Today’s advertising creatives and media planners grew up with the internet in the palm of their hands. They get digital media and push it forward. But some ideas are too big to stay trapped online. Bold ideas need a bold platform…
To drive home OOH’s relevance in today’s digital world, the out of home (OOH) advertising industry in the Unites States launched a new campaign in September 2018 to inspire and excite the ad industry about OOH’s power, value, and significance.
The Get Out of Home campaign, created by Publicis New York, highlights how the medium competes with and complements online and mobile advertising. The goal is to spark conversation about how today’s responsive, engaging OOH medium can elevate any idea, creating magnetism and distinction.
According to Josh Horn, creative director at Publicis New York, “OOH has become the ultimate stage for brands to get their message seen. It’s contextual, measurable, and responsive”.
Industry icons are championing OOH as media amplifiers. Touting the value of OOH, Publicis New York’s Andy Bird, Barton F. Graf’s Gerry Graf, and Stan Richards of The Richards Group are featured on billboards and other OOH formats in major markets across the US, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Also featured are young media creative thinkers with blossoming social media followings, including copywriter Jezz Chung at Anomaly, digital designer Marta Llop at Facebook, and graphic designer Pawel Nolbert, who’s worked with clients such as Adobe, Google and Disney. These young guns are using their strengths in digital media to help transform how the ad industry understands OOH.
“As a creative, I’m used to being behind the camera, so when I got the email asking if I wanted to be on a billboard, it felt surreal,” said Chung. “Being a woman of colour, being Asian American while navigating this industry can be disheartening and exhausting. But moments like this keep me going. I felt seen.”
Llop is also excited to get into the real world: “It’s thrilling to get some ‘off the gram’ exposure.”
The campaign runs through early 2019 on more than 50 000 OOH units, including 27 digital screen networks, in 30 major US markets including Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Get the ad audience and Get Out of Home
The campaign launched in connection with Advertising Week New York (see below), targeting media agencies and planners attending the event with static and digital OOH ads that invited them to engage with the campaign using the #GetOutofHome hashtag. Attendees were greeted by campaign ads on a large digital mobile billboard parked in front of the venue’s main entrance. As they waited in line to enter the building, delegates saw core campaign messaging and were given free t-shirts with the hashtag #GetOutofHome.
A large digital screen welcomed attendees inside the venue with campaign ads and real-time messaging. Those who tweeted using the official campaign hashtag saw their tweets featured on the screen, along with event content and speaker quotes. The same dynamic content was also featured on OOH assets around the venue and digital billboards in Times Square.
Printed murals with Get Out of Home ads lined the halls where delegates waited to enter panels and presentations.
City and tour buses with digital sides featured video campaign copy that read ‘Make Your Mobile Ad Actually Mobile’ and ‘There Are No Skip Buttons Out Here’. New York taxis ran the same content. Printed mobile billboards surrounded the venue, and screens in elevators and pubs in agency office buildings drove home the messaging.
Get local and Get Out of Home
Before the launch, OAAA encouraged its members to align teams with the Get Out of Home campaign. Many resources and assets were produced to assist in adapting the campaign for local markets.
A campaign ‘toolkit’ offers creative files to download and customise. Talking points and campaign facts sheets help sales teams appropriately discuss the relevancy of the campaign, and a style guide ensures the industry is well informed about how best to use campaign assets.
Get social and Get Out of Home
#GetOutofHome is the primary call-to-action for the campaign. The hashtag drives interaction to various online platforms where viewers can learn more about the campaign and OOH industry and also engage as a self-identified influencer.
Get results and Get Out of Home
The campaign has garnered international attention through the media, targeting marketing and agency professionals before and during Advertising Week New York. With a reach of more than 1.5 million, placement included spotlights in Ad Age, Billboard Insider, DailyDOOH, MarTechSeries, Media Post Agency Daily, and The Drum.
The #GetOutofHome hashtag continues to be used when campaign assets are spotted and shared or a brand executes an exceptional campaign and we want the world to see how they Get Out of Home. Since the campaign launch, it has earned more than 1.5 million social media impressions.
Stephen Freitas is chief marketing officer at the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA)
