Analysis by BIA/Kelsey indicates digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, which leverages spending trends toward digital media, hyperlocal, personalization and engagement metrics, is poised to be the next major growth area in local advertising.

BIA/Kelsey forecasts DOOH advertising revenues to grow from $2.2 billion in 2009 to $3.7 billion in 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate of 13.5 percent. During the same period, traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising revenues will only grow at a CAGR of 1.4 percent, from $4.4 billion in 2009 to $4.6 billion in 2013.

DOOH comprises digital billboards and place-based digital networks, which the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) defines as follows:

Digital billboards are static roadside displays that rotate advertising messages every eight to 10 seconds.

Place-based digital networks are often indoors and positioned in commercial areas where groups of people congregate. Place-based digital networks carry both video content and static advertisements.

In a recent report on DOOH ("Digital Out of Home: Hyperlocal and Hyper Growth?"), BIA/Kelsey notes there are more than 2,100 outdoor advertising companies in the United States. The newer digital segment has more types of companies and is much less concentrated and faster growing than OOH. The OOH advertising industry is heavily concentrated with just three firms earning 85 percent of traditional billboard revenues. Billboards account for 66 percent of all OOH revenues. The remaining 15 percent of the market is highly fragmented.

"OOH is relatively easy to plan and buy since it is so concentrated," said Rick Ducey, chief strategy officer, BIA/Kelsey.

"DOOH must get easier to plan, buy and measure in order to reach scale. With consolidation, partnerships and interoperable platforms, we see the buying process becoming more integrated, which will spur growth."

The outlook for DOOH is among the local advertising topics on the agenda at BIA/Kelsey's upcoming conference, Interactive Local Media 2009 (ILM:09) in Los Angeles, California. The program features a session titled "Digital Out-of-Home: Expanding the Interactive Experience for the Consumer," which will cover the emergence of the "fourth screen" for audience engagement through video screens at gas stations, on city buses, on roadside billboards, in-store, and in venues such as bars and restaurants, health clubs and public spaces. Moderated by BIA/Kelsey's Ducey, this session will include panelists Adam Bleibtreu, CEO, Retail Media Co.; Stephen Randall, CEO, LocaModa; and Lori Schwartz, Senior VP and Director, Interpublic Emerging Media Lab. Brian Buchwald, Executive VP, Local Integrated Media & NBC Everywhere, NBC Universal, is also expected to touch on DOOH during his keynote address on day two, in which he will share his company's local strategy and perspective on the future of Web-infused TV.

ILM:09 is BIA/Kelsey's annual conference devoted to digital media with a local focus. The theme for this year's event is "Monetizing the Local Opportunity," and the agenda will cover a range of important topics, including local social media, local search and mobile search. Conference sponsors include 3L System Group, Acxiom, AgendiZe, Amdocs, Exalead, Kenshoo, Local.com, Local Matters, Localeze, Marchex and MatchCraft. Association partners include Association of Directory Publishers (ADP), International Classified Media Association (ICMA) and Yellow Pages Association (YPA). Media partners include AIM Group, TVover.net and YP Talk.

Critical Media, a leader in global broadcast intelligence solutions, has appointed Steve Shannon as VP, Sales and Marketing and Andrew Koeck as Director, Strategic Partnerships for the company's Critical Mention division.

Shannon will be responsible for growing the client base and increasing revenues through expansion, leadership and management of the sales and client service teams while overseeing all marketing functions for Critical Mention.

Koeck is charged with leading and developing Critical Mention's third-party channels for its partnership platform. The new team will help to open up new business opportunities where real-time TV intelligence content was previously not available.

Shannon was with BurrellesLuce for 17 years and most recently served as EVP overseeing sales, service, marketing and product development. He began as an account executive and regional sales manager with the company and is credited with more than doubling sales of the Media Contacts service. In the product development arena, Shannon conceived and led the launch of the BurrellesLuce web portal, resulting in a clip revenue increase of 32 percent. He also designed and implemented the iMonitor service, launched in October 2008, and led his team to more than 600 sales of the service in its first 12 months. He is also credited with growing the Media Measurement unit by 10 percent.

For more than 15 years Koeck has helped technology and service companies achieve stronger revenue streams and improved market share. He has successfully managed corporate turnarounds, mergers and the go-to-market strategies for several new technology hardware and software products. He previously served as the president and VP Partnerships at dna13 Inc., a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company and a leader of on-demand software for real-time reputation management; President of Intermate International, a premier U.S. supplier of IBM printing solutions including electronic forms to the industry's leading manufacturers; and VP of Sales and Marketing at LCI SMARTpen, a Belgium-based company and award-winning developer of biometric security products.