It wasn’t a surprise that the out-of-home industry embraced the success of “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” A film in which both title and plot featured our most iconic format was winning awards and becoming a household name. The popularity of the film begs another question: was this the first time OOH played a huge part in a film’s plot? In this video essay, we take a look at some examples of OOH in film and determine how Hollywood’s favorite medium tends to use our favorite medium.

The retail industry is the 6th largest economic sector in the United States. It accounts for over 5 trillion dollars in total annual sales and employs over 40 million Americans. Currently, this massive industry is experiencing a transformation due, in large part, to the rise of Amazon.  

Amazon brought about change by streamlining digital sales, and becoming the so-called “everything store.” Its immense growth has left advertisers, investors, and store-owners questioning the future of the retail industry. Will retail’s uncertain future, and Amazon’s digital dominance negatively impact investment in OOH? This post will answer that question, and examine some of the factors surrounding it.

The Age of Amazon

Amazon.com has grown rapidly since being founded as an internet-based bookstore in 1994. Since its introduction, Amazon has become the world’s largest provider of cloud-based infrastructure and even started production on its own product lines of personal electronics, modern essentials, and other household items.  Additionally, Amazon has nearly perfected the operations required to quickly deliver consumer goods directly to paying customers and grown immensely as a result.

Amazon has begun to dominate the realm of internet retail. Amazon accounted for 43% of all online sales in 2016 and was responsible for 53% of the (online retail) industry’s growth in the same year. In addition to this, Amazon has quickly turned AmazonPrime into one of the most effective paid-membership programs to date. AmazonPrime hosts more than 54 million members, boasts an impressive 90% retention rate, and has the capability to as much as double an individual member’s annual online spending.

Amazon built its foundation in the early stages of the internet’s development, but as the internet grew, Amazon took steps to grow alongside it. What was once a humble online bookstore, has evolved into an internet retail powerhouse. Now with stable footing, grounded in operational superiority and a devotion to customer service, Amazon is in a position where it could seriously disrupt virtually any industry it decides to enter.

Retail & OOH

Although nearly 85% of retail purchases are still made in physical stores, that number is expected to dip to about 70% by 2022. The rise of e-commerce has dramatically changed the way shopping is done. Retail companies have begun investing more money into digital advertising as online buying has become increasingly common. In fact, spending on digital ads in the retail industry grew about 15.8% in 2017, and many anticipate it will see double-digit growth through at least 2020.

Increased spending on other formats doesn’t normally bode well for competing mediums, yet OOH and the retail industry’s relationship is holding strong. Both digital and traditional retailers have largely continued to increase their OOH spend. Tech brands are recognizing the value of OOH and are investing their money accordingly. In fact, of the top 100 OOH investors, nearly one-quarter of them are tech brands. Amazon holds the #6 overall spot and continues to function as an industry pioneer.

OOH is still well equipped to serve the retail industry, despite its current trend towards online buying. For companies that maintain more traditional practices, OOH can act as a drive-to-store medium. So much so that one report states that 11% of consumers have “made a purchase in a physical location in the last seven days as a result of an OOH advertisement.” Additionally, the same survey also pointed out that OOH is often the last opportunity advertisers have to influence consumers before they make a purchase, noting that 83% of people surveyed could recall having seen an OOH ad less than 30 minutes before they started shopping.

Companies that are adapting to the world of online sales can also be served by outdoor advertising. A study conducted by the OAAA in collaboration with Neilsen reported that “OOH delivers more online activations per dollar spent than any other traditional media format.” It is also a well-known fact that advertisers can seriously amplify the impact of their digital campaigns by incorporating OOH into their marketing mix.

OOH never goes out of style. In a world that is becoming increasingly tech-savvy OOH is holding strong. As retail brands adapt to a world online, they should follow the practices of the technology-backed companies that are driving digital growth. They should continue to innovate their business strategies and work hard to maintain their relationship with the outdoor industry.

Now that you’re equipped with an unwavering confidence in out-of-home go check out DOmedia, host of the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, and start planning a powerful outdoor campaign today!

DOmedia, the host to the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, is constantly encountering innovative vendors. In our Vendor Spotlight series, we attempt to highlight these companies and explain to you how they are pushing the industry forward. Today we’re focusing on American Campus Media.

Founded in 1998 and rebranded in 2017, American Campus Media provides a unique mix of OOH offerings, including traditional OOH advertising signage, mobile geo-fencing, newsstands, phone charging stations, NFC/QR campaigns, as well as online and print advertising sales. They specialize in media products and marketing services directed at millennial and Generation Z students located on college campuses nationwide.

Their leadership team is no stranger to the outdoor advertising industry. Don Allman, senior advisor, is the former president of Titan Outdoor and vice chairman of Intersection. Brigg Hyland, director of all national sales, has decades of experience in the OOH business. 

According to Hyland:

“We deliver results thanks to our ability to layer impressions through our unique mix of media products and marketing services, targeting valuable demographic segments in a highly concentrated environment.”

If you want to learn more check out the vendor page here.

Want to be featured on our blog? Fill out our short vendor questionnaire here.

Life as we know it is continuously changing. With cultivation, urbanization, and deforestation all occurring at unprecedented rates it is clear that humankind is causing a disruption. Human growth is disturbing Earth’s delicate ecosystems and causing the planet to respond in a variety of unpredictable, and sometimes even devastating ways. Climate change is an overarching issue that stands to impact nearly every facet of human life. With natural disasters becoming more common we may begin to see assets being destroyed at increasingly high rates. Will companies stop investing in OOH if this becomes a dominant trend? This post will answer that question and examine some of the contributing factors.

