Screenverse co-founders David Weinfeld and Adam Malone say falling hardware costs let new digital out-of-home networks turn profitable within their first year.
Malone argues an industry-wide measurement platform cannot be funded with $2m to $10m in annual support and says the industry needs roughly a billion dollars in committed spend to grow from $10bn to $20 or $30bn.
Weinfeld predicts digital will reach 70 to 75% of US out-of-home advertising in about ten years, with programmatic reaching 75 to 80% of digital out-of-home spend.
Screenverse founders say digital billboards deserve far bigger ad budgets
Digital out-of-home is shifting from static signage to a data-driven medium bought programmatically, and Screenverse's founders argue it is badly underfunded. Cheaper screens let networks scale quickly, and buyers can reach physical audiences that linear TV now misses. The founders split on whether measurement is already good enough to unlock much bigger budgets.
Takeaways
Out-of-home is underfunded relative to its reach. Out-of-home gets about 2.5 cents of every US media dollar. Both founders expect that to rise as buyers treat it as a brand and performance channel. Weinfeld says shifting just 1% of digital video spend would grow it exponentially.
Cheap screens make new networks profitable fast. Early digital billboards cost $500,000 to $600,000 each, while commercial LG or Samsung screens now cost about two orders of magnitude less. Malone says new networks can now profit in their first year, which was rare in his fifteen years.
Screenverse plugs scattered screens into programmatic marketplaces. Founded a little over five years ago, Screenverse monetises more than 130,000 screens across more than 20 networks. It sells through Vistar, PlaceExchange, BroadSign and Perion, reaching buyers via demand-side platforms such as The Trade Desk.
Onboarding starts by refusing the easy yes. Malone says Screenverse maps a network's value with sales data across more than 30 venue types and audits its technology, then sets year-one to year-three expectations. One network grew from $1m to $10m in sales.
Creatives want more big physical canvases. At Cannes, Malone met creative professionals who get out-of-home work only four or five times a year. Campaigns on Sunset Strip or in Downtown Nashville get amplified online, and he says more creative use would build a flywheel.
Whether measurement is good enough today
Malone says an industry-wide measurement platform cannot come from $2m to $10m a year, when digital spends about 10 cents per dollar on verification and targeting.
He says growing from $10bn to $20 or $30bn needs about a billion dollars in committed spend, and much of the Geopath and Purview agenda misses the point.
Weinfeld calls unmeasurability a misnomer. Reveal Mobile, PlaceIQ and ADCS Insights already track sales lift, purchase intent, site visits and conversions.
He adds that layering out-of-home with mobile, social or CTV campaigns produces a multiplier effect.
Out-of-home in ten years
Weinfeld expects nearly every static sign to go digital, with digital reaching 70 to 75% of US out-of-home, up from roughly 35%.
Tap a name to go there · tap a line to see why they are linked
On this episode 3
Show 1
He predicts programmatic will reach 75 to 80% of digital out-of-home spend, up from roughly 25%.
He expects Google to invest more as Amazon and Walmart push advertising into CTV, digital video and off-site channels.
Malone sees incremental change, with century-old Lamar and Yesco still innovating and new networks growing in Tampa, Miami, San Diego, Austin and North Dallas.