• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, July 11, 2024

In the decades since I began covering digital out-of-home (DOOH) the medium always seemed to have something of an identity crisis, positioning and repositioning itself alternately as out-of-home, place-based media, and yes, even "television."

From the earliest days of Turner Broadcasting System's "Checkout Channel," to NBC On-Site, to a wide variety of retail-based video networks in Walmart, Best Buy and other logical locations, the medium has always seemed a bit amorphous -- even though it always seemed to make logical sense to planners, buyers and advertisers looking to reach consumers with sight, sound and motion in meaningful locations, and quite often at the apocryphal "moment of truth."

One of the problems in its earliest days was there was no coordinated effort to define the medium, and much of its supply chain was comprised of ad hoc points of distribution.

That was until some of DOOH's bigger players got together and formed the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB) in 2007, which also went through an identity change a few years later when it was rebranded as the Place-Based Advertising Association, which nowadays is usually referred to simply as DPAA.

And while the DPAA itself has expanded into much broader and all-encompassing mission of digital place-based -- as well as "moving" variants -- under President and CEO Barry Frey's helm, it hasn't lost sight of the opportunity to position DOOH as a new form of television.

To support that effort, the DPAA has engaged in a series of studies of advertisers and media agency executives conducted by Advertiser Perceptions over the past few years, and this morning it is releasing its latest edition, which was commissioned by DPAA member Kochava.

Not surprisingly, it continues to show strong support among ad executives recommending it as part of their 12-month planning cycles, with about eight and ten continuously advocating a place for DOOH.

Beyond that, the portions of the studies the DPAA has shared with the trade press get a little muddy, because -- at least for me -- it's been hard to discern from the research what the actual underlying growth of the medium has been, budget-wise. And equally as important, what competing ad budgets is it vying for?

That said, the media economists at PQ Media have consistently reported in recent years that DOOH is among the newer and emerging media channels driving the underlying expansion of ad spending in the U.S. and worldwide.

"Growth in the overall global and US markets was driven by double-digit expansion in 29 of 45 media channels tracked by PQ Media, led by smart tech marketing, streaming video, podcasting, digital out-of-home media, influencer marketing and experiential marketing," PQ's Patrick Quinn noted in this year's annual reported released in March.

And while PQ hasn't ventured to say where that growth has been coming from, nor do the DPAA's Advertiser Perceptions releases delineate that, there is some anecdotal data to suggest it is in fact being viewed by planners, buyers and advertisers more as TV than not.

Specifically, these new bullet points:

• 58% see DOOH as an important part of omnichannel video campaigns.

• 41% consider DOOH to be an extension of TV/video planning. 

• 49% of integrated video teams include DOOH alongside TV, mobile and online, up from 36% in 2021.

• 76% of advertisers believe DOOH has become less siloed, and an integrated part of cross-channel strategies (up from 66% in 2021).

For what it's worth, nary a day goes by that this trade editor doesn't get at least one pitch about a new DOOH outlet or platform launching.

In fact, today I can tell you about two that came in my inbox yesterday.

One is called C-Store TV, a network of 8,500 television screens mounted on ATM cash machines in 7-Eleven convenience stories that place-based media distributor Vengo has just rolled out.

“The network tucks right into Vengo’s portfolio of 60,000+ screens, of which 35,000 are in retail, grocery, and c-store locations," boasts Vengo CEO Brian Shimmerlik, adding that the average dwell time on C-Store screens is five minutes and that the average convenience store shopper spends $10.37 per visit (see his sizzle reel below).

And just in time for your summer excursions -- if you're in the New York vicinity, anyway -- Ballyhoo Media is pitching new DOOH screens on board the Fire Island Ferries and Fire Island Water Taxis.

And as long as I'm plugging DOOH platforms, don't forget to check out MediaPost's upcoming Digital Out-of-Home Summit.