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Startup Q&A with Rich Langdale – IT Martini

by DOmedia on February 3, 2011 in DOmedia, People, Press with No comments

Rich Langdale, CEO, DOmedia

…Posted by Angela Gonzalez in IT Martini on Feb 2, 2011.

This IT Martini Media Correspondent can barely spell ‘€œentrepreneurship’€ while Rich Langdale lives and breathes the word. So much, in fact, that he helped found the Center for Entrepreneurship at The Ohio State University. Langdale’s newest business venture, DOmedia, is a 2010 TechColumbus Innovation Award semi-finalist for Outstanding Product.

DOmedia is a database of over 200,000 traditional, alternative and digital media properties. From highway billboards to digital signage networks, DOmedia provides one centralized location for media planners to search for, assess and contact available media properties throughout the US.

IT Martini asked Langdale how he felt about DOmedia being nominated for a 2010 TechColumbus Innovation Award.

‘€œIt’s a great honor,’€ he replied. He went on to say that the awards are a great program for Columbus. The awards provide ‘€œwell-deserved recognition’€ for Columbus outside of its geographical boundaries. TechColumbus is providing a showcase for the exciting innovation occurring in Columbus.

Why DOmedia? Why create a database of media properties?

Langdale answered that he has a strong background in marketing and logistics, so he cares a lot about this area. When looking at marketplaces for investment, Langdale looks for growth markets with great inefficiencies, high fragmentation and lack of transparency.

IT Martini asked what Langdale meant by ‘€œlack of transparency’€ and how that applied to the media properties market. He responded that advertisers don’t buy as much as they’d like because they are simply ‘€œnot able to see all that is out there.’€ DOmedia was of interest because of the shift in marketing dollars to on-line and out-of-home advertising. DOmedia is able to compile the opportunities and place that information directly in front media planners, who need to understand the many channels available when planning a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.

IT Martini wanted to know what advice Langdale has for those wanting to invest in or launch a start-up company. Langdale emphasized that having a great idea in a great market is core, but not enough. It is critical to ‘€œbuild out a vision, a mission, a strategy and a financial plan.’€ Get your ducks in a row, in other words. Langdale added that one of the key items of a strategic plan is getting key personnel in place.

How do you gather key personnel?

‘€œNetworking,’€ was the answer. Networking venues for Langdale include NCT Ventures, Ohio State University, TechColumbus and our own IT Martini events. Jeff Lamb, DOmedia’s Chief Technology Officer, for instance, is someone Langdale worked with previously. Once Lamb was on board, Lamb was able to recruit and build the core technology team behind DOmedia. Langdale emphasized that DOmedia had a ‘€œdramatic need for sophisticated database expertise.’€

Langdale had additional advice for those thinking of investing in or launching a start-up. He stated that after getting the right team together and developing the financial plan, a business model is essential. Entrepreneurs should ‘€œspend a lot of time thinking about how long it will take to get a customer.’€ How long it takes to acquire customers is how long it takes to recoup the dollars invested. That means, on the flip side, planning in advance how long you can sustain the business prior to acquiring a strong customer base.

Langdale is a deep business thinker who develops clear goals and invests time crunching the numbers prior to investing in a start-up company. It must be the correct formula, for Langdale has done this ‘€œa couple dozen times.’€ IT Martini hopes to enlist Langdale in 2011 IT Martini panel discussions and tech talks so that he can share his expertise with IT Pros and budding entrepreneurs.

DOmedia’s Stats Confirm: Digital-out-of-home (DOOH) Market Expands Rapidly in 2010

by DOmedia on February 1, 2011 in DOmedia, Press, Trends with No comments

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 1, 2011 — Digital-out-of-home advertising (DOOH) is the fastest growing segment in the out-of-home market with no signs of slowing down. According to preliminary numbers reported by PQ Media, a leading provider of alternative advertising and marketing research, the digital out-of-home market was expected to grow 15% for 2010, to $2.07 billion. This trend is consistent with patterns seen by DOmedia, (www.domedia.com), the Out-of-Home Advertising Marketplace and leading provider of planning and buying tools for alternative, traditional and digital out-of-home media. DOmedia has seen continuous double-digit growth since its founding in 2007.

In 2010, DOmedia experienced a 30 percent growth in DOOH searches. “There is considerable momentum in the marketplace for DOOH,” noted Rich Langdale, interim CEO of DOmedia. “For example in 2010 alone, the number of total searchable companies in the DOmedia marketplace increased 18 percent to over 460 companies, but the number of digital companies nearly doubled, increasing 92 percent, to over 100.” The number of agency and advertiser users also grew dramatically in 2010, almost doubling the amount of buying users compared to 2009.

