The Renaissance of Out-of-Home Advertising
EVP and Chief Marketing Officer Julie Thompson on embracing the role of CMO, the emergence of out-of-home advertising as a dynamic industry medium, and her seasoned advice for those attending the Cannes Lions Festival
Julie Thompson is the EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), where she helps promote the trade group and elevates the out-of-home medium across the ad industry. With constantly evolving technology and myriad formats to choose from, out-of-home (OOH) advertising is experiencing a renaissance.
Almost 90% of US adults have noticed an OOH ad in the last month, and nearly 80% of viewers have engaged with an OOH ad in the past 60 days (Morning Consult). Over the past decade, OOH has been the second fastest-growing ad medium in the U.S. for good reason: it generates consumer attention, drives action, and leads to sales. Over two-thirds of shoppers notice OOH ads on their way into retail stores, and 42% say it impacts their purchasing decisions.
The Continuum sat down with Julie to discuss this ad medium's ins and outs. We also took the opportunity to discuss her long career in advertising, which included senior communications and leadership roles at Fallon, Leo Burnett Worldwide, Fox & Thompson, and Ruder Finn, and almost two decades running her own technology and media advisory firm.
Having worked with clients including IAB, 4A’s, IAA, Yahoo, Tumblr, PopSugar, AdAge, ShareThis, and TED, Julie is well known in the industry as a trusted collaborator and connector of people and projects. She is also a fixture at the annual Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and has some advice for those starting to make their travel plans.
After 16 years of having your own consultancy, you recently became the CMO for the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA). How did that come about?
I really loved having my own business, but I was getting a bit restless. Right before COVID, I started telling people that I wanted to go in-house somewhere again. Then the pandemic hit, and Anna Bager, who had been my client at IAB, was the new President & CEO of OAAA, the premier trade group that represents the whole out-of-home ad industry. Imagine marketing out-of-home advertising during the pandemic with stay-at-home orders in effect! Anna asked if I would come on as a consultant to help write the industry recovery plan. Of course, at the time, like everyone else, we thought the pandemic would only last three months or so.
I had always loved outdoor advertising from my agency days, but as I learned more about today’s business and met so many of our member companies, I became more enamored with modern out-of-home — a vast canvas with endless avenues of creativity and massive reach. When OAAA offered me the CMO position – to go in-house for out-of-home – I simply couldn’t refuse such a great role
What was it like to transition from having your own business to working for someone else? What skill sets are needed to operate both your own business and be a CMO?
In any service-based business where you have clients, you already work for someone else. When you own your own business, you need to be as confident in your decision-making about your own business as you are in making decisions on behalf of your clients. With OAAA, there really is a unique parallel, as we not only have to make decisions that benefit our organization, but we must make decisions that benefit the whole industry, including our almost 850 member companies.
To be an effective CMO these days, you have to be a multi-hyphenate problem-solver who thinks critically and strategically. The best chief marketing officers must be adept in so many areas: tech, data, digital ops, ad tech, research, media buying, creativity, measurement, PR & comms, HR, events, crisis management, operations, and… oh and yes… marketing!
“OOH is having this emerging moment and is growing phenomenally because people are really craving things that are real.”
It’s really exciting to see OOH have the renaissance it is, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic. What do you think makes out-of-home advertising so exciting these days?
There is just so much to the sector. Several years ago, our sector changed its name from “outdoor” advertising to “out of home” because it’s way more than just billboards. It’s subways, transit, airports. It’s hand-painted wall murals to bus shelters, vehicle wraps, taxi tops, screens in elevators and at gas pumps, and in malls and stores. It’s all digital formats (DOOH). It’s also pop-ups and experiential installations. It's anywhere out of the home that you get to encounter the messages, visuals, and creativity of this medium.
I’ve always thought OOH was the underappreciated hero of our industry while actually being the strongest, most creative, most effective canvas. If you think about it, it’s the oldest advertising medium, starting with hand-written messages on obelisks in ancient Egypt. But, it’s evolved and grown to be also one of the newest media in many ways because it has such a wide variety of formats, and it’s been invigorated by the digital and video revolution that has been such a huge boon to OOH, unlike other traditional media.
With the advances in digital, advertisers have even more options. In addition to the 24/7 coverage offered by printed billboards that you have up for a month or a year, now, you can have eight ads on rotation at a time –– as well as tech innovations for the medium like hyper-realistic, 3D, anamorphic screens. Those are the immersive ones where brands throw sneakers out at you, imaginary lions roar and strike at you, or the whole of Times Square becomes a glowing, magical aquarium in amazing feats of optical illusion on giant screens.
What are some of the advantages of OOH for marketers?
