Idaho start up Balihoo is developing a web based media search service for advertisers. Currently beta testing their concepts with a handful of agencies and media owners, Balihoo claim they will rid the media business of the high overhead high cost media buying approach in favour of operational efficiencies through technology.

Well, frankly that’s not a new angle, and Balihoo will find it tough going with the likes of eBay and Google already desperately trying to muscle into traditional media buying territory. And that’s not to mention a couple of other new kids on the block trying to get on line auctioning going in the US radio and print markets.

All that Balihoo are saying for now about their product is that the solution will enable media planners and buyers to search for media products that are most relevant for their advertising campaigns, gather and analyse information about those products, and interact with media owners to build and execute media plans.

Essentially, it will be a search engine for media planners. You plug in your target group, geography and some other media planning stuff from your brief and, like magic, up pops a load of relevant media offerings.

Reading further between the lines, it seems to us at MediaSoon that the system will try and use a collaborative social media networking approach to bring together agency media knowledge.

The site asks media buyers:

• How much time do I spend trying to find media opportunities?
• How frustrated am I attempting to organize all of the data I’ve collected on media outlets and keep it current and easily accessible?
• How much do I benefit from the collective knowledge of the media planning and buying community as a whole?

And within those rhetorical questions lies the answer to all that Balihoo will provide.

Pete Gombert, Balihoo CEO tells us:

“The input of the Balihoo Demo community will help shape the application moving forward and will ensure that the final solution fully meets the needs of our users.”

The company promises their offering will hit the market mid 2007 - once they’ve sorted out what exactly it’s going to be.