RMG Networks and The New York Times Launch Digital Place-Based Network

NEC Partners with Project Leader Associates to Develop VUKUNET Universal Ad Platform

NEWS YOU CAN USE FOR SALES

‘NYTimes.com Today’ Delivers News, Information and Video Content Exclusively From NYTimes.com to Over 800 Venues in Major Cities.

RMG Networks and The New York Times have announced the launch of “NYTimes.com Today”, a fully-branded NYTimes.com content experience for readers on the move. This digital place-based network features the latest news headlines, photos, and a selection of videos exclusively from NYTimes.com.

“We also believe this is an innovative way to extend The Times’s brand to its large audience of business professionals in our key markets.”
The network is displayed on video screens in over 800 business district cafés and eateries in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco markets. RMG's existing digital place-based network (formerly known as ‘Danoo’) has been entirely re-envisioned to emulate the familiar, trusted design of NYTimes.com.

NEC Display today announced a successful partnership with Project Leader Associates to develop NEC’s robust VUKUNET, the universal advertising platform that connects digital out-of-home networks with ad revenue.

VUKUNET is a Web-based system that provides a centralized, automated place for network owners to connect their screens to advertisers looking to book digital place-based media. This platform will have a big financial impact on any owners of digital signage networks, such as airports, universities, stadiums, retailers, hotels, and convention centers.

NEC has partnered with Project Leadership Associates- a Chicago-based Microsoft Gold certified business and technology consulting firm- because the team collaborated during the development of VUKUNET, which is available for free to network operators.

Below is a press release that further highlights the partnership.

NEWS YOU CAN USE FOR SALES

Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, the world-leading supplier of professional LCD display products, today announced that The Nielsen Company will offer complete, on-going measurement for the Samsung PROM digital out-of-home (DOOH) signage networks.

Several big digital out-of-home video networks recently announced expansions of their content distribution and ad sales forces. The news from the Health Club Media Network, Premier Retail Networks and National CineMedia suggest that 2010 will be a big growth year for DO, an emerging medium which has weathered the economic downturn better than most.

Captivate Network delivers an audience of over four million employed, high-income consumers who watch the company's elevator screens and use the content on them to help make buying decisions, according to a survey by The Nielsen Company.

Premier Retail Networks has contracted to provide its in-store Checkout TV Network to Associated Food Stores Inc.'s newly acquired Fresh Market stores.

A recovery in ad spending taking hold in third quarter
Posterscope U.S. chief executive officer Connie Garrido and senior vice president Ray Rotolo talk to Media Life about when the recovery will take hold, what categories will lead that recovery, and how alternative media has been impacted by the recession.

OVAB Agency Advisory Board members, member networks and others speak up on DSE's Question of the Month.

Over 250 senior level executives from client companies, agencies, networks, and suppliers attended OVAB’s 2nd Annual Digital Media Summit. The event was a hit with attendees, delivering key insights and practical case studies. Download the attachment below for a full summary of the event.

NEW YORK, NY— “You are doomed,” said Bob Garfield, Editor-at-Large for Advertising Age and author of the new book “The Chaos Scenario.” Mr. Garfield delivered the keynote address for OVAB’s 2nd Annual Digital Media Summit: Focus on Out-of-Home, to a packed room of thought leaders from the advertising and marketing industry.

Eleven members of the Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau have completed their first audience-research studies in conformity with OVAB's new audience metric guidelines, published last year. While most big DO networks have previously conducted proprietary audience studies with third-party research firms, this marks the first time that they agree on the underlying metric.

According to a forecast and industry update report from Adcentricity, 42% of agency and brand
marketers plan to increase their digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising spending through 2009 and
the first half of 2010. Total DOOH spending is on target to hit $4.53 billion by 2013, up from $2.6
billion in 2009.

Place-based video networks targeting business professionals in office buildings are surging ahead in 2009,
another sign of the continuing vitality of digital out-of-home video (especially relative to other media).

It might only have been a half day event this year but the OVAB Digital Media Summit in New York this week was fantastic and one of the big takeaways was that OVAB member companies have yet again raised the bar – taking a monumental HUGE step to provide third party, comparable audience data to the advertising community.

Eleven member companies take a monumental step to provide third party, comparable audience data for advertising community.

OVAB today announced that eleven of its member companies have completed third party audience research studies based on the Audience Metrics Guidelines published by OVAB in 2008.

More than four in 10 (42%) agency and brand marketers plan to increase their digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising spending through 2009 and the first half of 2010, according to a forecast and industry update report from Adcentricity, which found that total DOOH spending is on target to hit $4.53 billion by 2013, up from $2.6 billion in 2009.

The Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) recently announced that the agenda for its second annual Digital Media Summit will focus on presenting results oriented success stories of brands that advertised on place-based video and digital advertising networks in 2009.

