One day, a small company in China realized that people spent a lot of time “waiting” for things, and while they were waiting, they were somewhat bored. This was true while waiting on elevators, or on train platforms, bus stops, etc. So this little company, named Focus Media, decided to put LCD TV’s in those areas, and run high-quality advertisements from upscale retailers and manufacturers. The results were stunning. The people loved it, as they had something to “do” while passing the time, and the advertisers loved it because they were building brand awareness with these consumers. In most instances, sales of the target product highlighted rose from 7% to an incredible 34% during an ad campaign. Maybe more impressive was the stock of Focus Media, seeing that it made stellar gains as the company made tremendous profits.
Destination Television Inc. (which trades under the symbol DSTV) operates as a media production, promotion, and advertising company focusing primarily on the implementation of private television networks and the out-of-home digital signage industry in the United States. What makes Destination Television so intriguing, however, is that they have seen the power of the “captive” audience and have created three TV “stations” called Bar TV, Gym TV and Hotel TV. Knowing that at any particular time of the day, tens of thousands of people will be in one of those high-traffic leisure destinations, DSTV has created media and advertising directed to each “captive audience”. This is a gold mine of consumers.
By partnering with high traffic premium leisure destinations and locations, DSTV creates full branding and advertising platforms that are target specific and endorsed by some of the finest companies on the planet. Companies such as Gold’s Gym, World Gym, The Four Seasons, Hilton, Marriott and others are realizing the bottom line potential that DSTV’s networks can deliver. With their exclusive technology, Destination Television can not only run advertiser spots at any particular time they chose, which is tremendous for capturing a specific demographic, but they can run it in any number of locations. The advertiser has the ability to choose from either a few targeted locations or the entire nationwide network, depending on his goals.
But the true genius of the DSTV network is the advertising itself. Unlike a traditional TV commercial, which can appear pushy, out of place and in your face, DSTV’s unique brand of “advertainment” presents advertisers messages in a format that’s captivating and acceptable to the surroundings. It “blends” into the media, and presents itself more like part of the entertainment. Focusing primarily on high energy movie trailers and popular music videos, audiences genuinely like the programming that Destination Television brings them, while advertisers enjoy the benefits of their advertisements.
While each segment of their networks, BarTV, HotelTV and GymTV, all deserve comment on their own, we can use Gym TV as a perfect example of why this is such a win-win for the advertiser, the consumer, and the gym itself. By placing high quality digital televisions in high-traffic, upscale gym’s such as Gold’s and World Gym, 25 surveyed GymTV locations saw more than 2 million captive viewers in a single year. While those viewers were in the gym doing their exercises, they saw current, high-energy music videos and movie trailers, along with relevant advertising. Imagine if you will, riding a stationary bike, watching some great music video and then seeing an advertisement for the latest vitamin water, or workout suit, or other athletic product. This is the type of “captive audience” that is spurred to action, and the advertisers see immediate results.
Destination Television is setting the standards that all “out of the home” advertisers will be judged by. They offer locations a turnkey solution, consisting of hardware, software, location programmed content, entertainment and advertiser content. They’ll even negotiate monitors to display the programming. They offer advertisers access to select “captive” demographically diverse clientele, and they offer the consumer a fun, entertaining viewing experience. That’s a winning combination, and serious investors will be well informed to take a close look at this company.
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