Guest Contributor, Stephen Freitas
In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Richard III, the title character himself conveys the mood of the play with the line, “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun.” It is a metaphor in which King Richard expresses sadness like winter, turned into celebration like summer.
For all of us, the cold truth of a year-long pandemic has brought despair to some, heartache to others, and a yearning to move on for most. Today, vaccines are being distributed worldwide while businesses are beginning to reopen. The response is a collective sigh of relief. Now what?
As cities and nations begin to search again for what is normal, brands and industries will try in earnest to reconnect with consumers. Out of home advertising should and will play a critical part in the reintroduction of commerce, doing what it has always done as an effective media channel, by making brands famous.
Before the lockdown began, the global out of home industry was thriving. Marketers always recognized the enormous power of the medium to reach and engage consumers. But an influx of more robust data and better measurement has opened a floodgate of better metrics which in turn, provides solid proof-points and heightened credibility. Using this information as the underpinning of credible attribution research ensures out of home professionals can tell better stories. For these reasons and others, out of home fundamentals remain strong. That is why the channel will recover swiftly in the coming months.
During a recent update to the industry, PJ Solomons’ Mark Boidman shared information that outlines out of home recovery prospects in 2021. The sources reported estimates between 11 and 24 percent growth which is expected to outpace all other media channels, including digital in some markets.
Unlike recovery after the 2009 ‘great recession’ when financial markets were in ruins, many global economies have remained relatively stable during the current pandemic. This means, while it took more than five-years before out of home revenues surpassed pre-recession levels, this time the recovery could rebound as soon as 2022 or early 2023. The out of home industry’s biggest challenge moving forward will not be regaining traction but sustaining growth into the mid-twenty twenties and beyond.
I was recently honored by joining OOH Capital. We are seven partners who have set-up a new global consultancy specializing in out of home media. We believe there are trends and changing market dynamics that will have a positive impact on out of home fortunes.
The Global Backyard
We hear it all the time. The world had gotten smaller. Swift communications and data transfer have made it easy to transact business anywhere and everywhere. But, with the proliferation of information comes a greater need for common practices and processes. In the out of home business, streamlining transactions can bolster success and encourage growth.
Cities are the New Frontier
Across the planet, people are move into cities. By 2050, the United Nations predicts that 68 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas. As smart cities innovation evolves, so too will the role of out of home. Out of home can and should be a central part of the urban transformation that will take place over the next decade.
Tech is the Great Equalizer
Today’s consumers are media savvy and well informed with countless channels of information available at their fingertips. Simply repeating ad messages across multiple platforms is not a viable strategy. Fortunately, technology is helping brands more smartly connect to consumers and these advancements are particularly relevant in the out of home segment. Technology and underlying data have expanded the scope of out of home media offerings allowing brands to more effectively target and efficiently deploy marketing campaigns.
Bigger is Better
The global out of home industry has consolidated significantly in recent years and additional consolidation is inevitable. Better efficiencies in business will drive industry-wide standards and innovation. There are many factors to consider when growing a business, and decisions can be even more complex in a niche channel like out of home.
Our winter of discontent may soon pass. But new challenges will surely arise. For now, we can take solace and inspiration from another great British songwriter, George Harrison. He wrote, “Here Comes the Sun.”
Former OAAA Chief Marketing Officer/EVP Stephen Freitas is now a Partner at OOH Capital.
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