Anna Bager: Making In-the-Moment Connections Out of Home
The president and CEO of the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) makes the case for Out of Home as the breakthrough channel to reach today’s saturated digital audiences.
“With digital fatigue on the rise and consumer patience waning, how can advertisers provide an experience that’s secure and engaging without being intrusive? OOH checks most of the boxes: When you combine it with other outreach tools like QR codes and social media, you're connecting upper-funnel awareness-building to performance marketing.”
By Anna Bager
When I started my career in mobile and then made the switch to advertising more than a decade ago, I could not have imagined we would be where we are now. The shift in the dynamic between consumer and brand, and the subsequent accelerations caused by the pandemic, have placed advertisers solidly in their own new normal. Consumers hold the power; and brands and advertisers need to catch them in the ever-shifting landscape of where they happen to be in a given moment.
In my mind, that intersection between on-the-go availability and effective outreach culminates in out-of-home advertising (OOH). OOH has a long history and a reach that goes beyond billboards to encompass public transportation stops, cinemas, shopping malls, and digital displays, just to name a few. Each time we see a shift in modern living, we see an adjustment to OOH.
For example, beginning in the 1920’s, Burma-Shave brushless shaving cream became famous for posting sequential, humorous poems as highway billboards. Their campaigns were highly anticipated and became iconic. But as the U.S. highway network expanded and driving speeds increased, they were harder to read and it became riskier to continue in that same vein. OOH had to evolve.
It has done that, and well. Before the pandemic, OOH saw 40 quarters of consistent growth, and was second only to the broader category of digital advertising. (Although it’s important to note, digital is also an aspect of OOH, allowing the same large-scale creativity with the added advantage of using data that’s as hyperlocal as the weather or as broad as current events to flexibly update displays on the fly.)
“An outbound-inbound hybrid-—not just getting your message out and building your brand, but starting a conversation that far outlasts that initial success in gaining a consumer’s attention-—works for B2B as well as B2C audiences.”
Since the pandemic, stay-at-home orders and subsequent restrictions would suggest a devastating impact on OOH, but we have to remember that frontline workers, other essential service providers, people without the means to navigate their entire lives online, and people seeking recreation outside the same four walls were a ready audience. At its core, OOH is about what has been sorely needed throughout this pandemic: making in-the-moment connections.
This concept has offered OOH the opportunity to break through the onslaught of online messages by reaching out into real-life spaces. In another example, Captivate, a specialist in digital signage, pivoted their focus from elevators to golf courses during the first wave of the pandemic. They knew they were more likely to reach and engage effectively with customers while they were enjoying an outdoor activity. [Ed. Note: See our full interview with Captivate CEO, Marc Kidd.]
At the same time, OOH was working toward a larger public benefit. With ready access to prominent locations, the OOH industry collaborated with the CDC on hand-washing and social-distancing campaigns. The precedent had been set previously using OOH to provide alerts about natural disasters or help find missing children or wanted fugitives through a partnership with the FBI. It was a form of purpose-driven marketing with a different kind of purpose.
Which brings us back to OOH’s role in the toolkit of modern marketers. In the wake of the early days of the pandemic, the resurgence of BLM, and the Great Resignation that began earlier this year, issues of authenticity, privacy, trust, and purpose have become top-of-mind concerns for consumers. With Apple’s restrictions and the crumble of cookies, advertisers have significant concerns of their own.
What does the future look like for performance marketing? Without tracking, how will brands and advertisers reframe contextual advertising so that it’s still relevant to the consumer? And with digital fatigue on the rise and consumer patience waning, how can advertisers provide an experience that’s secure and engaging without being intrusive? Not only does OOH check most of the boxes on addressing these concerns, but when you combine it with other outreach tools like QR codes and social media, you're connecting upper-funnel awareness-building to performance marketing. The result is an outbound-inbound hybrid—not just getting your message out and building your brand, but starting a conversation that far outlasts that initial success in gaining a consumer’s attention.
“As much as some might be holding out for a return to what we had in the past, it’s clear that the way brands and advertisers think about how to delight consumers has to evolve.”
We know that this works for B2B as well as B2C audiences. We also know that it works for purpose-driven campaigns outside of PSAs. Google ran a “most-searched'' campaign during Black History Month that not only honored Black icons but created direct links for people to learn more. Unilever’s “Courage is Beautiful” campaign provided moving, powerful portraits of real frontline healthcare workers and the physical and emotional toll that the pandemic took on them.
If there’s any silver lining to the past 18 months, it’s the acceleration of innovation: communication tools, apps, vaccines. Now 5G and an increased focus on the metaverse are poised to change our lives in incredible ways. As much as some might be holding out for a return to what we had in the past, it’s clear that the way brands and advertisers think about how to delight consumers has to evolve.
Part of that is thinking holistically, by tempering excitement over new technologies with a focus on society’s current heightened need for humanity and real connections. The right strategy helps brands and advertisers ensure they’re reaching consumers where they are, and providing an immediate, visceral experience that’s also contextual and relevant. It’s no longer about one perfect message or one perfect medium—it’s about the synergy it takes to bring us together and move us all forward.
December 14, 2021