There are a number of reasons for increased interest in DOOH advertising. According to DOmedia, consumers are spending more time out of the home than ever; two times more today than 30 years ago. And when consumers are out of their home, they are increasingly likely to see DOOH advertising, from screens at the gas pump to ads in their local mall. Consumer researcher Arbitron found in a 2010 Digital Place-Based Video Study that more than two-thirds of teens and adults have seen a digital video display in a public venue in the past month.

Marketers are finding a much more receptive audience when they reach consumers while they are out than when they are at home on the couch. According to Mr. Langdale, “When a consumer is at home watching television, the commercial is an interruption and TV watchers often use this time to get up and do something else. Contrast this to advertising at a gas pump or when waiting in line; these ads are often seen as a welcomed distraction.”

Additionally, with reduced ad budgets due to the recession, marketers are finding that digital-out-of-home advertising is one of the most efficient ways to reach consumers cost-effectively. For example, during the elections this past November, DOmedia showed campaign media buyers how they could target their political ads to one particular precinct or zip code enabling them to target their messages more effectively. The company expects that this targeted use of DOOH will only increase as more election campaigns become aware of this tool.

Retailers are also finding value in reaching a targeted audience. According to Mr. Langdale, DOmedia saw a spike in searches in the fourth quarter for last minute Christmas advertising campaigns targeted to shoppers.

Technologies such as those offered by DOmedia are expected to reduce the cost of DOOH media in the marketplace. The use of technology creates increased efficiency that lowers the cost and increases the scale by which DOOH media can be planned and bought.

Limited advertising budgets, decreasing costs in DOOH due to market efficiencies and better advertising targeting will all lead to continued DOOH growth in the coming years. “We are on target to grow dramatically in 2011, with no signs of slowing down,” Langdale said.

For more information, an online demo, or to do a free search, visit www.
DOmedia.com.

About DOmedia
DOmedia is the Out-of-Home advertising marketplace that simplifies the process of buying and selling media. Through its online platform and product suite, buyers and sellers connect and DO business more efficiently. The company is privately funded and based in Columbus, Ohio. For more information and to do a free search, visit www.domedia.com.

SOURCE DOmedia

Simplifying the Process of Buying & Selling OOH Media

by DOmedia on November 17, 2010 in DOmedia, Out-of-home advertising, Press with No comments

Who We Are

DOmedia is a technology company that believes there is a more efficient way to buy and sell out-of-home advertising. We have experience building online ‘€œmarketplaces’€ to support the creation of standards that brings efficiencies to the industry, resulting in category growth and increased profits for all stakeholders. Agencies, sellers, & technology providers are all shepherds of the Brand’s dollars and have a responsibility to find the most effective way to guide it.

To date, we have created the largest online marketplace and searchable database of OOH media inventory with technology tools to efficiently connect over 350 media buyers and 700 media sellers.

Who We Are Not

We are not media aggregators in the sense that we do not buy, own nor sell media. We do not place ourselves ‘€œin the middle’€ of the buyers and sellers. Media sellers retain the sole sales relationship with media buyers & planners.

The Benefits of an Open Marketplace

An open, transparent marketplace creates value for our industry in several ways. Both buyers and sellers benefit through:

Increased visibility, standards, and efficiencies that scales buying capability
Improved and broadened consumer targeting
Increased productivity & streamlined processes
Improved client responsiveness and more effective solutions
A data driven approach to addressing Proof of Performance & ROI

Over time this technology will create institutional knowledge for both the buyer & seller and enable them to spend more time on strategic opportunities and less time on non-value added, repetitive tasks. A transparent marketplace benefits users by its ability to quantify and differentiate value and effectiveness thus justifying higher costs and margins where demonstrable. This in turn helps buyers invest in media that delivers better results for their clients.

Our Media Sellers

We have partnered with OOH media sellers of all shapes and sizes. Our technology tools apply to both small and large media sellers in the traditional, alternative and digital out-of-home advertising industry. Media sellers control what and how much information they make available in the marketplace ‘€“ and it is free to register and create basic profiles. You can browse our current companies list or DO a free search using DOfind, our powerful search tool, to see for yourself.