One year after the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) released its Audience Metrics Guidelines for measuring digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising media, the association will again convene at the end of this month in New York City to discuss how it the guidelines are performing in the marketplace. But this time, the focus will be on real-world DOOH advertisers and the impact the medium has had on their recent ad campaigns, rather than on theories of measurement.

This year’s agenda will build upon [last years] success by highlighting how consideration became execution with never before seen case studies from blue chip companies like BlackBerry, VH1, Starcom, Chrysalis, MPG, Brand Keys, Arbitron and many others.

How Good Was The Digital Signage Investor Conference? OVAB got lots and lots of mentions...

Eye Reporter interviews Suzanne La Forgia about the power of place based digital advertising.

More attention is being paid to digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising ... organizations such as OVAB continue to push forward in solidifying metrics so that DOOH can be competitive with other forms of advertising.

Partner Expansion Offers More Opportunity for Advertisers to Reach Consumers On-the-Go

Zoom Media & Marketing is partnering with LocaModa (an interactive software platform) to bring interactive content and advertising, as well as social media, to its digital out-of-home social network in 600 bars, restaurants and nightclubs in the top 10 markets.

Adcentricity, which aggregates digital-out-of-home networks and assists media buyers with planning and execution of DO campaigns, is expanding its business to include consulting services for existing DO networks and businesses that are thinking about entering the arena.
Read the whole artical on Mediapost by clicking here http://tinyurl.com/mautau

Our industry has been showing some serious signs of maturity lately...

It probably wasn’t worth a WHOLE press release, perhaps a tweet or a mention in presentation at a conference but we are anal enough to have found it interesting anyway here we see Captivate Network offerings its advertisers new (to them) 30-second ad format spots on it’s 8,000-plus North American digital screen network.

Danoo, a leader in digital location-based media, announced today that Garry McGuire, Jr. has been named Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board of directors. McGuire joins the company effective immediately and will focus on developing its audience networks, growing the business in strategic high-value markets, and integrating IdeaCast following the acquisition earlier this month.

Buzztime's National Trivia Competition Reveals Best and Worst Sports-Minded Areas:
Texas and Chicago prove to be the Most Sports-Knowledgeable Areas in the Country, while Alexandria and Virginia come in last place...

ADCENTRICITY, North America’s largest aggregator and award winning strategist for digital out-of-home media, today announced that Verizon Wireless was the first advertising client to utilize Research Lite, a new extended service that includes pre-packaged and customized research studies to measure digital out-of-home campaigns in any North American market.

For the U.S. Digital Out Of Home media sector, Danoo’s acquisition of IdeaCast and its new collaboration with National CineMedia are watershed events...

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is a dynamic, fragmented, and rapidly evolving space...
That growth is being driven by several factors: (read to find out)

One of the resounding messages of MediaPost's digital out-of-home forum in April was the importance of mobile marketing technology for digital out-of-home measurement.

TheBITE Network is the First Digital Out-of-Home Television Network To Feature Major League Baseball Content.

In a deal designed to consolidate the highly fragmented digital out-of-home industry, Danoo has acquired IdeaCast from National CineMedia for undisclosed terms.

The nascent digital out-of-home medium is evolving from a one-way street to a two-way thoroughfare. In the last few months, a number of digital video networks, including Akoo, Danoo and aggregator Adcentricity, have added a mobile platform, joining other early adopters in trying to extend their dialogue with increasingly mobile consumers...

“We truly believe that the right in-store content can drive results for our retail partners, connect with consumers and be a powerful medium for relevant advertisers. Journeys and Journeys Kidz have a phenomenal in-store environment and targeted audience. The in-store TV show is a big part of that experience and we are proud to produce the shows for them.” said David Teichner, CEO for Channel M.

Prior to joining Zoom, for more than a decade Arkin was Senior Vice President of Marketing at Paramount Pictures where he was responsible for developing the marketing campaigns for all home entertainment content released by Paramount Pictures Corporation that included Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. Arkin also oversaw the home entertainment marketing campaigns for CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, PBS, BET, Logo, CMT and Hasbro.

This week saw more activity in the digital out-of-home marketplace, with a new deal between Captivate Network and Thomson Reuters bringing both news content and advertising to Captivate's network of digital displays in office buildings.

In a first-of-its-kind multi-platform tournament, NTN Buzztime, Inc. (NYSE Amex: NTN) is giving sports fans the chance to live out a true sports fantasy with Buzztime's 25 Years of Sports trivia game. Sports enthusiasts across the country will compete in a sports trivia-themed competition featuring an unprecedented $250,000 in prizes.

18 lucky players will be awarded the trip of a lifetime to attend the Sports Legends Challenge held September 14-17, 2009 at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Danoo, a digital out-of-home company announced plans Monday (June 15) to roll out a mobile component to its network in coffeehouses and cafes...

