• by Erik Sass , September 16, 2008

Zoom Media is branching out from out-of-home advertising in nightlife venues with its acquisition ClubCom, which operates digital displays in 1,600 health and fitness clubs around the world, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan and Australia. That means Zoom now operates 16,000 digital screens in 2,250 venues, in addition to another 55,000 static billboards distributed across a total of 8,500 venues. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Announcing the acquisition, Zoom touted the high concentration of 18- to-34-year-old adults, particularly males, in out-of-home "lifestyle" venues like bars, nightclubs, restaurants and fitness clubs, as well as the large amount of time spent at these venues. On average, the typical dwell time for all three venues is two to three hours per visit, with at least one visit per week.

ClubCom reaches these consumers with overhead displays, digital signage and personal television screens on equipment delivering customized music video content and advertising.

Zoom said it is continuing ClubCom's existing arrangement with Precor, a manufacturer of fitness equipment, to integrate digital displays into their equipment.

This is the second major acquisition for Zoom this year. In March, it acquired the bar and nightclub assets of Alloy Media + Marketing's Insite division, covering more than 2,000 bars, clubs and restaurants. Zoom has also installed hundreds of new digital signs in nightlife venues in the country's top 10 DMAs since the rollout began last October.

These large digital LCD panels can be used to deliver advertising and promotional messages alongside relevant, engaging content from the venues themselves, such as menus, specials, events and announcements.

According to the most recent study of bar advertising by Arbitron, 43% of 21- to-34-year-old males said they had visited a bar in the past week. Bargoers are more likely than teetotalers to be early adopters of new technology; they are also more likely to making word-of-mouth recommendations to their friends.