• by Joe Mandese , April 14, 2010

The burgeoning digital out-of-home media marketplace is undergoing some consolidation among some key trade groups. The Digital Signage Association and the Self-Service & Kiosk Association Tuesday announced plans to merge and form a new organization called the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). The news comes just weeks after the Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) relaunched itself as the Digital Place-Based Advertising Association (DPAA).

The Advisory Board of the Digital Signage Association agreed to the merger on April 6. The Self-Service & Kiosk Association Advisory Board voted in favor of merger during a meeting Tuesday, held in conjunction with KioskCom and The Digital Signage Show.

The combined organization said it will focus on ways to help, "users, deployers, vendors, integrators, agencies and network operators in all areas of digital technology applied to audience engagement, including mobile services."

Stuart Armstrong, president of EnQii North America and president of the Digital Signage Association, will serve as president of the Digital Screenmedia Association. Janet Webster, president of Creative Solutions Consulting and president of the Self-Service & Kiosk Association, will serve as an executive vice president in the new association.