All posts in Out-of-home advertising

Get the streets talking and you’ll garner plenty of attention. That’s what Ogilvy & Mather set out to do. In early 2015, Panama City’s streets were riddled with potholes. They were not only inconvenient and dangerous, they had many drivers worried about damaging their vehicles. Ogilvy & Mather’s response was to make the streets tweet. They set up a Twitter account called El Hueco Twitero, or The Tweeting Pothole. Then, they set up pressure sensors in potholes around the city. Every time a car hit the sensor, it sent a transmission to a receiver, which resulted in a Twitter bot posting a message. The message always included the Twitter handle of the Minister of Public Works, Ramón Arosemena, so the problem could not be ignored.

The campaign did rather well, catching the attention of the Minister. He even addressed the situation on television. Panama City’s roads have seen their conditions improve. This will probably set a precedent for similar campaigns in the future.

We continue our Notable Billboards series with three more incredibly creative advertisements from Ford, Allstate and BMW.

1- Ford Mustang: Burnout

This billboard debuted at the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit, the world’s largest automotive event. A smoke machine behind the rear wheel starts every few minutes, and the wheel spins to complete the effect. Obviously a billboard smoking catches attention, but this one does it for all the right reasons. If a muscle car doing burnouts in the sky somehow fails to capture the eye, the bright blue color of the car and text will certainly do the job.

2- Allstate: Marina Tower

This ad is actually a 2-in-1. In a famous Allstate commercial from 2006, a car chase results in one car flying off of the Marina Tower into the Chicago River. The other is left barely hanging on. An advertisement in the same place that the car was shown hanging reveals the same car still in that spot, right above a sign printed with the famous slogan, “Are you in good hands?” A car hanging off of a parking garage is sure to catch attention, and the familiar catchphrase leaves the image and company in a viewer’s mind.

3-  BMW Billboard War

The competition is quite entertaining in this series of ads. BMW and Audi are both well known for their quality luxury cars, but who really has the upper hand? The companies tried to one up each other in a chess match . . . over billboards. The feud started when BMW made a comment about “paramedics at a chess tournament” in an ad talking about service centers being so close in spite of not needing them. Audi retorted with, “Chess? I would rather be driving,” and a picture of the new R4. The back and forth just continued — and escalated — to reach what you see above. While entertaining and humorous, the companies also got to showcase many cars in their line and create a “picking sides” situation, which can make even consumers competitive. This isn’t the first time BMW and Audi have gone at it, and it certainly will not be the last. You can read more on this luxury battle (and others between Audi and BMW) at the link below.

For more eye-catching billboards, check out our previous post in the series.

Notable Billboards

From February 15th to February 17th, ANA will host this year’s Brand Masters Conference in Dana Point, CA. This year’s theme is “Highly Effective Brands that Drive Results” and features speakers from companies including Intel, Allstate and Snickers. The wealth of CMOs and marketing leaders create an impressive lineup for the conference, which will focus on brand marketing strategies that bring monetizable results.

Media transparency will be discussed at length, adding a timely new dimension to the typical talk of reach and frequency. Attendants will also have the opportunity to hear stories from some of the most recognizable brands in the country and how they earned their rep.

This year’s conference has already sold out, but you can still be part of the event on twitter with the hashtag #ANABrand. For those attending, several meals are included in the package, and coffee breaks present plenty of opportunities for networking. We love seeing conferences that showcase marketing-thinkers at their best. It reminds us what’s at stake as we seek to automate the tedious OOH media buying process. The work we do today will help great adwomen and admen focus on what they do best.

Learn more at https://www.ana.net/conference/show/id/BIC-FEB17 

Since ancient times, people have found ways to broadcast messages to the public. History traces the practice of billboards back to the ancient Egyptians, who used stone obelisks to publicize new laws. The invention of printing further enabled the spread of information; soon anyone could create a poster or flyer. This lead to the first rental of a billboard, 150 years ago in 1867.

We don’t know who owned the billboard, who paid for it, or what they posted, but we do know that they started a movement that has exploded into the complex business of advertising that we are a part of today. Within three years of that first sale, there were more than 300 companies that sold their services for painting signs and posting bills. It became an industry, and it quickly boomed.

As more and more companies were formed, the need arose for associations that could bring the industry together and oversee it. The first of these was the the International Bill Posters’ Association of North America, formed in St. Louis in 1872. The number of such agencies continued to grow. Today groups like OAAA, DPAA and Geopath help guide the OOH industry.

In 1900, the standard billboard was introduced, the one we’re all familiar with today, and the industry surged even stronger. New innovations continue to change the definition of a billboard, going from the simple signage to posters covering faces of entire skyscrapers and digital screens playing video.

As billboard technology continues to evolve, the legacy of that first billboard sale grows. 150 years worth of innovation and creativity have challenged advertisers to continue to come up with new ways to catch the eyes of consumers. The DOmedia team looks forward to being trusted partners through the industry’s next 150 years of growth.

4A’s will be hosting its annual Data Summit in New York City on February 7th. High-profile leaders will discuss how data will continue to transform marketing campaigns. Speakers from top companies, including Allstate, NBCUniversal, and Google, will dive into issues such as cybersecurity, data quality, and utilizing data to drive strategy. The keynote speakers include Rishad Tobaccowala, Strategy and Growth Officer at Publicis, and Ari Schwartz, former Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Cybersecurity at the White House.

The importance of data is only going to increase, and 4A’s recognizes this trend. Learning how to collect and properly utilize marketing data can help companies refine and improve their marketing strategies and campaigns. This drive for data also brings new concerns which 4A’s is also addressing, like cybersecurity and data quality.

DOmedia is committed to helping agencies, advertisers and media vendors leverage their data to build organizational intelligence and improve ROI. We look forward to all the great insights that are sure to come out of this event. Learn more at http://datasummit.aaaa.org/