• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 16, 2007

Signaling that the burgeoning digital out-of-home media marketplace may be more like television than the conventional outdoor billboard industry it is growing out of, two leaders in the space have tapped veteran cable TV ad sales executives to run their organizations. The Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB), a new trade association modeled after the TV industry's Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, Tuesday announced that Kim Norris, a top executive in Comcast's TV ad sales organization, has been named its first president. The move comes a day after Reactrix, a fast-growing digital out-of-home media company, named well-known cable TV sales vet Sue Danaher as its president.

Norris, who joins OVAB from division vice president at Comcast Spotlight, is a local cable TV ad sales vet, who previously was senior vice president-advertising sales at Cablevision Systems Corp., and worked closely with the CAB during cable's seminal years when it was still figuring out how to get on base with Madison Avenue.

During Media magazine's recent Outfront Conference, Norris made an unofficial appearance, and indicated that she would follow a similar game plan to establish OVAB and its sprawling membership of digital out-of-home media companies, with advertisers and agencies. That plan would call for setting standards and developing research that would make disparate out-of-home networks comparable, easy to understand and to buy.

Given the diverse nature of companies participating as members in the fledgling organization, which could be quite a challenge. Among its charter members are Captivate, an elevator-based network owned by Gannett; in-store media giant Premiere Retail Network; AdSpace and Simon Brand Ventures, which operate networks in malls; Channel M, which operates inside GameStop video game stores; health club network ClubCom; Office Media Network; The Hotel Networks; Transit Television Network; and Reactrix. What these companies have in common is that they all offer digital video-based advertising opportunities that are similar to television ads in locations where consumers congregate and are frequently captive audiences. What they lack is any uniformity in terms of reach, advertising formats, and audience metrics.

Danaher, meanwhile, is a high-profile choice to lead Reactrix. She is a highly regarded and well known TV ad sales executive on Madison Avenue, and most recently was one of the top sales executive at MTV Networks, and also is a veteran of the cable's pioneering days at Turner Broadcasting System.