DOmedia And BroadSign Partner
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Columbus, Ohio-based DOmedia, which offers a most comprehensive database and tool set for alternative, traditional and digital out-of-home media, has partnered with Montreal-based BroadSign International, a worldwide provider of software solutions for managing digital out-of-home networks.
Under their agreement, any of the 230 digital signage networks powered by BroadSign can submit their ad space and audience data to DOmedia’s database, allowing media buyers to use DOmedia’s interface to search for available DOOH ad space and, further, to target campaigns based on demographic and geographic criteria. This will allow them to skip the usual time-consuming research of each individual network, and, moreover, to know that the availability of media inventory is current because it is updated in real time.
“This is the first strategic partnership on a software basis that we’ve made,” says Ken Sahlin, vice president of sales and marketing, DOmedia.” (It is non-exclusive.) “The integration of BroadSign strengthens DOmedia’s position as the industry’s most comprehensive database for digital, alternative and traditional out-of-home media and connects agencies and advertisers with even more opportunities in the digital out-of-home arena.”
And BroadSign-run networks can now gain visibility to a growing roster of more than 300 registered agencies and advertisers who conduct thousands of searches each month through DOmedia.com. Through the joint platform, smaller digital signage networks can now become part of media buys that had previously been off limits to them.
“This is a ‘No Risk, No Obligation” value proposition that’s free for the networks to gain visibility to our marketplace,” says Sahlin. “The networks have the right of approval regarding advertising from any advertiser or agency that contacts them.”
DOmedia currently has 700 regular media sellers and close to 400 media companies on its site, and Daniel Parisien, BroadSign’s vice-president product and strategic initiatives, expects that some 100 of its networks in the U.S. will be involved.
“They’re all hungry for advertising revenue, and there’s power in numbers,” says Parisien. “For example, we have a client who has 300 locations in Texas, but because it’s regional, it tends to get mainly regional advertising. It has been too small to attract the attention of the national buys. This opens the network to being able to be part of the Coca-Cola-type national buy.
“It brings new revenue and a standardization. DOmedia has a sleek interface.”
And because DOmedia offers more than DOOH avails, buyers can add to and change campaigns to include alternative media, for example.
“Adding networks belonging to BroadSign’s connected ‘universe’ to DOmedia’s inventory is the first stage of the partnership,” said Brian Dusho, president and chief strategy officer, BroadSign. “The next stage will be automating the whole process – from planning to buying to cross-network campaign execution and reporting. This will help all stakeholders eliminate the huge cost and time involved in traditional manual processing, making the workflow truly web-based and efficient.”
“This connection is the building block to an eventual full planning and buying operation,” says Sahlin. “The BroadSign agreement will allow us to develop long term planning and long term buying.”
DOmeda’s first priority is the U.S. market, but with many of BroadSign’s networks international, the plan is the take the agreement eventually beyond U.S. borders.
Future benefits of this strategic partnership also include BroadSign and DOmedia’s working together to help OVAB implement industry-wide standardization and measurability of digital out-of-home media.
About DOmedia
DOmedia is the most comprehensive database and tool set for alternative, traditional and digital out-of-home media. Through its online marketplace, the site encourages the creative use of people, places and things (such as place-based digital networks, street teams, sides of buildings and more) to communicate a marketing message. Innovative inventory management tools and in-depth search functionality simplify participation in this growing channel. DOmedia currently has over 700 media sellers and close to 400 advertisers and agencies registered on the site, with more than 6,000 inventory searches performed monthly. The company is privately funded and based in Columbus, Ohio.
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