NBC's digital signage upfront details disclosed

Of course the original thread on this blog turned out to spawn some pretty interesting conversations, many of which got picked up for a piece on the NBC digital signage upfront on the WireSpring blog. Well, today some additional details were disclosed, but many others still remain under wraps. We know that the event took place yesterday, January 16th, and AdWeek is providing this coverage:

NBC officially rolled out its NBC Everywhere network of digital out-of-home platforms at a presentation attended by more than 200 agency and client executives here on Wednesday.

NBC disclosed the addition of fitness centers and college campuses to the mix. That brings the total to nine nontraditional digital platforms that now carry NBC content that are available for advertiser messages.

Announced at the presentation were deals with IdeaCast (for NBC@The Gym) and with the University Network (for NBC on Campus).

Visitors at 900 fitness centers nationwide which offer IdeaCast provided digital delivery of content and advertising, will get to see programming from MSNBC and CNBC on large screens strategically located within the gyms' cardio areas. Advertisers will be able to run spots within the content or to take part in sponsored-vignettes, such as workout tips, which will air during the program breaks. IdeaCast and NBC will jointly sell the ads.

The deal with University Network allows NBC content to be shown on 180 campuses nationwide where UN has deployed screens in high traffic locations. The in-house NBC Agency will create specific content targeting the college demographic; young stars of the network's shows host the segments. Marketers will be able to buy advertising that appears on a portion of the screen while the content is airing.

NBC also claims to be working on deals for the FuelCast Network (currently at 480 gas stations around the country), supermarket networks in Shop Rite, Albertson's and Path Mark stores, a jumbotron in Times Square, in hospital maternity awards (via the NBC-owned Newborn Channel), and on over 3,000 screens on transit trains across the country.

Of course, for this to work, NBC obviously has had to deal with a lot of the questions that come up in our market frequently: what's the right timing and duration for ads (they're selling at least :15 and :30 spots, and the frequency differs with the venue), and must also have made some decisions about pricing and packaging, none of which have been announced to the public yet.

Tags: digital signage, digital signage upfront, NBC, out-of-home advertising