Every month, OAAA’s editorial team sits down with an industry leader to discuss the latest insights, trends, and best practices for the OOH industry. This month, we sat down with Sarah Parkes, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Talon Outdoor, who discussed what excites her aboutOOH right now, DOOH’s emerging role in the retail media ecosystem, and the key to unlocking new budgets. From the currency that matters to the golden age of creativity, read Sarah’s Q&A in The Drum.
OAAA: What excites you about OOH right now?
Sarah: It’s an exciting time to be in Out of Home (OOH), and an even more exciting time for advertisers who are using the medium to its highest potential. As OAAA just reported, we have seen a second quarter that was the highest quarter in the history of OOH – that’s great news and we appreciate all that OAAA is doing to drive industry growth. Out of Home has experienced a renaissance coming out of the pandemic, significant investment in technology has made it easier than ever to plan and buy OOH as part of an omnichannel strategy. This, along with the advancements of the medium in data, creativity, and attribution are hugely beneficial for brands and agencies… Why I hear you ask…..
It is becoming abundantly clear that OOH goes well beyond top line awareness. Broadcast brand awareness is table stakes when it comes to OOH, we can now measure and prove full-funnel results tied to exposure to OOH ads – from driving consumer footfall, online conversions and website visits, right down to driving sales outcomes – the currency that matters! Moving from the guess economy to the evidence economy opens a whole new world of performance-driven OOH possibilities.
OOH will always be an inherently visual medium – and advancements in tech are delivering even more creative opportunities. When you see the inspiring work that’s being developed all around the world, how could you not be excited about the creative potential of OOH? The intersection of content, craft, and canvas allows us to create meaningful connections for brands and consumers in the real world.
An area that is gaining momentum is the role of DOOH within the Retail Media ecosystem.
With its unique ability to connect with consumers throughout their daily journeys, whether they’re driving, walking, or commuting on mass transit, DOOH enables broad reach of on-the-go consumers en-route to shopping destinations. This coupled with the expansion of DOOH inventory is giving marketers more opportunities to capture consumer attention, and engage to sell at Point of Purchase, with more full motion, digital video content than ever!
Last but not least, I am excited that it’s time to THINK OUTSIDE. Not just a strapline developed by Talon for Talon, but a call to the entire industry, to marketers, to creators…a challenge to show that OOH is at the precipice of intelligence and innovation and that it all starts with Thinking Outside …
OAAA: What message do you have for brands that haven’t bought OOH before?
Sarah: Humbly, brands that aren’t investing in OOH are missing out on a transformed channel. This is far from a legacy medium – it’s effective, efficient, sustainable, and measurable. Out of Home’s broadcast reality with audience-targeting capabilities enables brands to achieve mass awareness alongside targeted reach, with proof points across the brand funnel. At this point in time advertisers should be aware the medium is arguably the MOST effective.
We have over 500 client measurement studies that showcase the effectiveness of OOH. If you still need convincing – come and chat with me or one of the Talon team and we’ll showcase what Out of Home could do for your brand.
OAAA: What is the most impactful trend in OOH today?
Sarah: Again I’ve got two …
TECHNOLOGY… Automation continues to play a massive role in delivering ease and efficiency for buyers. Not only does it lead to a more frictionless buying process, but it enables flexibility to pivot quickly and effectively. Out of Home has traditionally been complex to plan and buy, but OOH technology is changing that. Technology has been pivotal to the growth of the channel, and programmatic OOH has seen exponential growth that will continue into 2024 and beyond. We must continue to scale up and out using data to be a part of the omnichannel ecosystem – and we need to ensure OOH speaks the same language as other mediums. The key to unlocking new budgets will be how we leverage our tech and AI to continuously learn on the back of the data and further optimise outcomes for brands. These data-led advancements will be vital to earning OOH a larger slice of the ad cake in expenditure terms.
And last but certainly not least we need to embrace the lens of CREATIVITY… OOH is in somewhat of a golden age of creativity. As we’ve seen from our campaigns as well as others in the market, the possibilities of what OOH can be have been fully reimagined. We’ve seen a traditional billboard transform into a stage for Budweiser. We’ve seen diamond rings (De Beers) and F1 cars (Lenovo) explode off the screen with 3D creative in iconic locations around the globe. Augmented reality has transformed ordinary streetscapes into a virtual basketball court (PUMA). This kind of award-winning, immersive work begs your imagination to think about how OOH will reinvent itself next – and I know that Grand Visual, our creative OOH production agency, has a few big ideas coming up!
Published: September 27, 2023