Digital Placed Based Advertising Association

What Digital Placed Based Advertising Association does

Digital Place Based Advertising Association (DPAA) is a global nonprofit trade marketing association founded in 2006 and headquartered at 12 East 49th Street, New York. It serves the digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising ecosystem by connecting DOOH media networks, brand marketers, agencies, and ad tech companies through a membership-based community that delivers research, best practices, case studies, planning tools, training, and industry advocacy. The organization does not develop proprietary technology; instead, its core product is the curated community and the programming around it, including the annual DPAA Global Summit (formerly Video Everywhere Summit), regional summits in Canada and the UK, Research & Tech sessions, and the WE.DOOH women's empowerment initiative with its Leading Women in Digital Media Awards.

DPAA generates revenue primarily through recurring membership dues paid by enterprise members across DOOH networks, brands, agencies, and ad tech companies. It markets via its website, organic social, research publications (US, Canada, and UK Agency Planner Surveys and Omnichannel Studies), the "Launchpad of Innovation" podcast, and a heavy events-led GTM motion. The association's roster of named enterprise participants includes McDonald's, Mastercard, ESPN, NBC, CNN, FOX, Forbes, GroupM, DIRECTV, Simon, Infillion, Screenvision, Talon, and others, with Barry Frey serving as President & CEO since at least 2016. The organization has formalized international operations with an EMEA Executive Director and a UK Advisory Council, and has extended its research and WE.DOOH programs to the UK in 2025-2026.

The association plays an industry-standards role rather than a product-company role, having co-developed programmatic DOOH standards with Prohaska Consulting in 2017 and publishing recurring studies that benchmark agency planning behavior. Its competitive position rests on network effects across an 18-year-old community, brand recognition as the primary DOOH trade body, and a content/data library of research that is not easily replicated by individual members.

Name

Digital Placed Based Advertising Association

Legal name

Digital Place Based Advertising Association

Website

https://dpaaglobal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

DPAA is a global nonprofit trade marketing association founded in 2006 that connects digital out-of-home networks, brands, agencies, and ad tech companies through membership, research, events, and industry advocacy. It serves the DOOH ecosystem across the US, Canada, and UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association / Industry Marketing Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Advertising (MPAAAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) Screens & Networks (BPAFALAB)

Keywords

• Trade marketing association
• Digital out-of-home advertising
• DOOH industry advocacy
• Advertising research services
• Industry networking events

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: DPAA generates revenue through membership fees from digital out-of-home networks, brands, agencies, ad tech companies, and other advertising ecosystem participants. Membership includes business acceleration benefits, access to research databases, planning tools, training resources, networking events, and integration into the advertising ecosystem.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DPAA is a global trade marketing association that accelerates business growth in the digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising industry by connecting DOOH networks, brands, agencies, and ad technology companies. Members gain access to an industry research database, best-practice case studies, planning/training/forecasting tools, and curated events such as the annual DPAA Global Summit, country summits, and the WE.DOOH women's empowerment program.

Product overview

DPAA is a global trade marketing association, not a software product company. It does not offer a product platform or SaaS offerings. Its services consist of membership benefits (research database, best practices, case studies, planning/training/forecasting tools, social media amplification, industry connections), events (Global Summit, Canada Summit, regional events, WE.DOOH women's empowerment programs, Research & Tech Sessions), and initiatives including the Omnichannel Study and Retail Media resources. Member companies offer various technology products (AI search optimization, programmatic DOOH platforms, audience analytics) but these are not DPAA offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WE.DOOH: Women's Empowerment in Digital Out of Home - initiative launched to spotlight empowerment of women across the DOOH industry globally, with networking events and the Leading Women in Digital Media Awards program.
• DPAA Global Summit
• Leading Women in Digital Media Awards

