February 2010 Newsletter

Feature Story

Making That Digital Leap

Article by: Kim Ramser, DOmedia Business Development & Industry Relations Guru

Considering whether or not to join the OOH digital revolution? It's hard not to consider with headlines like these:

"DOOH Weathered 2009 Better Than Most" (MediaPost's Digital Outsider, Jan. 15, 2010)

"Digital Billboards Fastest-Growing DOOH Platform" (The PQ Media Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2009-2014)

"Digital OOH to Soar 13% through 2013" (BIA/Kelsey Report)

Before diving blindly into the digital transformation, there are many questions to ask yourself. For instance, what type of format will you put on your media product--content or just advertising? Will it educate or entertain? How will you train your sales force? How will the client change--regionally, nationally, categories? What about the investment--how long will it take to get back? How will you sell it--by predetermined networks or by location? What (if any) regulations will restrict you? How will you manage the inventory? ...and this is just the beginning!

There's probably no easy way to decide, but don't let the numerous elements involved in the decision hold you back. Instead, use them as a way to take a fresh look at your media to conclude the best route for you and your business.

Think you may take the leap? For the most part, there are definitely many benefits and only a few drawbacks. DOmedia can help you dig through the clutter, making the decision a little easier for you.

Inventory Management
In case you haven't heard, DOmedia recently partnered with BroadSign--a leading worldwide provider of software solutions for managing digital signage networks. By integrating our two systems, digital signage networks powered by BroadSign will be able to submit their ad space and audience data to our database. DOmedia and BroadSign make it easy for media buyers to use DOmedia's interface to search for available DOOH.

Reach National and Regional Agencies
DOmedia is also helping digital companies reach agency planners who are looking to build campaigns using DOOH. When a planner uses DOmedia to search with a specific geographic target or venue in mind, your company can come up in their search results if it meets the criteria.

Helping Solve Problems
DOmedia is dedicated to working with the industry to promote standards and best practices. Just recently, DOmedia had an informal digital summit in New York where we met with digital companies to discuss some of their challenges and concerns. By listening to some of the most influential DOOH companies in an open, honest forum, we were able to better understand the needs of the industry and how DOmedia can help. We're dedicated to helping agencies and advertisers connect with DOOH media sellers.

Providing Relevant Data
We don't think it's enough to tell you how your DOmedia listings could and are benefiting you--we want to show you how, and then work with you to make improvements! DOmedia is developing analytic tools for all companies to use in growth planning. With these tools, we hope to show media companies which categories and markets planners have searched most. We also want to develop data around your listings to help you optimize your Media Profiles so they'll come up in more searches when your criteria is searched.

Consumer Perception
I ran across an article recently listing the benefits of digital OOH to consumers. I thought a few of them were worth mentioning:

• Reduces perceived waiting time in lines
• Serves as a bridge between consumers and sales associates
• Welcomes customers into the venue
• Serves as a call for a repeat visit or giving a website to visit when you get home
• "Localizes" a venue by providing community information
• Provides information so a consumer can decide if a product is right for them
• Provides more in-depth product information than a sales person would provide
• Promotes in-venue events to consumers

(--Digital Signage Expo, September 2009)

Decisions, Decisions...
Good luck making the right choice. DOmedia is here to help every step of the way. And if you choose to join the digital revolution, don't forget to update your Media Profiles once you make that leap so agencies can still find you... and the revenue can start rolling in!

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What's New @ DO

Digital Signage Expo 2010

It's that time of year again... time to start checking timelines, putting together budgets, and fighting over who gets to take off for a few days to join and learn from others in the industry from some of the country's most appealing destinations. Yep, that's right--it's tradeshow season!

To kick off the season, DOmedia plans to join many in the industry at the Digital Signage Expo, the world's largest international tradeshow and conference dedicated to digital signage, interactive technology, and out-of-home networks. So don't forget to look for some familiar DOmedia faces in the crowd in Las Vegas, February 23-25th!

For more information about the Digital Signage Expo, click here.

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Creative Corner

Volkswagen: The Fun Theory

As technology improved over the past century, it helped make our lives easier and everyday tasks more convenient. Unfortunately, it also helped make many of us lazier which, in turn, has been taking its toll on the environment. So when Volkswagen was faced with the question of how to sell environmentally friendly cars to an environmentally unconscious audience, they knew they'd have to change more than their marketing message... they'd have to change the way people think and act.

By joining forces with DDB Stockholm, VW came up with a plan to see if people would act more responsibly if it were more fun to do. "The Fun Theory" campaign, appropriately titled, kicked off at the Odenplan subway station in Stockholm. VW noticed that when given the choice between taking an escalator or a flight of stairs, people almost always choose the escalator. VW's question: Can we get more people to choose the stairs by making it fun to do?

So workers got busy converting the stairs of the Stockholm subway station into functioning piano keys. Once people realized they were creating music with every step they took, it was a domino effect, drawing people in with curiousity. The result: 66% more people than normal chose the stairs over the escalator.

"Fun" experiments like this popped up elsewhere in the country. DDB and VW noticed people are relatively good about recycling plastic bottles and cans, but hardly anyone recycles glass. So to see if they could get people to do just that, they transformed the collection box into a bottle bank arcade game! Passersby could hit "start," then collect points by dropping bottles into the various slots as they lit up. In just one evening, nearly 100 people used the arcade box, while only two used the nearby conventional bottle bank.

The third experiment took place in a park where, like most parks around the world, littering has become a problem. So to get people to use the trash bins rather than the ground, cartoon sound effects were installed to make the bin sound like it went on for a great distance, the trash finally hitting the bottom with a boom. Not only did people throw away their own garbage, but also began picking trash up off the ground nearby.

So what does this have to do with cars? Volkswagen wants to change the way people think of and behave toward being environmentally responsible and, as a result, the way they feel about driving environmentally friendly cars. So even though convenience wins over responsibility, fun almost always beats convenience.

To see more videos from "The Fun Theory," click here.

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