#BigPic16: Nancy Fletcher’s 5 Steps to Build OOH’s Future
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
“Every OOH company, whatever its size or shape, is going to need to ramp up both its digital strategy and its digital investment.” Nancy Fletcher, president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, told attendees at the 2016 TAB/OAAA Conference and Expo this morning In Boca Raton, Florida.
It’s one of many steps that Fletcher said needs to be taken during her inspiring address at this 125th anniversary of the OAAA.
Fletcher said that in 2015, the Out-of-Home industry hit a new revenue peak of US$7.3 billion – after racking up 23 consecutive quarters of growth. In fact, OOH is the only traditional advertising medium that has achieved such a long and continuous winning streak.
Fletcher referred to the hit Broadway musical ‘Hamilton’ during her speech, saying that, like the actor playing Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers, raps in the musical: “I’m….young, scrappy, and hungry – and I am not throwing away my shot” the OOH industry “was – and still is – scrappy and hungry – and we are definitely not throwing away our shot!”
Tracing the history of OOH, she said that each step was never easy, but each time the industry embraced innovation, and leaped forward.
“The fundamentals of the OOH industry – our vision, resolve, and unity – give us everything we need to make the next leap forward,” said Fletcher. “We are going to build bright future with five specific steps that we need to take – together – as an industry.”
To build, she said, these are:
- Closely Connect OOH & Digital;
- Make OOH Easy to Plan, Buy and Measure;
- Make the Most of Data;
- Tell the Story about OOH Strengths;
- Serve the Public Good.
Fletcher expounded on these points:
“Ad revenues have been flooding from traditional to digital media. According to MagnaGlobal, by 2017, OOH will have a larger share than magazines, and by 2019 OOH will have a larger share than newspapers. By 2017, digital overall will end television’s 60-year reign and become the largest advertising medium in the country. By 2019, digital will have 49% of all ad revenues. All types of digital media – web, search, social, and mobile – are projected to continue to grow at a rapid clip.
“Advertisers like digital because: content is easy to deploy; detailed audience analytics are available; and return on investment can be calculated. OOH has become a part of that same interconnected media mix that includes digital. Digital billboards, interactive kiosks, and place-based screens are prime examples of more digital OOH. We’re also seeing more and more activation using printed OOH formats, connecting our medium with mobile. OOH is an accelerator of digital advertising of all types.
“OOH drives people to search, interact, and transact with brands, on their mobile devices, out in the real world, right then and there. As an industry, we have to get this story out more forcefully. When we do, advertisers will see greater value in OOH. We need to show them the essential role OOH plays in multiplying the effectiveness of digital.
“We need to convert and build more digital OOH displays. We also have to connect static OOH displays to digital – with calls to action driving consumers to engage or transact with specific websites, or social media channels. Every OOH company, whatever its size or shape, is going to need to ramp up both its digital strategy and its digital investment.”
Fletcher said that the OAAA will help pave the way through education, research, standards, and communications.
On the topic of making OOH easy to plan, buy and measure, she said that automatic and programmatic transactions are becoming a common method for evaluating and buying all forms of media, and that the OOH industry is following this inevitable trend by building platforms and offering solutions that allow fast and easy transfer of information. She said that TAB’s M.O.R.E. will mean that the industry can unite around a better way of measuring OOH, and that OOH can be planned alongside other media.
“The third step we need to take together as an industry may be the most revolutionary idea of all,” said Fletcher. “Make the most of the power of data. New capabilities in how we collect, process, and analyze data will allow us to understand, segment, and target OOH audiences with a lot more precision. Let’s engage consumers with more relevant messages and measure OOH’s return on investment like never before while protecting the privacy of consumers.”
She said that several companies have announced the launch of new products and services, which, when coupled with data and analytics platforms, promise to provide information that extends beyond basic audience measurement. These new capabilities have the power to significantly improve the effectiveness of OOH campaigns.
“Better audience information and tailored demographics will allow us the targeting o audiences by location like never before,” Fletcher said. “The OOH industry should seize the opportunity and the power that data offers. Some of our leading companies and suppliers have begun new initiatives, and are already making impressive progress — but this should be an industry-wide focus.”
Fletcher said that the industry also needs to “break through all the noise” and let the world know just how real OOH is: that it’s not subject to ad blocking, online ad fraud, or ad skipping, and that it has the power to build brands.
She further enumerated some of the steps the OAAA itself has been making in this regard, including targeting media planning and buying professionals and telling them how OOH advertising drives clicks and engagement in the digital world and then “We proved it by driving thousands of advertising professionals online to learn more about OOH’s value proposition.”
She also said that a new ad campaign is being planned, as well as new public-private partnerships to highlight OOH’s unique storytelling ability. In addition, “Our success has been built on strong industry advocacy. It’s built on lobbying and partnering, That’s what will maintain and expand the current OOH platform.“
And, she said, “We must be good corporate citizens. We must always give value to the communities that support us. The best way to ensure our future success is for the industry to stay united in the legislative and legal arenas – under the OAAA umbrella –
and also to continue our industry-wide commitment to public service, so that we are an increasingly positive part of the American experience.“
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