As executives and managers, we all know planning for the future in an uncertain economic environment is a headache at best. But it’s necessary. And with the wealth of opportunities trumping the challenges in the digital out-of-home media industry going forward, now is the time to decide whether you’re ready to do what it takes to be among the leaders in this industry when the shakeout ends and the breakout begins, or if you’re ready to move on to challenges in another industry.

While the economy has begun to recover and media spending is accelerating, the likelihood is that most economic sectors are in for a long, slow recovery. PQ Media doesn’t believe this will be the case in digital OOH media. So, the question is, are you ready to take advantage? Are your company’s growth strategies keeping up with a fast-changing media landscape? What about technology fragmentation, platform convergence and shifting consumer behaviors?

If these questions are keeping you up at night, I plan to address them on Day 1 of CETW on November 10. Providing a first-look at PQ Media’s renowned Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast (4th edition), I will share exclusive data and insights on 2009 and first-half 2010 actual spending, growth and trends; second-half 2010 pacing estimates; and I’ll walk you through my preliminary view of what lies ahead for digital place-based networks and digital billboards in 2011.

In short, I will offer session attendees valuable perspectives and insights, such as:
• Key trends by major platform, venue and brand category
• Economic realities of DOOH networks and billboards 
• Growth drivers of DOOH and the forecast trajectory
• Mobile media’s impact on DOOH
• And an inside view of what major industry stakeholders are saying

So, if this is the industry in which you plan to stake your claim and make your name, I look forward to seeing you at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 10. 

Patrick Quinn is President and CEO of PQ Media, the leading provider of custom media econometrics and the pioneer of alternative media research.

One of the challenges of the digital out-of-home/digital place-based media industry has been recruiting advertising and branding agencies to recognize DOOH as a legitimate advertising medium along with TV, radio, Internet, outdoor, etc.

Despite efforts by associations like the Digital Place-Based Advertising Association (DPAA), which is close-knit with many New York advertising agencies, those firms have still been slow to adopt the medium. However, there are a handful that have realized the power of digital signage and are not only recognizing it as a viable medium, but also becoming advocates to ensure other agencies do the same.

One of those is Dallas, Texas-based TracyLocke, a mostly retail-focused agency that defines itself as a provider of “ideas that move people to brands.” Although browsing their Web site doesn’t bring up a lot of info about their efforts in the digital signage space, they certainly have been involved in the past year and a half.

I first heard the agency’s name in 2008 but had my first contact with them in 2009. I was brought onboard early to read and review the company’s white paper “In-store digital media: How to re-establish retail’s role as a mass consumer medium.”

Developed in partnership with Reflect Systems and DPMI’s Bill Collins, the white paper explains how retailers can leverage shopper-friendly digital media technologies (including digital signage) that deliver marketing and branding messages to consumers inside the store, at or near the point of sale. We released the paper the week of Digital Signage Expo 2009 on Digital Signage Today.

We later ran an excerpt from the paper edited by authors Dorothy Allan and Bill Collins on the site, as well.

Since then, TracyLocke has become a household name on the digital signage conference circuit. They have gotten in tight with the Strategy Institute: Al Wittemen, managing director of Shopper Marketing for TracyLocke, spoke about the impact of digital signage and how DOOH can leverage the incredible research behind shopper marketing at the Digital Signage Content Strategies Summit in May 2009 in Las Vegas and likely coined the term “point of experience” there. Wittemen returned to the conference again in March 2010 to discuss the post-crisis consumer mindset.

TracyLocke was again invited to speak at the October 2009 Digital Signage Investors Conference, this time represented by president and COO Beth Ann Kaminkow. She has been invited back to speak at the 2010 conference, Oct. 5-6 in New York City.

And most recently, TracyLocke and rVue announced a partnership where the agency will use rVue’s DOOH media planning and buying platform to begin creating customized DOOH campaigns for its clients. The team at TracyLocke consulted with rVue on the latest enhancements to the platform to make it easier for media planners and buyers to use.

The support we as an industry have gotten from TraceyLocke (and I should also mention Razorfish) is critical to the growth and proliferation of DOOH in the minds of the advertising community – but we need more than just a few agencies.

What can we as an industry do to attract more of the advertising community to our medium? Comment below.

This post first appeared on DigitalSignageToday.com. Bill Yackey is former editor of that Web site and a regular contributor.