One of the resounding messages of MediaPost's digital out-of-home forum in April was the importance of
mobile marketing technology for digital out-of-home measurement...

Danoo Inc, a rising leader in the digital place-based media landscape, announced today the rollout ofa powerful new advertising solution. Recent campaigns with ABC, Electronic Arts, HISTORY™ and others combined two of the fastest growing categories in advertising – digital place-based media and mobile marketing. Results indicate...

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- America's malls are undergoing a sea change, as the recession pummels retailers and commercial property owners. But don't let the gloomy news reports taint the entire category.

If digital out of home pops up on a marketer's media plan of late, chances are Suzanne Alecia played a role in getting it there.

Defying recessionary trends, the digital out-of-home video business is still hopping. Today brought more partnerships negotiated by Adcentricity, a company that aggregates DO networks to offer advertisers greater reach and ease in their DO media buys.

During MediaPost's recent Digital Out-of-Home Media Forum in New York, some top industry executives discussed the different approaches agencies use to plan and buy digital out-of-home media, and to what extent they handle the process of vetting an ever-expanding array of digital out-of-home media options in-house vs. utilizing those of some new, state-of-the-art, planning and buying systems being developed by companies like Adcentricity and SeeSaw Networks.

Senior Media Executives, Scott Hagedorn and Jack Myers, See Big Potential in Ripple TV

While other media are looking moribund, digital out-of-home is positively vibrant, with networks striking partnerships and making acquisitions to expand their reach. In the latest deal, Zoom Media and Marketing has acquired the Wellness Health Education Network, a subscription-based service that operates digital signage displaying health-related content and advertising in 255 fitness clubs around the country. Zoom didn't divulge the terms of the deal.

Leader in Fitness Advertising Industry Increases Digital Footprint While Expanding into Health Education Content

OVAB's president explains what buyers still don't get about place based digital

Hardees has signed a deal to bring Indoor Direct's TheBite -- a place-based digital video network serving "quick serve" and "fast-casual" restaurants -- to 324 Hardee's locations around the country.

... As part of the consolidation, MediaVest will also manage out-of-home and digital buying and planning for Wrigley. Mars will keep its out-of-home media with Kinetic, New York, a WPP agency, while its digital buying and planning will remain with Publicis agency Digitas. ...

Responding to advertisers’ hunger for new ways to engage consumers during a recessionary economy, Captivate Network has launched a broad array of new services for driving sales through digital out-of-home ad campaigns.

Captivate Network, the out-of-home digital media unit of Gannett, is expanding from elevators in high-rise office buildings to the World Wide Web.

Congratulation to the winners of the inaugural MediaPost Digital Out-of-Home Awards.

The OVAB cross network campaign: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research developed by OVAB AAB Member n2 won 2 awards!
Best Branding Campaign and Best integration of multiple Digital Out-of-Home networks/platforms

At MediaPost's Digital Outsider Forum on Wednesday, panelists agreed with varying degrees of vehemence on the importance and utility of the new DO [Audience Metrics Guidelines] metrics released by the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau earlier this year.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research ran a nine-week campaign for Team Fox, with custom creative across 22 OVAB member networks...

In a move that will accelerate the integration of one form of digital out-of-home media with another, Adcentricity this morning unveiled a system that will enable advertisers and agencies to plan and buy digital out-of-home video and signage network buys capable of tying into interactive mobile applications.

Digital Marketing Guide: Out of Home
New Technologies Make the World More Interactive

MediaPost OnlineSpin
January 28, 2009
By Cory Treffiletti

Digital Signage Today
The top digital signage stories of 2008, Part 2
Bill Yackey editor
December 30, 2008

Digital Signage Today
Research key to providing DOOH audience metrics
December 18, 2008

Digital Signage Universe
OVAB Expands to Europe
Digital Out-of-Home Momentum Continues Overseas
November 25 2008

OVAB Expands Into Europe
Erik Sass
Nov 25, 2008

The board for OVAB Europe will be led by Dirk Hülsermann, director of business development for Neo Advertising
Nov 25, 2008
By Katy Bachman

Digital OOH is an emerging marketing channel with audiences that are both desirable and captive. Here's how to harness opportunities on "the fourth screen."

Click link to read more.

Audience Metrics Guidelines Debut Tomorrow
October 28, 2008

INDUSTRY WATCH October 27, 2008 (OVAB)

OVAB Announces Five New Member Companies, Keynote Speaker, and New Presenters at Digital Media Summit

OVAB Adds Five New Members
Oct 27, 2008
By Katy Bachman

On the eve of holding its first annual Digital Media Summit in New York, the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau announced Monday (Oct. 27) the addition of five new members. The new companies, AMI Meganet, Health Club Panel Network, Indoor Direct, LevelVision and Samsung Electronics America, bring OVAB's total membership to 35 companies.

