For six months now, DSA network operator members have been meeting by conference call on a monthly basis to discuss issues of interest and concern to them.
Also known as digital out-of-home (DOOH) or digital place-based networks, these members serve different markets – ranging from convenience stores to doctors’ offices to hair salons – but all have one goal: to offer compelling content to targeted audiences by which they can sell advertising.
The idea for the calls spun out of a DSA Digital Signage Council meeting. Joe Matriss, managing director of Park Cast Network in New York City, offered to lead the charge.
“This is a great opportunity to share best practices, facilitate cooperation, and help each other navigate through difficulties and challenges,” Joe wrote in an email to network operator members back in November. “There is a lack of collaboration going on and I believe that we have a lot to gain by talking together.”
His initial plan included discussing topics such as advertising sales, venues, content and integration. While the thought behind restricting the calls to network operators only had been to allow these members to talk openly in a vendor-free environment, outside experts have been invited to join the calls and speak to the group.
The first such guest was Patrick Quinn of PQ Media, whose firm produces an annual research report on the DOOH industry. Patrick presented high-level data, made observations based on the networks his firm has spoken with and then asked the participants about the challenges they faced.
Paul Lindstrom, senior vice president of custom research at Nielsen Media Research made a presentation in April on measurement in the DOOH marketplace and where it is headed.
Last month’s guest was Lucas Peltonen, digital out-of-home director for PITCH, which describes itself as “a boutique media agency dedicated to the creation and execution of customized out-of-home advertising programs.” Lucas gave his perspective on the industry, what he’s heard from agencies and what he thought it took to be successful in this marketplace.
"The monthly calls are beneficial in many ways," says Perry Kirk, president of Gloss Media. "I enjoy connecting with similar sized operators and exchanging advice and contacts in the industry. The calls are run efficiently, yet also allow candid conversation and creative exchanges."
Here's an email from another one of the participants:
The DSA Network Operator calls have been highly engaging since the launch. The ability for C-level executives to have this monthly open symposium and exchange of ideas has truly helped all of us clarify the direction of the industry as well as gain insight through each other. The inclusion of guest speakers brings outside perspectives and learnings to this format and allows us to view what other stake holders, such as clients, media agencies and research firms find most attractive, as well as the perceived hurdles to all of our growth. This is not merely an exercise in intellectual curiosity, but more so a series of cogent discussions on what drives our businesses and the DOOH Industry as a whole.
A unifying theme that has developed over the course of our sessions is that as this industry matures, we must realize that we are an integral piece of the consumer engagement pathway and learn how to better integrate into, and take our rightful place within, the mobile engagement ecosystem that the end consumer (and viewer of our DOOH content) connects and interacts through.
Sheldon Silverman
CEO
SmartBomb Media Group / The iCASHtv Network
The next call is scheduled for June 25. If your company is a digital place-based advertising network and would like to participate in the monthly calls, contact for more information.
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About six months ago, the 
