Jon Niermann, the chief executive of Loop Media Inc., said the company isn’t shy in stating its goal. And it is an ambitious one.
The Glendale music and short-form video distributor wants to be on every public screen that is out there.
He said if you walk into a bar or an airport or get in a cab or drive in a drive-thru, “you will see Loop.”
While stockholders are decidedly less enthusiastic about Loop, Niermann remains sanguine. “Our goal is to go far and wide,” he said. “Just like a streaming service. We want Loop to be the top streamer.”
The company offers its Loop Player to businesses, through which they can select from Loop’s library of content, supported by advertising. That includes music videos, a TikTok channel, and videos from brands such as Disney and GoPro.
Loop Media’s streaming services generate revenue from advertising, sponsorships, integrated marketing and branded content.
Already in all 50 states, Loop expanded this year into Canada, New Zealand and Australia. While the revenue generated in those other countries is minimal at this point, it will grow, Niermann said.
“Ask me again in six months and I will have a better indicator (of revenue from those countries),” he said.
Currently the company is focused on English-speaking markets, but it has seen some interest from Latin American and Asian countries, Niermann added.
But with the company not even 1% penetrated in the U.S. market, he is more than happy to focus stateside, Niermann said.
According to a report released in January by The Business Research Co., a London-based market research firm, the global out-of-home advertising market was valued at $28.5 billion last year and was expected to grow to $31.2 billion this year.
North America was the second largest out-of-home market last year after the Asia-Pacific market, according to the report.
Michael Goodman, analyst and director of digital media strategies at Strategy Analytics in Needham, Massachusetts, said he is seeing more money going into digital out-of-home advertising venues.
“That can take a lot of different formats, and Loop TV fits into that category,” Goodman said.
Being that Loop specializes in music and other videos, it is obvious to him that the company is going after the difficult-to-reach teen-through-young-adult demographic, he added.
“Being where they are and with the types of advertising/programming that is going to appeal to that demographic, it is definitely going to be a point in their favor,” Goodman said.
Another point in Loop’s favor is that its screens are showing non-skippable, non-blockable ads, he continued.
“So ad blockers do not come into play,” Goodman said. “You cannot avoid the advertising.”
Reporting losses
In its fiscal third quarter, Loop matched Wall Street expectations on earnings but beat on revenue.
The company on Aug. 8 reported a net loss of $7.9 million (-14 cents a share) for the quarter ending June 30, compared with a net loss of $5.7 million (-11 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue decreased 47% from the third quarter of the prior year to $5.7 million.
The company attributed the drop in revenue to a material slowdown in digital advertising spend due to the macroeconomic environment.
On average, analysts expected earnings of -14 cents a share on revenue of $5.5 million, according to Refinitiv.
Still, the company has seen its share price drop by more than 78% from the start of the year, when it closed at $6.23, to Aug. 23, when it closed at $1.36.
Despite that steep decline, Niermann was positive about Loop’s future.
“Loop is well positioned with a great team and a great plan for future growth,” Niermann said.
Part of the plan for growth comes from artificial intelligence.
Loop has partnered with Pypestream, a software provider, to bring AI to Loop’s entertainment business-venue platform.
Loop Media is now offering businesses AI-generated information to make sure the right content is playing at the right time for the right audience in each location – be it restaurants, retail, office buildings, doctors’ offices, airports, bars or college campuses.
Niermann said that coming out of the pandemic, businesses are fighting for money, so he is shocked to see outdated television programming, especially at locations that have upgraded other things like counters and paint.
“It doesn’t fit the theme at all because people are not aware of a service like Loop where you can customize your content,” he added.
Another growth area comes courtesy of Microsoft Advertising creating a new inventory category for supply-side platform partnerships, called ConnectedTV Out of Home.
This new category benefits Loop in a variety of ways and creates “tremendous opportunity” for increased revenue, Niermann said.
Potential advertisers will have the opportunity for a whole new category of advertising, he added.
“And that is pure dollars,” he said. “All those advertising dollars will go toward this new burgeoning, nascent, digital out-of-home streaming TV market.
“So I feel very positive this is going to lead to incremental revenue,” Niermann continued. “This is turning on a new faucet of revenue into the field in which we play.”
Partnerships
When it comes to partners with, Loop has several categories.
Niermann said the company seeks to work with advertisers who are top brands.
“We can say we have Fortune 200 company brands that advertise on Loop right now,” he added.
Then there are the technology partners. They answer the question of how can Loop be more engaging within a bar, restaurant or other venue with one of its Loop Players.
“I think those are some of the more interesting partnerships we can get into, where we have that kind of engagement,” he said. “We will be opportunistic as we look to expand, so if there is a company that wants to do more in, say, the UK, we would set up a partnership over there.”
For the venues that Loop partners with, taking on the company and its programming is a high-value, low-risk proposition for them because it really doesn’t cost them anything, said Goodman of Strategy Analytics.
For Loop, it’s a win because it means they get a presence in the venues and get to put their programming into the businesses and schools where their target demographic is going to be, he added.
And it’s a win for the customers who are getting the programming. From the advertiser’s perspective, that is the eyeballs they want to reach. While from the perspective of the businesses, they are providing entertainment, Goodman continued.
“If you are a restaurant it helps keep customers entertained while they are there,” Goodman said. “So it’s a win-win for all parties.”