they are there to find the best solution for their clients and if its not been done before, they are eager to try it.

I believe that I first worked with them back in 2004 and have watched their product grow and evolve to meet nearly every business need I could come up with. They offer a first class solution that I have recommended many times.
- Melissa, UBM Canon

#8 Amy Johansson - January 27, 2012

Anthony,
We have been working with FatTail since 2007 and I have been involved from the initial integration process all the way to our current environment. I have recommended FatTail to several companies. Everything from their customer service to their reporting environment is outstanding.
~Amy Johansson
Sr. Mgr Ad Ops, Autobytel

#9 Silvia - January 27, 2012

Hi Anthony:
I don't have experience with Operative but I have used Fattail for quite a while now and I can only say positive things.
Good luck on your search.

#10 Eric Harris - January 26, 2012

Jon Dwyer at Fattail is a great guy and I'm an Operative alumni, but from my perspective Operative is the clear way to go from a product, company, and implementation perspective.

Eric Harris, BuzzFeed

Paid Member
#11 Kevin LeFew - January 26, 2012

Hi Anthony,
We have experience in helping clients select the best contract management solution for their needs. We are vendor agnostic. Let me know if you are interested in connecting. We can set up a short call to explore the potential.

- Kevin
AdMonsters Professional Services (APS)
klefew@admonsters.com

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