The vast majority of online media buyers say they would like to spend more time on strategic planning, but are bogged down in admin tasks, according to Centro, a provider of media automation software.

The survey, Centro says, reveals that 85% of respondents spend the bulk of their time managing administrative or logistical activities. 43% of the industry spends more than four hours a day working in Excel, and 49% spends more than four hours a day composing or responding to work email, MediaBuyerPlanner reports.

Another 45% say they work more than 10 hours per day.

The conclusion could be drawn that nearly half of each work day is spent using legacy technologies to conduct administrative tasks, leaving little time for strategy and client services, Centro says.

“The digital media industry is still reliant on tools that were the standard over a decade ago, and, as a result, media planners are struggling with long workdays and a disproportionate amount of time devoted to logistics versus strategy and high-value activities,” says Shawn Riegsecker, president and founder, Centro.

“By streamlining workflow and processes through software automation, agencies can become more profitable and allow their teams to focus on more strategic and creative activities while providing a more sustainable work-life balance.”

New Transis Tech Can Help, Says CEO

Riegsecker says he doesn’t believe the technology exists to automate the online media buying process, but that Centro’s engineers are working on a feature for its Transis software that will do so. Riegsecker believes the tool will save media planners between 60% and 80% of time; it is scheduled for release early next year, MediaPost writes.

“Write, send, negotiate, modify, even order multiple plans in just a few clicks, and in one simple interface,” the Transis website reads. The tool is meant to help advertising agencies decrease costs, improve efficiencies and scale more profitably.