That time when a young, progressive mobile marketing company asks the maturing lady from Out of Home to write a blog post about thought leadership…
Gone are the days of tracing cigarette ad mechanicals before drum scanning; terms like Gravure and Author’s Alterations are memories at best in our current digital space, however you define it.
Tradition
Quick turnaround has been the industry’s forte for years. With several inflection points happening at such a rapid rate within the OOH industry, those that have been in the space for decades are lucky. Well versed in the art of action, they are trained in getting the impossible done, adapting quickly to their clients’ needs, and working within strict limitations due to timeframe, location, and other factors.
Previous Limitations Unfold Unique Opportunities
Before, limitations were size, weather, 50 feet in the air, constant motion of audience, static message, and perceived vague measurement of results.
Now, those same limitations are fast becoming the attraction to the space. With the addition of VAI, dynamic messaging, and technological convergence (IoT), OOH now has an ROI that suits and augments the medium.
So: what used to be a medium serving up what is on the menu, is now a medium that the consumer can interact with to control what they receive and how they receive it. However, unlike new modes of advertising, consumers cannot skip the content or ignore the message. OOH can’t be turned off — a fact that has not changed since its inception. Nice to know some things don’t change!
Tradition is Good. Innovation is Great.
As the current generation of OOH frontline practitioners, we need to be diligent in fostering innovation within our industry to maintain its future viability — that can only occur if we understand how consumers work today, which is digitally. What great technology have you seen lately? What new measurement tool may be interesting for our medium? What social networking platforms serve our medium most aptly for speaking to the correct audiences?
If you have answers to the above questions, please make every attempt to bring it to our world of OOH. We need compelling new products and services to continue to elevate our ever growing and improving medium. We need fresh minds and new innovators to show us what possibilities are out there.
Remember that age old question that all of us are continually asked as media companies, agencies, operators and suppliers:”what’s new and exciting”? For a while, we had to reach for this answer and repurpose much of what was already done. This is no longer the case! New and exciting is all around us. The rate of innovative ideas is so compelling that, not only are folks incapable of turning away, they truly don’t want to. And the bonus is they want to engage with those ideas, thereby solidifying the relationship between the consumer and the brand. Powerful stuff!
What Did We Do Traditionally?
Hustled… earned… provided valuable reminders of effective, compelling and beautiful campaigns… displayed in relevant spaces where consumers worked, lived and played.
What Will We Do Now and Into the Future?
All of the above, coupled with the continuance and further push of innovation and new ideas in and on our space.
I, for one, am excited.
OOH is new and exciting.
Lisa Santiago
Senior Vice President
Metromedia Technologies, Inc.
#metromediatech #OOH
