• Advertising Age, Monday, August 11, 2008 9:30 AM

In recent months, the three oldest TV networks have set up ventures to place ads on screens that consumers might see as they shop or buy gasoline. The question: "How do networks reach the consumers when they are on the move?" says Virginia Cargill, president of CBS Outernet.

Media outlets use the screens to promote their shows and to wrangle advertising from marketers that want to reach consumers out of home. Spending on outdoor advertising rose 4.9% in 2007, while ad spending on TV overall, meanwhile, fell 1.7% per TNS.

But marketers have yet to agree on standards of measurement. For instance, does an impression at a gas station equal one at the gym? If the Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau "could pull off [a metrics standard] in 20 months, it would be a primary milestone," for the industry, says an NBC executive.

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