It Is (Indeed) A Confusing OOH World Out There
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
‘It is a confusing OOH World out there.pptx‘ was the name of the attached file to a recent email missive from Media World International Corp. and indeed it is, especially when you get all sorts of ‘aggregators’ pop up out of the blue claiming world dominance.
Media World International Corp. supposedly based out of Sarasota, Florida and now, we quote “with offices in New York and Amsterdam, Netherlands” is a Full-Service Outdoor Media Planning and Buying Company though their web site clearly says “Media World International BV, based in the Netherlands”.
These folks actually popped up on our radar screens last year, in January 2011, when Henk Berkheij wrote in a then new LinkedIn Group “Join MWI and become part of the largest OOH Reservation Platform in the World. Media World International counts on the Worlds #1 and most comprehensive and powerful Out-of-Home Media Search Platform. Our database and toolset will allow us to search thousands of media choices in multiple markets against our clients search criteria all over the world. Coupled with this is the unmatched expertise and dedication of our staff. With years of experience in executing media campaigns, our staff has the know-how to quickly present to you the best media at the most attractive rates anywhere at any time” though LinkedIn says they have been around since 2007.
President Henk was previously Vice President Sales & Marketing at BillboardPlanet USA (February 2001 – September 2010) though there seems to have been some overlap with Media World International (September 2007 – Present) – mind you, Media World International’s back end booking system is all based around BillboardPlanet technology.
The email goes onto explain that MWI’s exclusive US digital national networks together with their Global Out-of-Home Online Media Search Platform, allows them to find thousands of media choices in desired markets against search criteria – we quote “You can literally research on a market by market basis of available inventory”.
We’ve never seen a global search platform like that, not even from the mighty VUKUNET or from well financed technology startups like Ayuda Media Systems (anyone remember the promise of ‘Symphony’) so as usual, it will be interesting to see what progress, if any, this business makes.
June 28th, 2012 at 08:46 @407
Media buyers always get that warm and fuzzy feeling when key contacts at their planning partner have gmail addresses. One Google search returns a blurb saying they are based in Minnesota, home of Billboard Planet. At least in this case, we know what planet these folks are really on.