OAAA Independent Media Companies Advisory Group Q3 Update

OAAA Independent Advisory Group Quarterly Update

By Diana Stevenson, Chair

Hope everyone enjoyed the summer and had the opportunity to take a relaxing break. I know we’re all hoping for a strong Q4. In discussions among our Advisory Group, it seems the healthcare category has been strong for most and, hopefully, the political category is generating opportunities either through direct placement or via competitive media inventory or cost pressures.   

The Advisory Group has been busy planning Independent programming for the balance of the year and discussing the best ways to build on the success of the 2024 OOH Conference. We received enthusiastic feedback on the Conference sessions produced for Independents, especially the Town Hall panel of principals moderated by Dave Westburg.

To provide a similar opportunity, OAAA will be hosting a virtual Independent Town Hall webinar on November 20 at 2 pm EST focused on key business issues and providing the opportunity for discussion and idea sharing among OAAA members.

I’m very excited that we have tentative plans to host more Independent programming at next year’s OOH conference in Boston. While still in the exploratory stage, we’re hoping to incorporate Independent sessions and a networking event on the afternoon and early evening of Monday, May 5th. This schedule would allow us to avoid overlapping programs offered at the conference, so we hope you’ll plan to join us in Boston – more details to come soon!

I want to flag several recent resources produced by OAAA that you’ll find beneficial:

The OAAA Government Affairs team has had a busy Summer and Fall attending the CO, FL, IL, and OH state association meetings. In the coming months, Andy McDonald or Mike Hershey will also be at the CA, NC, PA, NY, and SC state meetings.

I encourage all Independents to provide us with feedback on topics you’d like to have included in our November Town Hall webinar or next year’s Conference programming. Please reach out to me, or our OAAA staff liaisons, Mike Hershey ([email protected]) and Steve Nicklin ([email protected]).