Dominick Porco joins @Impax_Media
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Impax Media, Montreal, has appointed Dominick Porco as company chairman with responsibility for overseeing expansion across Canada and into the United States.
Porco brings over 30 years of experience to the position and is recognized as one of the most accomplished executives in digital out-of-home advertising.
“IMPAX Media is fortunate to have Porco join us at such a critical juncture in the development of our company,” says Shmuel Gniwisch, president and owner of IMPAX Media. “He specializes in bringing new vision to companies and his industry knowledge and connections cannot be beat.”
Porco is the former chairman and CEO at Adspace Networks, New York, where he developed a new in-mall digital media network focused on bridging the gap between consumer promotion and brand advertising. Adspace is now one of the largest DOOH networks in the US with over 3,600 screens covering over 72% of the U.S. population and 98% of all digital screens in malls.
Prior to joining Adspace, Porco was president of News America Marketing, the in-store advertising division of News Corp Ltd. He started with the company in 1993 as a regional sales manager, was soon promoted to national sales manager and then to President, in 1996. Under his leadership, News America Marketing grew from a $500 million per year domestic coupon distribution company into a $1 billion per year global marketing services company.
“I’ve been at this game for a number of years and I’ve never seen the kind of technology and analysis IMPAX Media can provide to retailers, advertisers and brand managers,” says Porco. “The digital media gates that we’re producing offer a real utility to the retailer in terms of inventory control and entertainment for shoppers. For advertisers, they’re getting real-time in-store demographic data that nobody else has. We’ll continue to focus on the grocery sector for now, but there is great potential to work with a variety of retailers.”
Bill Ketcham, president of W. Ketcham & Company LLC and former executive vice-president and chief marketing officer at Adspace Networks, is acting as a consultant to help in positioning Impax Media. Ketcham has also held senior brand management and marketing roles with Pepsi, ESPN and General Foods.
“We’re surrounding the company with good people,” explains Porco. “With Bill as a consultant, we have access to a marketing resource with a wealth of quality experience. Likewise, last week we brought on Lesley Conway, who has strong relationships within Canada’s media and advertising industry. We’re building an all-star team to grow IMPAX Media.
“The company is very well capitalized and the product is getting a great reception from supermarkets. It changes the game. As you know, products evolve so we intend to build across Canada, refining and promoting the product, and then will move into the US.”
Gniwisch says that he plans to have the digital gate in 500 US supermarkets be the end of 2016. Porco is based in New York but will be traveling back and forth to Canada in a regular basis.
IMPAX Media’s Digital Media Gate is an innovation for retailers, media buyers and advertisers. The retractable lane gates with brilliant 1080p digital screens double as a security system and an advertising network targeting retail shoppers. The gates are mounted near checkout counters displaying branded ad content and customized messaging such as news, sports,recipes and in-store promotions that shoppers can watch while waiting at the checkout. When lowered, the monitors block access to closed checkout lanes. Data collection and analytics will give retailers and advertisers the ability to analyze foot traffic, determine spending habits and tailor customer interactions with personalized rewards, incentives and offers.
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