On screenPicking a venue category is a planning decision about people, not about screens. The question is where your customer already spends time, what they are doing there, and whether a short video fits that moment. This guide gives you a method you can finish in an afternoon, then points you to the next step: a quote request.
It applies to in-venue advertising on CETV Now, a plug-in digital out-of-home (DOOH) network. A small media-player device runs licensed programming with video ads over live TV on screens that venues already own. CETV Now runs in high-dwell commercial venue categories, so your job is to decide which of those categories your customer actually passes through.
Start from your customer's week
Before you look at any category, write down a normal week for your best customer. Keep it concrete: where they get their car serviced, where they eat lunch, where they work out, which offices they visit, where they shop. You are looking for repeat stops, because a message seen in a place someone visits regularly is easier to place in context.
A few prompts help:
- Which places does your customer visit on a schedule (a gym, a salon, a dentist) versus on impulse (a restaurant, a store)?
- Which of those stops sit close to your business? A local shop cares about a few neighborhoods, not an entire metro.
- At which stop does your customer start thinking about the thing you sell?
- Which stops are a poor fit for your message, even if they are busy?
If you can name three or four stops, you already have a rough shortlist. The rest of this guide refines it.
What state of mind is your customer in at each venue?
The same person is in a different mindset in a service lounge than on a gym floor. Three states are useful for planning, and they are general advertising logic rather than a CETV Now measurement:
- Waiting. The person has time to fill and few other demands on it, such as a service appointment, a table wait or a front-desk check-in. Straightforward, informative messages tend to fit.
- Relaxing. The person is settled and open to something light, such as a meal with a game on or time between sets. Offers and brand familiarity tend to fit.
- Deciding. The person is comparing options or about to spend, such as browsing a store or weighing a purchase. Messages that help a choice, like a local offer or a clear next step, tend to fit.
Then consider how long they stay. CETV Now reports average dwell time of 15+ minutes across its network, based on its own network data that is not third-party audited. Dwell time is how long people are in a venue. It is not a measure of attention, so treat it as an opportunity to be seen, not proof that someone watched.
How do you shortlist venue categories?
CETV Now's approved categories are auto dealerships, restaurants and bars, medical and dental offices, fitness and wellness facilities, retail, and professional services such as offices and salons. Use these steps to narrow them.
- 01
Mark the overlap
Put your customer's weekly stops next to the six categories. Circle every category they genuinely visit.
- 02
Match message to mindset
For each circled category, ask whether your message suits a waiting, relaxing or deciding person. A same-week promotion suits a deciding mindset. A brand introduction suits a relaxed one.
- 03
Check context and compliance
Placements run in curated venue categories to keep brands in appropriate contexts, and creative is submitted for review before it runs. Consider whether your ad belongs in the setting. If you advertise in a regulated field such as healthcare, financial services, alcohol or legal services, check your own compliance rules first.
- 04
Choose a format
Full-screen video runs as an unskippable takeover of the venue's live TV. Static designs and animated motion-graphic overlays are also available. See ad formats to match the creative to the moment.
- 05
Cut to two or three
A short list is easier to quote and easier to evaluate. You can add categories later because ad insertion has no minimums and no long-term commitment.
Comparing venue categories side by side
The table below is qualitative. It describes how each category is often used in planning, not what any category will deliver. Your customer and your offer decide whether a row fits.
| Category | Common moment | Message types that often fit | Planning watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto dealerships | Waiting on service or considering a purchase | Automotive-adjacent services, local businesses near the dealership, brand awareness | Visitors may be in a buying or a waiting mindset; decide which you want to reach |
| Restaurants and bars | Waiting for a table or relaxing with a meal or a game | Local offers, entertainment, nearby services, brand awareness | Busy, social settings favor short, clear creative |
| Medical and dental offices | Waiting for an appointment | Clear, informative, non-clinical messages from local businesses | Context matters and compliance rules may apply; programming is general-audience |
| Fitness and wellness | Before, between and after workouts, or at the front desk | Health, nutrition, apparel, local lifestyle offers | Members are often in motion, so keep the message simple |
| Retail | Browsing and deciding | Offers, promotions, nearby-store messages | Close to the point of purchase, so a clear next step matters |
| Professional services | Waiting at an office or salon | Local services, financial-adjacent or home services, brand awareness | Check your compliance rules if you are regulated |
Waiting room versus gym: how to think about it
A waiting room, such as a medical office, usually holds people who are seated and have little else to do. That setting often suits a message that takes a few seconds to understand and a little longer to remember. See healthcare venue advertising for how that context works.
A gym floor is different. Members are active and moving between machines, so the audience may glance rather than settle in. That favors bold visuals and one idea. Fitness and gym advertising fits advertisers with a message tied to health, routine or local lifestyle. Neither is better in general; they suit different offers.
For deeper looks at individual categories, read about restaurant venues, professional services and auto dealerships.
When should you combine categories?
Combine categories when your customer's week crosses them and each stop plays a different role. A home-services company, for example, might use a professional-services setting to reach people at an office or salon, and a restaurant setting to reach the same households in a relaxed moment. One role is awareness and the other is a local offer.
Stay with one category when you have a narrow message, a small area or a single product. Targeting can be set by neighborhood, city, metro, zip code, sector or vertical, and individual venue, and layered with audience type and daypart. That means you can start narrow and widen as you learn what fits.
Check geography early. CETV Now is live in Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville and Salt Lake City, and Miami is coming soon. For any other place, availability is unconfirmed, so send an inquiry before you build a plan around it. If you are starting in Arizona, see advertising in Phoenix.
How to describe your choice in a quote request
Pricing is quote-based and depends on market, venue category and schedule, and there is no published rate card. CETV Now asks advertisers to share their markets, venue categories, creative and budget, then maps the plan to real-world audiences and provides a quote. The more specific your request, the more useful the quote.
Include these in your request:
- Your market or markets, or the neighborhoods and zip codes closest to your business.
- Your shortlist of two or three venue categories, in priority order.
- The customer moment for each: waiting, relaxing or deciding.
- Your creative status: a 30-second video, static designs or motion-graphic overlays, or not yet made.
- The days or dayparts that matter, and the budget and schedule you want to set.
CETV Now reports delivery against its network data, with venue-level impression reporting and real-time statistics, and results vary by campaign. No outcome is guaranteed, so decide beforehand what you will review, such as which venues delivered impressions. The DOOH campaign planning checklist covers the remaining questions, and the advertiser overview explains how a campaign goes live. To get started, contact CETV Now at (833) 807-1500 or info@cetvnow.com, or use the contact page.
Figures reflect CETV Now network data and are provided for informational purposes. Individual campaign results vary; no specific outcome is guaranteed.