Article

The eBay of digital signage?

Software-as-a-service provider Real Digital Media has integrated its NEOCAST platform with rVue's media planning platform, creating what one executive calls the first digital signage ecosystem for ad campaign planning and buying.

July 12, 2010 by Christopher Hall

The combination of Real Digital Media's (RDM's) NEOCAST network software with a platform for ad buyers to contact and negotiate advertising campaigns on multiple networks on a single source and make essentially single transactions is the first step in setting up an "ecosystem" that could be vital for the development of the digital signage marketplace, says RDM CEO Ken Goldberg.

According to a statement from RDM and rVue, "current and future network operators using NEOCAST are now able to benefit from the automated delivery of location-specific details about their networks required by ad agencies and advertisers seeking to make informed media buys through rVue. At the same time, rVue can now provide campaign playout and compliance data to agencies through its direct feed from NEOCAST."

The integration is particularly noteworthy because the deal is not exclusive, "we just happen to be the first ones that they've integrated with," Goldberg says.

"What I think is interesting is the opportunity here to build an ecosystem where agencies and ad buyers and networks and ad sellers can come together, whether they're running on NEOCAST or some other platform, with common toolsets to exchange information," Goldberg said yesterday in a phone interview.

That rVue has come up with is a platform that sets the company up as "independent facilitators" who can create a common language out of the information coming out of various networks and the demands of the various ad agencies and ad buys and bring everyone together, he says.

Of course, if the system only has NEOCAST customers integrated with it that won't be enough. Goldberg says he knows that rVue has to sign up his competitors as well.

"They have to go out and sign up a bunch of my competitors and I know that, and I need to look at other platforms as they are there and as they pop up," he said. "But to me this is the first best shot at creating that toolset that benefits everybody.

"So I don't really care if others are connected as well. It doesn't hurt me it; only helps both of our customers."

The announcement says that the "open and free-to-use rVue Media Planner streamlines the creation of DOOH media plans by promoting awareness of the various participating networks, providing relevant information about available networks, establishing communication between the networks and agencies, and reducing media planning time through a real-time search and selection of available touchpoints/screens, impressions and cost. The rVue demand-side platform consolidates all of this information into a single buy that is comprehensive yet easy to execute."

Now network owners can be presented along with dozens, and eventually potentially hundreds, of other networks, which makes it easier for ad buyers to plan and buy campaigns, Goldberg says. The rVue platform is a tool for making that joint negotiating and selling space a virtual reality, he says.

And it doesn't take aggregators out of the equation, he says, because they still provide a service, by actively selling. The platform integration is more passive; there's no selling, only the presentation and exchange of information, he says.

"So I compare them more to eBay than an agency of some sort," he said. "What they need to do is to deal with not just the NEOCASTs of the world but all the networks that are in different places and pull it all together and make some sense of it."

Again, Goldberg calls the move the first step in setting up a kind of digital signage ecosystem, one that depends on the number of vendors, users and applications inside of it.

"So I don't think it ends here; I think it starts here, and to me that's exciting," he said. "It's really the beginning of something and not an endpoint by any means."

"The ongoing mission of the rVue demand-side platform is to contribute to the growth of the digital out-of-home environment by providing resources that remove barriers to entry, and streamline the management, planning and purchasing of DOOH media," rVue CEO Jason Kates said in the release. "This integration was developed to provide the accountability, data and transparency ad-based networks need to further attract advertisers, while shortening or eliminating their data management time. On the other side, this connection enables advertisers to receive the data and analytics they need for greater adoption of the media."

According to the release, enrolling with the rVue Media Planner is free and open to any agency, advertiser or network provider. Enrollees create network profiles that include "such relevant information as audience demographics, location geographics, target venues and overall impressions to help advertisers evaluate and target their locations for media plans. With the announced integration, rVue network profiles powered by NEOCAST can now be provided with the majority of this location-specific and compliance data automatically. This allows network operators to leverage the data already acquired throughout the course of their NEOCAST rollout and operations in a seamless manner. This saves time, effort and ensures consistency of their data across platforms, which is essential for ad agencies requiring confidence in the accuracy of the media plans designed and executed for their clients.

"Currently, rVue has enrolled networks in major DMAs across the United States and Canada with European expansion underway."