• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, December 3, 2012

Alternative screens allowing consumers to search and find information will become more prevalent in 2013. Screens at gas pumps and in the grocery store checkout line are two examples of the digital out-of-home (DOOH) market missing opportunities to capture consumers through search. Outcast Media, which supports a TV network at the gas pump, calls these consumers "ungettables."

Ungettables, defined as consumers difficult to reach through traditional media channels, are 44% more likely than most to watch online video and stream content from their smartphones. The market segment tends to resist TV commercials, bypasses online ads, shops through smartphones, gets news from late-night shows and Web sites -- and according to Nielsen Media Research, fuels up at the gas pump at least once a week.

This demographic spends $18 billion dollars annually within four hours of filling up at the pump, according to Outcast, which cites these numbers from the MasterCard Advisory Group. Consumers become a captive audience at the pump, supported by technology and touchscreens, especially those not who are not fidgeting with their smartphones while filling their car's gas tank.

With the rise of technologies such as near field communication, some experts believe DOOH networks will outpace the Digital Place Advertising Association's DOOH 11.8% growth first-half 2012 figures.

All of Outcast's 15,000 gas pumps are compatible with NFC technology that can identify consumers from a tap from a credit card, supporting cross-screen ad targeting. The company supports content partnerships with Fox, The Weather Channel and Comedy Central.

On Monday ZenithOptimedia released estimates for billboards and other OOH advertising, such as place-based media and experiential media. The agency said the sector would grow 4.3% in 2012 and 5.0% annually during the subsequent three years. Putting it into perspective, digital billboards still only make up 3.0% of the total number of billboards in the U.S., according to ZenithOptimedia, which predicts paid-search spend will grow 15% in 2012, 14.0% in 2013, 13.0% in 2014, and 12.0% in 2015.

Join us at the MediaPost Search Insider Summit in Park City, Utah on Dec. 14, and discuss search on alternative screens.