Current Climate

Climate change is having a profound effect on the frequency of natural disasters*. To illustrate the increased frequency it should be noted that in 1970, the average number of natural disasters per year was 78. In 2004 that number had skyrocketed to 348. From 1980 to 2009 there has been an 80% increase in climate-related disasters, and the number of flood and storm catastrophes has risen by more than 7% annually. The rate at which these numbers are growing is concerning, but it isn’t the only problem.

In addition to frequency, the strength and power of these disasters are also increasing. 2017 was the costliest, and one of the most destructive, years to date for natural disasters in the United States. Two of the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit the continental US, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, occurred within just one month of each other. California suffered through its most intense wildfire season ever, 14 cities in the Midwest experienced record flooding, and over 1400 tornadoes touched down in locations all across the country! These record-breaking disasters amassed over $306 billion dollars in damage and serve as a reminder of the negative impact that climate change can have on the cities we live in.

Protection & Prevention

The main threat that these storms pose to the out-of-home industry is the destruction they can cause to company’s physical assets. Aggressive winds topple billboards, heavy rains cause electrical shortages in digital displays, and wildfires threaten to burn down anything and everything that lays within reach. Will this destruction cause decreased investment in OOH?

The simple answer to that question is no. OOH is a 7.7 billion dollar industry that is consistently growing. Outdoor advertising offers too much potential value to its customers for it to be completely abandoned. Additionally, the rise of DOOH and the potential of programmatic have recently caused a growing interest in the industry from advertisers everywhere. These innovations will serve will act as safeguards, protecting the industry from the adverse effects of climate change by promising marketers increasingly effective offerings.

Another reason that natural disasters won’t collapse the industry is that there are ways for
companies to protect themselves against these catastrophes. Most notably, by investing in insurance policies. There are two primary types of insurance policies that can be considered. The first is a replacement policy that covers the full costs required to reconstruct or repair a display. The second is a corporate liability policy that covers the cost of damages incurred when an asset harms someone’s property or causes a physical injury. Both of these policies can be procured at relatively low monthly rates and will act as ideal forms of protection against disaster-related damages.

Companies can’t wholly prevent natural disasters, but if they act in an environmentally responsible manner, they can play a role in limiting their effects.  Even just committing to small changes, such as investing in energy-efficient assets, replacing high-wattage fixtures with LED alternatives, or converting to recyclable printed materials can make a difference and have a profoundly positive impact. Additionally, outdoor displays can help to mitigate the effects of disasters by running charity campaigns much like the ones that were seen after hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

The environmental concerns of today call for honest consideration and innovative solutions. Although assets can be insured, and billboards reconstructed, the OOH industry needs to do it’s best to support the ecosystems of tomorrow. Through threatening situations and seemingly uncertain futures, OOH possesses the power to persist.

Check out DOmedia, home to the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, and start planning your next outdoor ad campaign today!

For much of its history, OOH has been a mass-marketing medium. It is capable of reaching the public in a way that other ad formats simply cannot. Recently though, advertising has seen a shift towards more personalized marketing. As a result, the OOH industry has begun to pioneer new techniques and technologies. These innovations are helping to move OOH forward by allowing advertisers to target specific demographics, at certain times, in designated areas.

These targeted marketing efforts require a considerable amount of consumer data. Luckily, mobile devices are beginning to look like an increasingly likely source for this information. This post will examine the relationship between mobile and OOH, and highlight its potential benefits.  

Before moving on, a brief definition of both geotargeting and geofencing would be beneficial. Their definitions are as follows:

Geofencing: Creating a virtual boundary around a specific area, or location, using a device’s GPS coordinates or IP address. Ads delivered through geofencing are seen on any device within the defined location.

Geotargeting: Ads delivered using geotargeting are delivered to consumers who belong to certain demographics, exhibit specific behaviors, and are also in the desired location.

These geographically influenced techniques are becoming so prevalent that they are being used in almost 55% of location-based advertising campaigns. Their ability to improve the relevancy of an ad’s messaging, and ultimately increase their influence is a driving factor behind their popularity. Even though these concepts are utilized by the OOH industry on location-based displays, such as DPB networks and transit screens, anonymized mobile data could seriously increase their effectiveness.

Currently, OOH advertisers attempt to follow the movement patterns of people along their daily routines to understand their day-to-day behavior. They then use this information to predict the potential audiences that will reside in particular locations at certain times and proceed to place ads accordingly. While this certainly works, increased mobile analytics could even further refine this method.

In addition to tracking general location, mobile analytics would also allow marketers to go beyond demographics and gain a true understanding of their audience. Using mobile analytics, advertisers could track purchasing habits and know if a specific crowd is more likely to shop at Target or Walmart, for example. They could track browsing history and find the common interests of the exact audience that will be viewing their ad at 3:30 pm. A mobile partnership would allow advertisers to extend their geotargeting efforts beyond traditional location-based formats. It will enable them to utilize these techniques and place hyper-relevant content on virtually any type of display.

Although one-to-one OOH advertising simply isn’t practical (yet), geotargeting combined with mobile analytics will allow ads to be as pertinent as humanly possible. The phones and devices that rest in our pockets, purses, and backpacks are more powerful than we think. The effects of OOH & Mobile Data’s increased convergence is going to be profound. Campaigns will become more impactful and the ad experience as we know it will change. OOH won’t just be a great way to reach the masses anymore. It will be a way to reach the masses in the ways that they want to be reached. This relationship is primed to be a true game changer.

Check out DOmedia, host of the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, and start planning a powerful outdoor ad campaign today!