NBC’s Strategic Move to Stay Ahead of the Game: Diversifying into Out-of-Home Video Ad Sales

January 8th, 2008 Brian Dusho

NBC Universal’s move to host an “upfront” presentation later this month to sell its out-of-home TV ad space to major media buyers is the largest attempt so far to elevate the fast-evolving digital signage media properties to the level of annual TV buys. The presentation that comes ahead of the traditional TV Upfront event in the spring is probably also aimed at offsetting the potential losses in TV advetising revenue that may be caused by the continuing writers’ strike. Most analysts predict that many marketers may not be willing to commit to TV shows whose future is unclear.

While the writers’ strike may be a catalyst for NBC’s decision to sell its new media assets more aggressively, the NBC’s initiative also looks like part of a bigger strategy. Last summer NBC became a content provider and media sales rep for a number of digital signage networks , including PRN (over 1000 screens in Shop Rite and Albertson’s retail chains, with Wal-Mart’s In-Store TV not participating), over 500 screens in taxi cabs and about the same amount of gas-pump station screens. And now looks like a perfect time to start pitching this newly aggregated and promising space.

The announcement of the first out-of-home “upfront” heralds the beginning of what many forecast to be a good year for digital signage. The expansion of networks, the growing awareness of this new medium’s potential and the decline of traditional media’s advertising ROI along with the limitations of online advertising, are all indicating that the rise of digital signage is inevitable.

“There’s something intriguing about reaching a consumer at the moment they are interested in buying products, and have money in hand to do so,” said Steve Kalb, senior VP-director of broadcast at Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Mullen.

This kind of awareness on the part of national advertisers and their agencies is also the result of the hard work put in by the OVAB - the Out-of-Home Advertising Bureau, whose mission is to educate the advertising community about the unique benefits of digital signage and to establish standardized metrics that would facilitate massive media buys.

Entry Filed under: The Big Picture, Digital Signage Evolution, Uncategorized