Foundation Taps OOH Digital Networks for Huge Campaign
Oct 27, 2008
By Katy Bachman

The largest single digital out-of-home buy was a labor of love. It also turned out to be a smart business decision for an emerging medium that needs to demonstrate it could deliver national reach.

This past summer, from June 16 to Aug. 18, 22 disparate networks ran, pro bono, a nine-week campaign for Team Fox, the community volunteer organization for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease.

Opinion: Keeping Up With Harry
Oct 27, 2008
By Jim Spaeth

My old friend Harry Schwartz isn’t a particularly unique New Yorker. He goes to the gym most mornings, but today he also needed to take his dog to the vet for a shot. Finally arriving at work, he made a stop at his favorite coffee shop before taking the elevator up to his office. This afternoon, he grabbed a cab home before taking clients to Yankee Stadium, but first he had to gas up his car.

OUT OF HOME: A Knockout
Explosion in digital boards, new measurement methods expected to juice OOH business
By Richard Zitrin
September 29, 2008

Technology, coupled with advancements in audience measurement, are expected to spur growth in the out-of-home media sector in 2009.

OOH spending will rise 7 percent to $8.21 billion, PricewaterhouseCoopers projects. ZenithOptimedia paints an even rosier scenario, projecting 11.3 percent growth to $8.71 billion.

The optimistic outlook comes amid a slowdown this year due to a soft economy. OOH is up less than 3 percent for the year, below the 4.7 growth PwC had projected.

Digital Outsider Taps Madison Avenue Insiders, Will Tackle Creative Next
September 26, 2008
Joe Mandese

One of the ad industry's top digital outsiders is getting inside some pretty big agencies. During an update on various initiatives by the bureau, Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau President Suzanne Alecia confirmed OVAB is in discussions with Havas' MPG unit about scheduling a special "Collaborative Alliance" meeting that would focus exclusively on digital out-of-home developments, and potentially, deals. Details of the meeting, including when and where it will be held, are still being hashed out, and the OVAB members have yet to weigh in on it, but the idea was the brainchild of MPG COO Steve Lanzano, who wants to do for digital out-of-home media, what the agency's collaborative alliance has done for interactive television: bring a wide cross-section of industry stakeholders together - including competitors - in a neutral environment to share information and brainstorm about how the industry can utilize emerging media platforms for the greater good of everyone concerned.

The Top 10 Reasons Why Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Is An
Advertisers Most Powerful Tool.

DOOH’s Inherent Characteristics and Maturity make it a Valuable
Arrow in the Brand and Agency Quiver.

By Lyle Bunn
Oct 2008

OVAB to publish guide to audience measurement metrics
October 6, 2008
James Bickers

The Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) is preparing to release a document that it hopes will standardize the numbers and the language used by screen networks, research providers and ad agencies.

The 82-page "Audience Metrics Guidelines" will be publicly released at OVAB's Digital Media Summit, being held Oct. 29 at The Grand Hyatt in New York City.

OVAB to publish guide to audience measurement metrics
October 6, 2008
James Bickers

The Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) is preparing to release a document that it hopes will standardize the numbers and the language used by screen networks, research providers and ad agencies.

OVAB’s Digital Media Summit
October 6, 2008

Today the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) announced the public release of its Audience Metrics Guidelines in conjunction with OVAB’s Digital Media Summit: Focus on Digital OOH event on the 29th October, 2008 at The Grand Hyatt in New York City.

Two Out-of-Home Digital Firms Merge to Form Outcast
Consolidation of Fuelcast, Bhootan Simplifies Buying Location-Based Media
October 02, 2008
By Andrew Hampp

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Digital out-of-home is getting larger, thanks to two new acquisitions bringing more scale to the growing medium. Fuelcast, a leading gas-station out-of-home media network, plans to merge with Bhootan, a retail-based out-of-home company, to form Outcast.

By Andrew Hampp Published:May 08, 2008 NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Call it "Minority Airport." Interactive video outdoor ads are gaining more traction in some of the country's most-frequented travel terminals, with Clear Channel Outdoor, CBS Outdoor and JC Decaux partnering with the out-of-home ad technology's biggest players.

There's no escaping TV. And based on the success of companies delivering out-of-home digital programming, most people don't want to anyway.

The broadcast nets won't be the only ones vying for upfront dollars during the next six weeks. An increasing number of web portals, out-of-home companies and cinema chains are starting to get in on TV's biggest buying period, as media-mix marketing becomes the strategy of choice for advertisers who aren't necessarily prepared to do the bulk of their buys in TV this year.

Published: May 12, 2008 NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The broadcast nets won't be the only ones vying for upfront dollars during the next six weeks. An increasing number of web portals, out-of-home companies and cinema chains are starting to get in on TV's biggest buying period.