DOmedia

MERGER: Outcast Media, PumpTop TV, Health Club Media Network

by DOmedia on February 14, 2011 in Acquisitions, DOOH, Trends with No comments

Outcast Media announced today a merger between its network, PumpTop TV and Health Club Media Network (HCMN).

2011 DOOH predictions of industry consolidation seem to be coming true as M&A activity in the space is heating up early this year.

Here are the stats of the new Outcast Media:

5,000 Gas Stations & Health Clubs
130 US Markets
11,000 PumpTop displays
68 Million Active Consumers (Nielsen)

We’d like to send a warm congratulations to our friends at these three companies whom are all listed in the DOmedia Marketplace! See Outcast.net for the official press release.

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

Question for Media Sellers: How Much Time Do You Spend Responding to RFPs?

by DOmedia on December 6, 2010 in Out-of-home advertising, Trends with No comments

[polldaddy poll=”4204099″]

OAAA: 7% Increase in Out of Home Advertising in Q3

by DOmedia on December 1, 2010 in Advertising, Out-of-home advertising, Trends with No comments

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) released figures showing a 7% increase in revenue in Q3 2010 (vs. Q3 2009) for the Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising industry. Year to date, OOH advertising revenues are up 3.3% over 2009. The media and financial segments helped drive the increase, with the financial institutions reporting a one third increase in spending over the same period in 2009.

Although unspecified in this release by the OAAA, the Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) category would seemingly be the fastest growing category in OOH. According to PQ Media data released on November 15th, the U.S. Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) media category, which includes digital place-based networks, billboards and signage (including cinema), grew 14.9% in the first half of 2010.

Large advertisers and agencies are recognizing the cost effectiveness, reach, and impact of Out-of-Home and Digital Out-of-Home Advertising. Garry McGuire, CEO of RMG Networks, believes the DOOH industry will reach a tipping point in 2011. Exciting times for both media buyers and sellers in the industry. If in fact the DOOH media category is reaching a tipping point, expect that the biggest beneficiaries will be those who support & adhere to industry standards, are transparent in their reporting, and provide a truly valuable advertising medium. DOmedia is working to promote the industry by creating a marketplace built on industry standards to simplify the process of buying and selling OOH media.