OOH is having this emerging moment and is growing phenomenally because people are really craving things that are real. It's place-based. It's space-based. It's in real life — or IRL. It's authentic. It also can’t be blocked, skipped, or stopped, which is important for marketers who must prove ROI and that their work was actually seen by the masses. There's also something about the physicality of OOH signage that people tend to trust more. Small businesses love OOH because it makes them look B-I-G.
In this important election year, we just released new research with Morning Consult on the effectiveness of political ads and whether out-of-home is a more informative medium than others. OOH scored higher as an influential medium than radio, cable TV, streaming video & audio, and social media. 58% of those surveyed said the Get Out and Vote campaigns actually make them more likely to vote. Just think — OOH could steer election results!
And, out of home is the most social media-shared medium. You can’t really share a print ad or TV spot with people beyond those sitting next to you. Now, no trip to Las Vegas is complete without pics of the giant “OOH spectaculars” on the Strip or a selfie with the Sphere to share and amplify on social. According to Harris Poll, 65% of TikTok users notice OOH ads while on the platform, And 91% of Gen Z and 82% of Millennials say they would re-share an OOH ad on social media. A marketer’s dream.
You mentioned that OOH is less intrusive than other ads, but does that mean it’s also harder to target the audience marketers want?
No, quite the opposite. We like to say how highly targetable OOH really is. It delivers the right message at the right time in the right place to the right audience. The data is so sophisticated now that we can predict who lives in the area and who will be walking by when. Our ability to send contextually relevant ads is huge, and that’s really appreciated by the consumer because most of the time, they’re noticing OOH when they’re most likely to act — when they are out and about on the consumer journey.
“To be an effective CMO these days, you have to be a multi-hyphenate problem-solver who thinks critically and strategically.”
Let’s pivot a bit. You’ve been a fixture at the Cannes Lions Festival for many years. Is it as relevant as it once was?
Yes. Yes. Yes! Cannes Lions has changed a lot over the almost 25 years that I’ve been attending, but it still attracts the top industry people from around the world and showcases the most creative tools for today’s best marketing. I’ve spent my career at the intersection of creativity, media, and technology, and I am firm in my belief that creativity is still the most important aspect of our industry, especially for OOH.
What advice would you give to people who are planning their trip to Cannes Lions right now?
In a word, hurry! You really do have to plan ahead and understand the landscape — which changes every year. There’s so much going on in the Palais, on the main stage, at amazing activations all over town. You must be very proactive and strategically map out your time and goals. Get as much pre-trip intel as possible before you leave for France.
I know we are all under more pressure than ever to make every minute count and prove ROI on all things all the time, but going just to learn is not a bad objective for Cannes. There’s so much great content and programming; it’s like a year of university in comms, marketing, and tech built into one week. If meetings are your only metric for success, you’re missing the point.
If you are going to host an event at Cannes, I highly recommend partnering. Everyone thinks theirs will be the hottest attraction, but it’s hard to build an audience for your event with so much competition. You should be clear-eyed and realistic.
Another piece of advice: ditch the people you came with! Your goal shouldn’t be about spending time with the colleagues you see and work with every day; it’s about finding new people and perspectives. In Cannes, meet with people from around the globe, outside of your universe. Your world will get bigger and you will be better for it.
You host a VIP Dinner party every year at Cannes Lions. Does it have a theme?
CREATIVITY, in caps. I try to constantly remind people that creativity is at the root of the festival, and there are award shows every night celebrating must-see work in a ton of different categories. My annual Thursday night dinner has become a real legacy gathering that people look forward to — it’s usually the first night everyone can breathe a sigh of relief at the end of a crazily busy week. It’s a cross-industry crowd, it’s super fun, and the crème of the festival crop attends. My partners in it are always the secret ingredient.
You shared that building and maintaining relationships is one of the most important parts of your career and Cannes Lions. What advice can you share on the importance of relationships?
I remember once when I’d just started my business, I’d gone to a few industry events with a client, and she took me aside and told me I had to stop introducing people. In her mind, I was giving away my currency by connecting people without an obvious benefit for myself or my business. I have the total opposite view. It’s the relationships you have with those people that count; it’s our shared histories, and no one can take those away from you. Don’t be protective of your connections; share them. You won’t lose your power or edge, and you will have a whole roster of people –– and real friends you’ve connected –– to count on throughout your career.
There’s a saying, “Your network is your net worth,” and I’ve lived some version of that my entire career. You can never know too many people. Putting yourself out there, especially early on in your career, can seem daunting, but it always pays off in the long run. Be generous, be kind, and show that you actually care. Stay in touch with great people. Oh, and always reach out if or when they’ve had a downturn. They will never forget it, and neither will you.
March 15, 2024
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