Our Commitment to the OOH Industry

‘€œWe will not charge more to our clients than the value we bring.’€

We are actively engaging agencies, advertisers, media providers, industry experts, and industry associations to create the most valuable system for all of our stakeholders. It is important to clearly understand the value and concerns from all sides of our business. If you have feedback we encourage you to call (866-939-3663) or share it with us by email (theteam@domedia.com), as we would greatly value your input.

The Future

DOmedia is taking an active role in the future prosperity of the out-of-home advertising industry. Our business model directly aligns our incentives with our stakeholders, both buyers and sellers. Our survival is dependant on bringing value to our clients and we are investing in technology and supporting standards to grow the industry as a whole. We are excited for the opportunities ahead and look forward to helping all of our stakeholders become more successful.

Drum Roll Please… Prepare Yourself for DOfind!

by DOmedia on June 4, 2010 in Agencies, Alternative advertising, DOmedia, News, Out-of-home advertising, Press with No comments

The team members at DOmedia are proud to announce the arrival of DOfind, the enhanced search interface that connects agencies and advertisers with OOH media providers and properties faster and easier than ever before. The goal of DOfind is to simplify this complex and time-consuming process known as media planning.

Request your free trial »

New and enhanced search tools allow subscribers to look for alternative, traditional & digital out-of-home media properties using specific criteria such as geography (set of DMAs, nationwide, search within a proximity to a location – to name a few), product category, venue and even target audience. Looking to reach female beachgoers this summer in their 20s who make between $25,000-75,000? Just enter your search criteria and click “search.” Plus, search results filters put the user in control of finding the media products they need by allowing them to uncheck any unnecessary criteria.

Also introduced with DOfind, Product Profiles feature key information such as Network at a Glance (digital OOH properties only), planning rates, contract terms, audience demographics, impressions, coverage areas, and art/production specs. Subscribers can then dig deeper for location-specific information found in the Asset Detail Profiles. DOfind is set up to be as detailed or as vague as the agency or advertiser needs it to be, which is why we created the ability to find products based on demographic stats like age, ethnicity, gender and household income. To appear in these targeted searches, media providers need only list all of their information within their profiles. It clearly takes two to tango, doesn’t it?

We are extremely excited about the potential of this sleek, new subscription directory, as are the many agencies and advertisers who provided all the great feedback we needed to get the tool where it is today. And after all the long hours put into the development of DOfind, it’s satisfying to know others in the industry are keeping a close eye on our activities. Several highly reputed online publications including Digital Signage Today and DailyDOOH have featured articles about the announcement of DOfind.

See what all the fuss is about… request your free trial today!

Digital Out-of-Home Unites, Shows Up for Haiti Relief Effort

by DOmedia on January 26, 2010 in Agencies, Digital signage, Events, News, Out-of-home advertising, People, Press, Technology with No comments

Since the earthquake in Haiti, DOOH has really stepped up to the plate and proved its worth the past couple weeks. In the aftermath of a tragedy felt around the world, everyone knew something needed to be done–but what? And we all wanted to help–but how? A single, unified message had to be created and made available to the masses. Quick, effective and capable of reaching millions of people worldwide.

So when Matthew Stoudt, CEO of Outcast, rang up the presidents of Zoom Media, TargetCast Networks, CBS Outernet, PumpTopTV, Premier Retail Networks, Captivate Network, AdSpace Networks and IndoorDIRECT, it wasn’t as a competitor but as a fellow industry leader trying to take action. With combined efforts and the help of the Red Cross, the group is now running “Text ‘Haiti’ to 90999” ads across thousands of screens in malls, grocery stores, gyms, doctors’ offices and much more. By running the message across all of the biggest digital screen networks (40,000+ screens to be exact), the donation effort will reach about 100 million Americans each month.

Originally, the Ad Council worked with the Red Cross to develop a digital image to distribute across OOH screens. From there, it was picked up and distributed through OAAA. Lamar, Clear Channel, Health Media Network and Zoom Media have all picked up these ads as well. Some of the Ad Council messages include Michelle Obama or Bill Clinton and George Bush asking for donations. Some companies, such as iDklic Digital Signage and Narrowcasting in Belgium, put together their own ads and began running them across all of their networks. RAMVISION is also running a 2-week campaign for the Disaster Emergency Committee, broadcasting across their Shopping Centre Network.

Interested in joining the effort but don’t have the time or resources to put a spot together? The Preset Group has you covered. They’ve put together PSAs for use by anyone in the digital out-of-home community. For more info, click here.