Barry Frey, President and CEO of the DPAA, describes his trade organization as the ultimate connector for the out-of-home advertising business. He adds to his description the role of the DPAA as a consultant, concierge and community. The 4C's can also be applied to Barry, whose leadership has expanded the organization to include the full ecosystem of the marketing community, from the technology underpinning the rapid growth of digital out-of-home to the brand marketers who are the end beneficiaries. "I'm most proud that we're a global community, bringing brands, agencies, media owners and all the digital tech companies together," Barry shared in our Legends & Leaders Conversation. "We've evolved into the global trade and marketing organization that evangelizes out-of-home advertising via promoting the digitization of the business with a focus on providing and sharing knowledge." He adds, "When I talk about digitization, I'm including data, platforms, addressability and importantly programmatic trading, which has proved to be a superpower for us during the pandemic by enabling schedule agility and flexibility with minimal human interaction."
Bringing legacy media into the mainstream of technological advances has been a consistent thread throughout Barry's career. His early career included introducing cable TV to reluctant agencies and brands with Ted Turner, being at the forefront of the international and multi-network expansion of cable with USA Networks and expanding the media programs for the National Basketball Association. In his role as Executive Vice President of Advanced Platform Sales for Cablevision, Barry was at the forefront of introducing the ad community to digital and addressable TV sales. "I've always noticed that where technology has changed a medium and therefore changed consumers approach to that medium. I'm the guy, for better or worse, who's been at the forefront of helping brands and media owners embrace and take advantage of those technological changes." He shares in our conversation a behind-the-scenes look at how he and the DPAA are "helping brands, agencies and media take advantage of the digital technology changes in out-of-home" today and in the future as the Metaverse evolves.
Join my Legends & Leaders Conversation with Barry Frey here and visit www.DPAAInSites.com for more knowledge about the organization's role connecting the OOH and advertising communities.