• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 15, 2008

Captivate Network is expanding its online and experiential marketing options, according to CEO Mike DiFranza, who added that the company has made a series of new hires to spearhead these initiatives. The new offerings, set to debut over the next year, will complement the place-based video network operated by Captivate in the elevators of office buildings in top markets. 

In the online arena, Captivate is transitioning its Web site, Captivate.com, from a business-to-business site for advertisers and building managers to a consumer site for a wider audience of professionals.

The site will feature news and blogs that provide more in-depth versions of the short-form items that appear on Captivate's flat-screen video displays in elevators. For example, a condensed 50-word version of a story would be followed by a teaser directing the viewer to the Captivate Web site to learn more.

"Fifty percent of the time, when someone's in the elevators, the next stop is their desk," DiFranza noted--giving the network an advantageous position in the daily schedule of business professionals. "I can't tell you how many times we've gotten emails from people saying they want to find out more about an item that appeared on the network."

The site also features a number of blogs appealing to particular market niches. "Book Break" offers Captivate editors' reviews of different novels; "Green Among Gray" deals with environmental issues in the context of corporate office life; "Indulge" covers spa treatments, beauty techniques, and other lifestyle content that appeals to women; and "Quaffer" targets wine aficionados. As with regular news content, blog-related content appearing on the elevator screens will include a reminder to visit Captivate.com.

To coordinate programming and content across these multiple platforms, Captivate has hired Deanna Murray, formerly director of programming for AOL, as Captivate's director of content. Murray directs a team that selects and arranges content that is highly relevant to viewers in geographic and demographic terms, as well as key scheduling. Thus, daily traffic reports come before the afternoon rush hour, and reports on conditions at ski resorts might appear on Thursdays and Fridays during the winter.

Captivate has also hired Scott Lyons, formerly managing director of Alliance Residential, as its new vice president of marketing. In this capacity, Lyons will direct all marketing and research for Captivate, including its work with the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (Captivate is a founding member of OVAB).

"Research is taking a more critical role" in the place-based video market, according to DiFranza, who said custom research will complement the OVAB metric due to be released in the next couple of months. "OVAB makes sure that all the audience data is calculated in a consistent way, so the advertisers can know they got what they paid for. But once they know that, we have additional research showing how the audience really perceives the content, and how it influences consumer behavior."

He also noted that an online presence offers "another dimension of measurability" for place-based video, as well as an entirely new advertising platform.

Finally, Captivate is also bolstering its experiential marketing business, which works with building managers to stage events in building lobbies where space permits, or in nearby venues when the lobby is too small.

In Toronto, where Captivate has been testing the experiential offerings, Infiniti partnered with Taylor-Made to stage a joint automobile and golf equipment promotion. While waiting to have their golf swings analyzed by Taylor-made experts, executives could also check out Infiniti's new model luxury autos.

To manage the new experiential business, Captivate has hired Heather Frugoli as brand activation manager. Previously, Frugoli served as promotions and events manager for Comcast Spotlight.