Captivate's Rise: The Elevator Pitch

Let39s tick off a few ways to answer both questions this Upfront and NewFront seasonThere39s the splashy route as in organizing events that draw hundreds over 2800 in YouTube39s case to Jazz at Lincoln Center or Madison Square Garden39s rotunda theater where key executives speak and sizzle reel their case accompanied by celebrity performancesThere39s the mealtime affair gathering journalists for a debrief with executives over breakfast or lunch amp160If the timing works out a few stars or show producers have a seat and meet the pressIf you39re Viacom under new chief executive Bob Bakish you mix it up Go with splash for NickelodeonNick Jr and BET representing half of your newlylabeled core networks Or go the intimate route with private dinners attended by key agency leaders and Bakish on hand to discuss the complete Viacom outlookAnd if you39re Screenvision Media and National CineMedia NCM the dominant distributors of premovie commercials trailers and short subjects in cinemas nationwide you make a case for Out of Home in a movie theater or simulate the giant screen theater experience somewhere complete with popcorn stands plush seating and lately virtual reality demonstrations amp160Movie showplaces represent one of the most notable venues for OOH advertising defined as advertising displayed in a public place It39s a medium now drawing about 3 billion in ad sales annually and one that39s getting more attention as compatible with digital and mobile viewingPer our recent MediaVillage story on OOH effectiveness data showed consumers 48 more likely to click their smartphone and view a message when they39ve been exposed outofhome to that message first amp160This is driving some programming services to double down on unique OOH tactics during Upfront season especially within and around the route to work for agency personnelCaptivate one of the leaders in digital outofhome DOOH counts many networks among UpfrontNewFront season advertisers contributing to soldout inventory amp160They tout the value of standing out by being where people stand every day inside the office elevator or around the lobby These areas have been fairly wellcornered by the leading locationbased digital video network which interconnects 1600 office buildings nationwide via more than 10000 elevator and lobby displays amp160Captivate39s evolution most significantly under the watch of CEO Marc Kidd for the past several years has moved from standard programming to more robust content complete with news flashes updates factoids sports results and customized weather forecasts from more than 100 content suppliers including MediaVillagecom NBCamp160The Wall Street Journal Gannettownedamp160USA Todayamp160andamp160The Harvard Business Reviewamp160are among the newsfactoid sources while AccuWeather handles the forecastsDuring these UpfrontNewFront weeks Captivate steps up its own messaging incorporating spots about its service into the ad rotation then circulates these messages among targeted buildings which house top advertising agencies Fortune 500 companies and key television or digital media advertisers The spots aim to illustrate how locationbased ads in general and of course their39s specifically are in an ideal and unique environment to target messages to literally a captive audienceLocationbased messages like these benefit from being targeted in as macro or micro a way as advertisers39 desire from national reach to buildingspecific demographics amp160Gas Station TV GSTV another lead OOH player works on a similar operating model using its screens to distribute its mix of content and commercials among more than 1100 gas stations across the country amp160The content from ESPN CNN and Bloomberg is programmed as four or fiveminute segments amp160State Farm Insurance has been a GSTV user the last two years and thanks to a commissioned survey learned that 48 of respondents recalled watching a State Farm commercial through GSTVamp160and 69 would consider business with the company next time they had to make a choice of insurance policyIn Captivate39s case their US footprint is across 26 metropolitan areas and they cite a biannual Nielsen study claiming monthly lobby and elevator views by more than 10 million people a month amp160The study states 90 of responders watched Captivate39s screensamp160and 95 found what played on them quotinformative and usefulquotBy engaging viewers with timely news and actionable information a big stress point in this UpfrontNewFront appeal Captivate makes a case for providing advertisers with a highly desirable difficult to reach audience of influential affluent business professionals amp160What39s more the company may be able to take advantage of a new program in development to add to its cachet amp160Entrepreneur Media and All3Media plan to launch a Shark Tanklike series distributed through Roku Amazon Fire TV Apple TV and other smart TVmaking devices where prospective venture wannabes have 60 seconds to win a meeting with funding sources amp160The catch They have to state their case while riding up an elevator to the top floor where the funders are If unsuccessful down they goStay tuned to see if Captivate moves up with this directionClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Captivate's Rise: The Elevator Pitch

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Simon Applebaum

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Captivate's Rise: The Elevator Pitch

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