Written by – Greeshma Radhakrishnan Nair
With pandemic in the rear window, Out of Home Advertising is finally gearing to take the lead in 2023. As per Statista Canadian Out of home Advertising spending was valued over 919 million Canadian Dollars in 2019. During the pandemic it dipped by 30 percent. The market is targeted for a resurrection in 2023 by roughly 12 to 15 percent and a projected amount of 929 million Canadian Dollars.
It’s not just advertisers who are backing more OOH in their campaigns, eager to get out of homes, there’s never been a need among customers for fun outdoor elements of their favorite brands. Out of Home Advertising makes our cities and streets come alive. Whether it’s a million-dollar 3D billboard or witty line on a Vinyl, these unlike social or TV is unobstructive, entertaining and efficient.
Brands have picked upon it and are embracing practical and efficient Out of Home Advertising strategies and channels like mobile billboards. Unlike social media OOH isn’t intrusive and has better ROI rates. In fact, in a study by Kantar and Snapchat, they realized that Gen Z, unlike Millennials and Gen X, has better recall rates, but still watches fast and skips through the content. While Social can easily create a potential sale lead through its omnichannel, it also has a negative impact on the brand due to its frequency and increasing concerns over data privacy. Social is facing a challenge with the rise in Ad blocking. With OOH, there is no chance for Ad blocking and gives the brand an opportunity to create positive associations. As per the COMMB report, people paid more attention to Out of Home Advertising (78 percent) than others. As per, Drum OOH is in its ‘Renaissance’ period and here’s the top six trends that will take over OOH in 2023.
1. 3D BILLBOARDS
Picture Source – Google photos
2022 closed with a bang with Avatar hitting cinemas. And with Marvel and DC, 3D is the new frenzy. 3D creates not only a ‘WOW’- factor but gives an opportunity for the customers to have a feel and understanding of the product in real time. There is an undeniable interactive element in 3D billboards. Viewers feel as though the figures are looking at them or reaching out for them. This forms a resonance with its viewers. It creates an immersive experience border lining experiential marketing.
Billboards are one of the oldest forms of OOH and it has stood the test of time from static to 2D to 3D due to its flexibility. 3D billboards use the principle of forced perspective so that the viewers wouldn’t require 3D glasses. 3D creation tools like Unreal Engine (Creator of the famed Fortnite x Balenciaga Doggo) can create photoreal visuals and meta-humans.
For customers 3D is an impactful experience and there is more chance of them recording it on their phones to share. This aspect again is an advantage from a marketing vantage. While 3D Ads like Google swirls will become more prevalent in social media and become integrated in coming years, there is no challenging the fact that 3D in Out of Home Advertising is a larger than life experience.
2. DOOH
Out of Home Advertising started off with posters and vinyl banners but the digital signage makes OOH more viable and efficient. This popularity kicked off the term Digital Out of Home Advertising or DOOH. The digitization of Out of Home has elevated what was once not a popular medium. In the early 2000’s Newspaper and Print ranked the third following TV and socials but now OOH is the third most preferred form of media.
DOOH is projected to reach 50 billion by 2026. In a physical world, DOOH is real estate and there is a robust influx of money in this sector. It also is premium when compared to TV or socials. Thus, brand associations with DOOH can lead to a positive brand lift with brands coming across as luxury or premium.
Digital signage Ads offers more flexibility and opportunities for interaction, retargeting and measurement. Dynamic Ads and Programmatic Ads (more on this later) are revolutionizing DOOH’s. With Digital there is no concern of wear and tear. They are eye-catching and are visible even at night. In fact, customers claim to have 84 percent of recall rate for DOOH and consumers state that they come across at least one daily. On-the-go consumers respond well with DOOH in general. Whether its large-scale billboard or Point-of-Purchase screen, DOOH’s are versatile and come in all sizes and styles.
3. INTERACTIVE ADS
Customers no longer want to remain passive. They want to participate and engage with their brands. And if they can’t find it outside, they have immediate access to engagement and stimulating content on their phones. So, the challenge for agencies is to have to take them off from their phone screens. The answer is simple: Interactive. Additions like a simple QR code can create a call for action and create website traffic. The scope for Interactive in OOH, especially DOOH is vast. They give the opportunity for the customer to feel included and they can potentially create sales lead
Dynamic Ads not only makes the content customized for customers but increases the efficiency in retargeted content for advertisers. Technology enables features like targeting based on weather or time of the day or customer feedback. OOH has the options from QR codes to face analytics to opt from these days that an advertisement with no call to action is a wasted opportunity and even resources.
GMC’s interactive campaign for the Acadia SUV used ground breaking technology to interact with the audience. It was one of the campaigns that most effectively utilised audience targeting as we know it. GMC made prominent digital signage with dynamic content using facial analytics technologies and proximity-based advertising. The AI cameras in the digital display were able to determine audience demographics such as age and gender. Based on the demographic it then provided personalized video Ads to the user.
4. OOH in METAVERSE
Picture Source – Twitter
But wait? Out of Home in Metaverse. It sounds more like an oxymoron. Advertising doesn’t get more real than OOH. So how can a “virtual” world possibly enable OOH options. The answer is simple. Metaverse is a replica of the outer world, and just as in real life it has streets, intersections, buildings, and public spaces. Ads will be seen in the exact spots where they are in the real world. This virtual real estate would enable media buying and planning.
