John McMenamin to Head Ripple
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
In the next 6 months, especially in the US we believe that the big debate Retailers (and that includes Shopping Malls and QSR in our definitions) are going to have is the choice between Proprietary and Third Party digital screen Networks.
During our discussions with software signage solution manufacturers about the US marketplace the main third party network that they tell us they see in accounts is Ripple.
Last week John McMenamin was named as the company’s first chief executive officer (McMenamin joined Ripple earlier in 2008 as executive VP of sales and strategy)
Tim McAdam, general partner of Trinity Ventures, an investor in Ripple said “As one of the original media executives in the out-of-home video space, John brings a breath of knowledge in advertising, sales and brand building that will support Ripple’s rapid growth and identify the most promising new channels for content and distribution”
Ripple of course has been expanding its interactive-screen network, most recently announcing deals with Einstein Bros. Bagels and Noah’s Bagels.
Prior to joining Ripple, McMenamin was VP global sales and marketing for Dow Jones International and he has also held several executive level positions in both traditional and new media companies such as NBCInternet, iVillage.com, Turner Broadcasting and ActMedia as well as having overseen the launch of the likes of CNN Airport Network, CNN Accent Health Network, the College Television Network, the Checkout Channel and the Cafe USA Mall Network!
We will be discussing proprietary versus third party networks in more detail later on.
July 22nd, 2008 at 13:35 @607
It’s about time. Good or bad, a leader needs to rise from the pack and take a position, even it it becomes a target for others. “Regular” tv was a great source of exciting content for years, but never provided the venues with the piece of the pie that earned by being a destination.
Tv replaced the newspaper box out front that was always ubiquitously on property paid for by the venue and the customers always had the benefit of information and entertainment while the venue paid the bill and got no return. Ultimately, a venue’s ads in the newspapers or on the tvs they promoted out front or inside cost the venue as much as everybody else.
I’ve seen glossy magazines that survive well on 50K circulations yet venues that have 20k-30k guests don’t know yet what their opportunities are. Hopefully, Ripple will have the strength and committment to communicate those opportunities and educate the venue owners, while proofing out their business model. The more of us – and it’s going to take a lot – that are out educating and promoting OOH, the faster the job gets done.