• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer, January 11, 2013

If the rest of 2013 continues this way, the digital out-of-home business is going to have a busy year. The first full week of the new year saw a flurry of new partnerships and products, including a big custom content advertising push by National Cinemedia for Microsoft, the expansion of Zoom Media’s network to include scores of Town Sports International venues up and down the East Coast, and the unveiling of a new pay-per-performance advertising model from SoloHealth, which operates interactive kiosks in health-related retail venues.

NCM Media Network has formed a multi-year strategic marketing relationship with Microsoft, which is kicking off with a custom content video series highlighting Microsoft products. The long-form (each video is two and a half minutes) entertainment content segments feature Microsoft consumer products including Xbox, Windows, Windows Phones, and the Surface tablet, among others. The first video in the series, created in collaboration with Mediavest, features Olympic volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh using a Windows phone in a variety of contexts at work and at home. The cross-channel campaign includes pre-show cinema advertising placements as well as NCM’s lobby assets.

Also this week, Zoom Media & Marketing announced a new deal making it the exclusive long-term media and advertising partner for Town Sports International, which owns and operates 157 health clubs in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions. The deal covers media and promotional assets including static billboards, digital signage, television programming, overhead sound and product sampling. TSI venues will be integrated with Zoom Media’s ClubCom DOOH network.

Last but not least, SoloHealth is unveiling a new pay-per-performance advertising model, called SoloTrigger, which delivers targeted healthcare content via its interactive kiosks and invites consumers to request additional information about products and services; sponsors only pay when consumers actively engage with the ad content. SoloHealth Stations are currently located in over 1,200 retail locations around the U.S., including Sam’s Club and Walmart stores, and the company plans to expand to more than 2,500 store locations by mid-2013 and 4,000 by 2014. So far advertising partners have included Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Pfizer, Bayer, Hallmark and The Coca-Cola Company.