Since Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement about Meta there has been a lot of anticipation and confusion about the Metaverse, but gaming in Metaverse is already seeing serious traction and celebrities like Paris Hilton have already made their virtual avatar in gaming platforms like Roblox. Paris Hilton with its long standing business partner Boohoo even hosted a fashion week in Metaverse. “Billboards are a part of our everyday lives and it should be no different in the Metaverse,” Hilton said at the time of the launch. Gaming worlds like Decentraland and Roblox are already a part of Gen Z life. Adverty’s research (conducted with Dentsu) found that in-game ads offered a 31% more positive user experience compared to web display advertising
Metaverse is prospective in terms of advertising .It is more feasible and flexible than the real world. There are limitless interactive opportunities here as well. Programmatic channels will be utilized in the virtual world as well to facilitate media buying and planning. Also the beauty of all it is that the campaigns can be carried across both the worlds simultaneously. For example Ocean Outdoor and Land Vault partnered to launch the first “dual-world” DOOH campaign, with retailer Argos being advertised across England and the metaverse using the same billboard. All of these might still sound surreal for most part. And Metaverse might still be in its infancy. But it’s out there and it’s only growing.
5. PROGRAMMATIC DOOH’s
Programmatic DOOH’s or as they are popularly referred PDOOH’s finally might be able to unleash the full potential of OOH, rendering it as sophisticated and tailored a media as any other. Programmatic is an automated buying and selling signage of media based on data-driven decisions. Programmatic Digital OOH offers access to vibrant, large format digital screens instead of smaller screens. It is fraud free, ad blocking free, and has 100% viewable inventory with 100% accurate location data.
The inventory here is bought by a Demand Side Platform (DSP) and Supply Side Platform (SSP). Using Geofencing locations and anonymised audience data DSP and SSP could recognise potential buyers. There is also the opportunity for real time bidding. From a tool that helps book campaigns, it is now possible to start real-time bidding (RTB) auctions for screen time based on audience and third-party data or even what’s going on in the world around us. They can also create trigger data based on the person in front of the screen; a truly powerful feature unlike any.
Programmatic Impression measurements are up to date and accurate and applicable across all OOH platforms and formats. This is likely to entice more buyers into the Programmatic channels this year. The promising aspect of PDOOH’s is that it would finally enable OOH to be a part of the omnichannel and broader media mix.
6. MOBILE ADVERTISING
Picture Source – Movia Media
There is no better way to gain more reach than taking your Ad where your customers are. That’s exactly what Travelling Billboards do. It has the potential to access and penetrate locations based on your target market. There is multiple coverage with Mobile Billboards. Mobile Advertising Trucks and Cars are not recent but these combined with technology is a sure fire way of boosting brand reach.
The vehicle with displays can simultaneously serve delivery, marketing and other commercial purposes. Car owners benefit from the additional income from using their cars for advertising. Customers find them un-intrusive and have no option to block or avoid these moving billboards. It’s a win for all parties included.
Truck Ads have more recall rates than car wraps especially among men owing to its eye-level convenience. They are also cost efficient in comparison with the lowest large format CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) . This combined with mobile targeting like we do at Movia Media maximises your database. With Mobile Billboards Advertisers also have the choice to choose from Vinyl, Digital and Glass Display based on their requirement and budget.
Unlike other forms of OOH, moving billboards can cover residential and sub-urban areas as well. The trucks can be stationed too during a sale event or promotion. For example, the Movia team did a five-week highly targeted campaign for The Cookware Company and their biggest retailer Walmart in Atlanta and succeeded with 14 Million Impressions and 800,000 core demographic ID’s captured. And during the weekends; high traffic periods in grocery stores Trucks were placed strategically at select stores to promote Cookware’s Greenlife brand. The first thing anyone entering the store saw was the truck and it creates a top of head recall. The campaign was a success and similar innovations are the ones that’s gonna trend this year!
Conclusion
To conclude, there is a lot happening in OOH this year that meets the eye. OOH is one of the oldest forms of advertising. While print and newspapers are on decline, Thanks to technology, OOH has adapted with time becoming an equally competent media channel. It’s an exciting time for OOH but that doesn’t mean it’s without consequences.“AI, in the real world, is much more complicated. Is there a tree in front of it? If it’s raining, your Facebook ads don’t stop working. But your billboard campaign might be impacted.’ Sam Mallikarjunan, Onscreen.ai CEO says. Anyway as mentioned, OOH no longer has to stand aside in campaigns and can launch just fast alongside other platforms. Tech plays a crucial role in today’s OOH.A survey by Onscreen Ai revealed that consumers found brands that didn’t embrace tech to be boring and risk-fearing. The survey also revealed they trust OOH more than other marketing channels as it feels personally less obtrusive. OOH can potentially sidestep major data privacy and security fears too. Thus opening the door for brands and consumers to meet in new and relevant ways – as long as marketers listen to consumer concerns and heed their advice to deliver on their desires. So, which among these six trends are you looking forward to most ?