Products and services

• DPAA Membership Program
• DPAA Global Summit (formerly Video Everywhere Summit) Annual flagship one-day media/marketing event held in New York City dedicated to multi-screen viewing and video neutral planning, bringing together brands, agencies, DOOH networks, ad tech, and research firms.
• WE.DOOH Women's Empowerment Initiative Initiative spotlighting empowerment of women across the DOOH industry globally, offering networking events, webinars, and the Leading Women in Digital Media Awards program with categories including Rising Star, Unsung Hero, and Vanguard.
• Leading Women in Digital Media Awards Annual awards program recognizing outstanding female leadership at DPAA member companies, with categories including Rising Star, Unsung Hero, and Vanguard.
• Omnichannel Study (US, Canada, UK editions) Proprietary multi-market research product analyzing omnichannel advertising trends, with separate editions for the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., available to members and the broader industry.
• Agency Planner Surveys (US & Canada) Survey-based research products capturing agency planner attitudes and use of DOOH, produced in US and Canada editions, made available to members.
• Research & Tech Series Sessions Curated research and technology-focused events for members, covering programmatic standards, measurement, and DOOH innovation.
• DPAA Country Summits (Canada, UK) Regional summits bringing the DPAA networking and content model to Canada and the UK, complementing the New York flagship.
• Launchpad of Innovation Podcast Industry podcast showcasing innovation in the DOOH space, distributed to the broader advertising audience.

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IAB Europe: The European counterpart to IAB, serving as a regional trade association for digital advertising. Comparable to DPAA in its member-driven model, standards work, and event programming, and a direct peer in the 'digital ad trade association' category at a regional level.
• World Federation of Advertisers (WFA): A global trade association representing the interests of major brand marketers and advertisers. WFA is comparable to DPAA in serving as an industry-body, member-funded organization running global events, research, and best-practice programs for advertisers and their agencies.
• Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB): The major US trade association for the digital advertising industry. Like DPAA, IAB sets programmatic and creative standards, runs industry events, publishes research, and operates a member-driven governance model — directly comparable in structure and function even though IAB's scope is broader than DOOH alone.
• FEPE International (Federation of European Outdoor Advertising): The European/global federation for out-of-home advertising. FEPE is one of the most direct peers to DPAA in mission — promoting OOH advertising on a global stage, running events, and convening industry stakeholders — though its primary constituency is traditional OOH operators rather than DOOH specialists.
• Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA): The leading US trade association for the out-of-home advertising industry. OAAA is DPAA's most direct comparable: both serve as industry bodies advocating for OOH/DOOH media, both run events, research, and member programs, and both engage the same agencies and brand marketers — making them head-to-head peers in the OOH/DOOH trade-association category.

Emerging players

• Screenmedia Association: A smaller US trade association for the digital signage and place-based media industry. Directly comparable to DPAA in focusing on place-based/digital signage media and operating member programs and events for the DOOH ecosystem.
• Digital Content Next (DCN): A US trade association for digital content companies. While not focused on DOOH, DCN shares DPAA's structure as a member-driven association for a digital advertising-adjacent vertical, with similar research and event programming.

Others

• IAB Tech Lab: The technical standards-setting arm of IAB, focused on programmatic and digital advertising infrastructure. Adjacent rather than competitive to DPAA, but comparable in its standards-setting role for the DOOH programmatic ecosystem where DPAA also publishes guidance.

Broad incumbents

• 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies): The US trade association representing advertising agencies. Like DPAA, it operates a member-driven model with industry events, research, and advocacy — though its focus is agencies rather than DOOH media owners, making it a broader-incumbent peer in the advertising trade-association category.
• Association of National Advertisers (ANA): The leading US trade association for brand marketers. ANA is comparable to DPAA in operating industry events (e.g., ANA Masters of Marketing), member programs, and research — but its scope spans all marketing categories rather than specializing in DOOH.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dpaaorg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/dpaavision
• Facebookfacebook.com/DPAAorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/digital-place-based-advertising-
• Instagraminstagram.com/dpaa_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Digital Placed Based Advertising Association