One of my favorite things about DOmedia is getting to work with the entire out-of-home industry. I get to read about, talk about, interact with, and write about the best of the modern leaders, ideas, mediums and more. I get excited when people ask what I do, and I dive into everything about the DOmedia marketplace and all the exciting things happening in the industry.
Usually, though, I get a bit too excited. I’m met with an enthused but confused face, begging the question, “so… what’s out-of-home?” And the easiest way to explain it is simply, “think billboards.”
Billboards are the archetypal out-of-home media. Among the countless innovative OOH mediums and assets available to advertisers today, billboards stand as tall as, well, billboards. They’ve been around since the early days of outdoor advertising, and continue to be one of the most popular mediums available.
MINI’s utilization of out-of-home advertising opportunities never cease to amaze (and entertain) me. To say each is more creative than the last would be a lie–not because the quality goes down, but because each individual execution is so unique, it’s like comparing apples to oranges. Over the past few years, MINI has managed to take one of the oldest forms of advertising–billboards–and transform it into an event, capturing attention nationwide. But recently, they’ve added a new element to their approach: digital out-of-home.
For the launch of the new 4-door MINI Countryman, the company took more of an interactive approach, actually getting consumers involved in the advertisement. Over the summer, replicas of the new car made special appearances in shopping centers, stations and streets around the UK. The challenge: how many people can you fit in a MINI? And although the cars looked packed to the brim with crammed-in people gasping for air, they were, in fact, empty.
