BroadSign Launches SIGNificance PSA Program

April 14, 2015 by Dave Haynes

Montreal’s BroadSign has announced an effort to enable philanthropic organizations to get public service announcements on digital OOH ad networks without investing a pile of time to make it happen.

Called BroadSign SIGNificance, the effort results in content that’s designed specifically for Digital OOH media to easily be accessed by networks running BroadSign software and integrated into their campaign schedules. The net effect is bringing attention to important causes on the same screens that generate targeted and valuable impressions for paying advertisers.

Very few digital OOH networks are reliably sold out, so this sort of thing is also a good way to fill out the schedule with fresh material.

“It’s common practice for traditional media to allocate space to non-profit and humanitarian organizations through the use of PSAs,” says Skip Beloff, VP Sales at BroadSign. “With the growth of digital out-of-home and its establishment as a respectable medium that truly enhances its surroundings, digital signage brings impactful possibilities to charitable campaigns that aren’t available through other media.”

SIGNificance actually started four years ago, when Beloff approached customer networks to donate airtime to promote Hockey de Rue: Together for the Kids, a local charity supporting the Montréal Canadiens Children’s Foundation and the YM-YWHA. This year, prominent Canadian networks and BroadSign customers such as Cineplex and Groupe Viva are lending their displays to support the cause. A team of BroadSign employees will also contribute by competing in the ball hockey tournament on May 31st.

From a global perspective, partners such as Agency 672 and the PVBLIC Foundation provide networks with timely and quality content, such as the White House-supported and celebrity-endorsed “It’s On Us” campaign.

“At the PVBLIC Foundation we believe that media is the new currency for social impact. BroadSign understands this well and we are extremely happy they have partnered with us to continue to drive social impact globally through the use of media,” says Daniel Wilkins, Executive Director/Media at the PVBLIC Foundation.

Network operators interested in joining BroadSign SIGNificance and international organizations wishing to act as content providers are invited to sign up here.

The effort is entirely complementary to what DOOHgood does when major natural disasters strike around the world, and I’ve already had discussions with BroadSign about getting DOOHgood content to this effort if and when something awful like a tsunami hits somewhere.