TAB Tenders for New OOH Research

US trade body TAB will be issuing an RFP next month, inviting research companies, big data suppliers and database/platform providers to work with it to develop new research capabilities for the evolving out-of-home (OOH) industry.

Established in 1933, TAB (Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Measurement) is a non-profit organization which acts as an independent auditor for OOH media in the US. More than a decade ago, TAB worked with a number of research companies to develop what is now TAB Out of Home Ratings, and this year the body introduced ratings for over 1.5 million ads in various transit venues, as well as spot ratings for digital OOH bulletins. The expansion to time-based digital OOH formats required the incorporation of INRIX speed data, representing TAB's first foray into big data solutions.

TAB's Board of Directors recently commissioned consulting firm Sequent Partners to work with it and a 'TAB Leaders Task Force', to help set the course for the future of OOH ratings. As a result, it is now considering how to introduce improved information about people who travel past OOH formats on roadways and other venues; expand the measurement to non-measured OOH formats as appropriate; introduce an ROI connection that will integrate point-of-sale or other marketing information into the system; and incorporate OOH ratings into syndicated media databases. The organization is also looking at ways to improve the connectivity of those buyers, planners and sellers who facilitate the buying of OOH media through analytics and platforms.

Interim CEO Nancy Fletcher (pictured) comments: 'As the advertising ecosystem changes, we recognize the need to explore all of the options available to help connect OOH and its data to this new world of advertising. The TAB Board of Directors, along with Sequent Partners, is already hard at work developing a plan to help meet these new challenges and move our industry forward.'

TAB is currently accepting statements of interest from organizations which might be suitable candidates for its RFP. Web site: www.tabonline.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.