Every month, OAAA’s marketing team sits down with a brand marketer to discuss creativity in OOH, the role OOH plays in the media mix, and their perspective on the future of advertising
Read Jenn’s Q&A in The Drum.
What role does out of home play in your media mix?
At the National Geographic Society, we use the power of science, exploration, education, and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. As a nonprofit, we do not just want to reach people. We want to stop them in their tracks and invite them into a deeper story. Out of home is unique because it occupies physical space in a way that digital channels cannot. Our decade long partnership with OAAA has been instrumental in turning that presence into a powerful tool for driving forward transformational impact.
Our goal is to meet our audience wherever their curiosity shows up. Out of home opens up a world of possibilities to spark an emotional connection with audiences to support our mission driven work.
For example, our latest collaboration with OAAA features our Pledge to Pollinate campaign, marking 20 years of the National Geographic Photo Ark. The out of home creative features stunning portraits of at-risk species with a clear call to action to put conservation directly into people’s hands by inviting them to scan a QR code to receive native pollinator seeds. Our aim is to move beyond awareness, transforming billboards into tangible acts of impact.
How do you approach creativity in OOH advertising across formats?
For National Geographic, creativity must feel authentic to our brand. Our approach to out of home is defined by our ability to pair world class photography with powerful storytelling that brings our mission to life. We draw on the full breadth of the Society’s work, from cutting-edge scientific exploration and conservation efforts to the stories of our global community of Explorers. Across all formats, we want to encourage people to step into the story and move beyond simple awareness.
This approach is illustrated in the upcoming debut of the Museum of Exploration opening in Washington, D.C. on June 26. Our campaign, See Things You Could Only Imagine, intentionally engages the theater of the mind. By combining minimalist illustrations, bold typography, and contextual headlines, the creative features mind-bending facts about size and scale to ignite deep curiosity.
Alongside a comprehensive transit takeover, we are installing seven-foot-high yellow borders across high-traffic neighborhoods transforming DC’s public spaces into interactive brand touchpoints that engage audiences directly, inviting them to step inside our world of wonder.
What challenges do you face in balancing creativity and data in marketing?
The challenge for us is not data versus creativity. It is about making sure the data informs the storytelling and helps us find the audiences to make the biggest impact. In a fragmented media landscape, data helps us personalize our content and understand where our audience lives and explores. It allows us to be precise and efficient, which is vital for a nonprofit.
To achieve this precision, we are focused on integrating data touchpoints across all of our channels to understand the specific interests and ways people want to engage with us. This 360 ° view allows us to transition away from fragmented outreach and instead design personalized journeys that guide people from a single moment of curiosity to deep, lifelong engagement with our global mission.
How do you see the future of advertising evolving?
We are moving into an era where people are increasingly wary of AI content. I believe the future of advertising belongs to organizations who can connect on an authentic, personal level.
Our goal is to cultivate spaces where individuals can foster a genuine, tangible connection to our mission-driven work. We leverage data to illuminate the specific passions of our community, allowing us to design moments that ensure every touchpoint feels authentic rather than merely a transaction. Through strategic partnerships, we evolve standard advertising into a collaborative movement for meaningful change.
The National Geographic Society is in a unique position for this evolution, bolstered by 138 years of authentic, real-world exploration that is central to our identity. We believe that the ability to protect the wonder of our world lives within the explorer in all of us. This translates to a commitment to experiential storytelling, thoughtful personalization, and brand partnerships rooted in a shared purpose.
Published: June 25, 2026