Founded in 2007, Adcentricity is the largest data aggregator in North America and a leading strategist of digital out-of-home (DOOH) media solutions. As an award-winning company, it delivers highly effective advertising campaigns to more than 80 network partners and 140,000 screens, providing 200 million monthly impressions in a wide range of locations that include bars, restaurants, sports arenas, universities, office buildings, ATMs and grocery stores. Leveraging a flexible software platform and supporting data, it enables customers to easily plan and purchase targeted advertising products by criteria such as venue type, demographic or geography. A member of the ARF and POPAI, Adcentricity’s efficiencies are driven by a “One plan. One buy. One bill.” philosophy.  

DMB’s Contel Bradford recently spoke with CEO Rob Gorrie.

Please tell our audience a little more about the meaning of DOOH. 

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) media is made up of LCD screens that have been placed in premium consumer-viewing positions inside of venues from doctor’s offices to taxicabs and pharmacies. The screen is controlled by a software system that plays a closed-loop of content. The content on the screen is intended to provide information and/or entertainment that is relevant to the viewers inside the environment. As a medium used for advertising the opportunity exists to have a highly effective, direct communication with consumers in a contextual manner. Adcentricity classifies the landscape of digital out-of-home environments into 16 main categories and 70 sub-categories (ie: Health Care > Pharmacy) The DOOH space grew 12.3 percent in 2008 putting it on pace to grow at 9.1 percent in 2009, according to PQ Media. 

1. Planning — A thorough and expedient analysis of every venue is required to ensure the selected venues and audiences are relevant to the strategic objectives of a campaign based on demographic, geographic or channel criteria. 
2. Buying — Once planning has been completed across networks, traditionally the negotiation and purchase process between the brand/buyer and each individual network begins. This is a daunting task. Each network has varying rates, rate structures and requirements, making a multi-faceted buy a long and complex process. A plan with 25 different networks and thousands of venues has typically required 25 separate media sales negotiations. Adcentricity allows for a single point of contact and a single negotiation, saving time, money and energy.
3. Creative — A common point of pain in DOOH is the understanding of the full scope of creative requirements once a media buy is finally executed. Diverse standards, technology and network operating processes make for difficulty in understanding what’s required.  If a campaign is inclusive of multiple networks, it is common to get a number of different content type requests with varying file format, length and size requirements. Adcentricity’s understanding of each network’s capabilities and requirements allows for a dramatic reduction in the amount of formats.
4. Distribution — Adcentricity has standardized the distribution process and reporting/campaign flight guarantees across every network partner to ensure that each campaign is launched and executed as promised, Our dynamic and robust platform also allows for near real-time updates to live creative throughout the campaign for mid-campaign alterations.
5. Reporting — Adcentricity has standardized this reporting process to ensure that once a campaign has successfully run, a complete and standardized report is delivered in a single file for review.
6. Billing — Upon final delivery of the performance reports, a campaign involving different networks requires financial reconciliation.  Accounts Payable departments shouldn’t be overloaded with many separate requests for payment on a daily basis.