Most people think of billboards as the first introduction to out-of-home advertising—“but there’s so much more to that.” Hosts Charlie Riley and Greg Wise talk with Brian Donohoe about place-based marketing: “leveraging signage, within a specific location,” literally inside the location, to “serve advertising at scale.” Brian shares the moment at a show in Chicago—during that “set break time”—when it felt “kind of crazy that there’s just zero brand presence here whatsoever,” and why indie venues and festivals can be a “captive” environment without “plastering ads all over the place.” The conversation covers independent music venues and festivals, live music fans, brand affinity and cultural relevance, and why marketers can’t “over index in mediums that they can easily attach a number to.”

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👤 Guest Bio

Brian Donohoe is a media veteran for “almost 20 years,” with time on the agency side and “10 years at Google.” He’s the co-founder and chief commercial officer of Venue Ad Network, “an ad and sponsorship platform built exclusively with independent music venues and festivals,” giving brands opportunities to be “in some of the most iconic rooms, in the country.” He also talks about independent comedy venues as part of the network.

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📌 What We Cover

1. Why “Beyond the Billboard” exists: most people think “billboards,” but “there’s so much more to that” in out-of-home advertising
2. Place-based marketing as “leveraging signage, within a specific location,” and using screens that are “pre-wired as an out-of-home network”
3. The “set break time” insight: “really good energy in the room,” people “kind of milling around,” and “zero brand presence” (without “plastering ads all over the place”)
4. How venues already use screens for “band artwork” and “upcoming shows,” and how ads can be “slot[ted]” in between that content
5. Positioning the audience: “music fans, live music fans,” “they bought a ticket,” they’re “captive,” and how festivals can be more “genre specific” (folk country, hip hop, EDM)
6. The pitch for indie: “a third of shows are happening in indie rooms and festivals,” and why it’s an “untapped, uncluttered space” versus bigger partners
7. Who says yes: brands that already see “live music is a strategic pillar,” and what “street cred,” “brand affinity,” and “cultural relevance” look like in this environment
8. Measurement + expectations: moving away from treating every tactic like “one step removed from search,” attaching “awareness metrics,” and the idea that “just because you can attach some metric to a channel doesn’t necessarily mean that you should”
9. Experimentation: carving out budget to “experiment and try new stuff,” having a plan to evaluate, and “at some point you’re gonna have to roll the dice”

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🔗 Resources Mentioned

1. Venue Ad Network
2. Contact: Brian (with an i) — brian@venueadnetwork.com
3. Rideshares mentioned: Lyft, Uber
4. Illinois Department of Transportation — “drive sober campaign,” “It’s Not a Game, Illinois”
5. Festivals mentioned: Lollapalooza, Coachella, Zoo Town (Montana), Pilgrimage (Nashville), North Coast (Chicago)
6. Companies / platforms mentioned: Google, YouTube, Omnicom, Resolution Media, OMD, PHD, Live Nation, AEG

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