Vistar Media launches the first real-time bidding open exchange for out-of-home advertising

Vistar Media this month announced that is partnering with DSPs to launch the first real-time bidding open exchange for out-of-home advertising (OOH).

“The true promise of programmatic - letting data drive media decisions - is realized in the open auction, allowing buyers to seamlessly reach audiences across the huge variety of valuable DOOH inventory,” said Chris Allison, Director of DSP Partnerships at Vistar Media. “PMPs were a great way to prove that omnichannel DSPs could execute in OOH, so enabling the open exchange is an inevitable and complementary evolution of the channel. Vistar provides our DSP partners with the unparalleled reliability, transparency and scale required to confidently execute their clients’ digital strategies, extended to OOH.”

Vistar Media says it has built OpenRTB integrations with omnichannel DSPs (starting with PMP support only), including Verizon Media, Ubimo, MediaMath, Amobee, AdQuick.com and Adelphic.

“DOOH had been one of the fastest-growing media channels. And as the current climate evolves and new venue opportunities emerge, we’ll see that steady rise again,” said Greg MacDonald, VP, Marketplace Partnerships at Verizon Media. “The launch of an open exchange will help to further grow the OOH industry and bring new buyers to the channel. We’re thrilled to be at the forefront of this initiative with Vistar Media and extend our DOOH footprint.”

Vistar Media wants to bring DOOH to parity with other programmatically accessible digital advertising mediums such as desktop, mobile and connected TV.

For successful launch of the open exchange, Vistar led an industry-wide collaboration to create key standards for a consistent impression multiplier methodology, exchange transparency and a taxonomy for categorizing DOOH screens into “venue types.”