Out-of-Home Guidelines Gain Momentum

OVAB (the Out-of-home Video Advertising Bureau) says eleven of its member companies have now completed third party audience research studies based on the Audience Metrics Guidelines the organisation published in 2008.

The Guidelines include the signing of Disclosure Forms (www.ovab.org/disclosureforms ) which outline how research was conducted.

OVAB President Suzanne La Forgia says the news 'marks a significant shift' as networks 'move beyond traffic measures as their media currency to data based on audience impressions', giving advertising decision makers the option to compare them with 'traditional' media forms like television, Internet [sic] and print.

Ryan Laul, MD of Posterscope - Hyperspace and a member of OVAB's Agency Advisory Board, adds: 'Third party audience research is key to us evaluating place-based digital and video advertising networks. Networks that provide us audience data make our jobs of incorporating this medium into our overall strategies easier and will give clients more confidence to grow their investments.'

The eleven are: Access 360 Media; Adspace Digital Mall Network; Buzztime; Captivate Network; CBS Outernet; Channel M; indoorDirect; Premier Retail Networks; RMG; Target Channel Red; and Zoom Media & Marketing.

Published in October 2008, the OVAB Audience Metrics Guidelines are a rule book for digital and video place based advertising networks and their research providers to follow in order to capture comparable audience data that will allow the advertising community to compare their audience data to that of other media platforms (like TV, internet, radio, etc.). At their core are transparency, disclosure of methodology and consistency of terminology.

The OVAB launched in Europe last autumn. Web site: www.ovab.org .