The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) recently asked various committee members, “What are some ways you’ve successfully helped traditional OOH sales teams embrace a more data and technology-driven approach to selling OOH advertising?”
Ian Dallimore, Lamar Advertising Company
This is a very exciting time for our industry, with the massive amount of data available to both vendors and agencies. Brands are holding budgets close to more measurable and smarter campaigns, and OOH can and does play in this space.
One of my favorite training opportunities for an agency on more data-driven buy was for a QSR brand (KFC and Pizza Hut). We used data to measure the “old way” of buying within a 5km radius from the store and compared to all other inventory in the market. We were able to show the inventory that was outside of a 24km radius performed higher than the inventory the agency had purchased within a 1.6km of the QSR.
It was a great learning opportunity to use real data to determine locations that visited the QSR in the entire market. We took it a step further, because why wouldn’t you if the data is available? And then also measured the time of day of exposure.
We used that data to highlight digital OOH they should purchase and what creative they should be playing, ie: breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner. I strongly believe the more accurate data we can use when pitching OOH campaigns to brands, the more ad spend OOH will receive.
Marcus Danneil, Mile High Outdoor Advertising
The ability to provide advertisers with concrete stats through technology has added a tremendous amount of credibility to OOH. It has also enabled our sales team to approach new advertisers with ideas and confidence, not just generic cold calling. I believe our industry needs to take advantage of this. Sales people now have the ability to make certain assumptions about a specific business or category that is not spending money in OOH and research statistical information that heavily supports making OOH part of their media mix.
Cold calling with a concept that is supported with statistics and potential creative executions elevates the chances of making a sale and introducing OOH to a new advertiser or category. Our sales team has really embraced taking advantage of this and making more educated cold calls.
Jonathan Gudai, Adomni
Be transparent. Ensure that the media plan and targeting strategy shows the actual locations and media types in the consideration set. We have found that traditional OOH sellers are interested in executing an audience-optimised strategy but still would like to maintain visibility into where the OOH ads might flow.
They realise that every location in the inventory consideration set may not be reached; but the added level of location-level visibility provides buyers with more peace of mind as the industry transitions and embraces an audience-driven advertising approach. The same goes for proof-of-performance (POP) report transparency.
Leslie Lee, Vistar Media
Programmatic technology enables sellers to reach more buyers and enables buyers to access inventory seamlessly, transforming what was once a very manual task. Incorporating programmatic into an existing sales programme allows networks to fully monetise unsold inventory and maximise their yield.
We work hand-in-hand with media owners to help them build strategies that support multiple revenue streams for a robust network, across direct, private marketplace and open exchange sales. Vistar works with OOH sales teams to develop education on audience-based buying strategies and how to engage new digital buyers, so all teams are set up to succeed in OOH’s programmatic future.
Ken Sahlin, DoMedia
There is a direct benefit to sales professionals who adopt technology driven improvements in the sales process – it allows them to spend more time working with their clients on their business instead of spending time on spreadsheets. Additionally, this provides the ability to be more responsive to presenting a wider range of OOH options as well as maximising the creative impact of our medium.
It also meets the needs of many of our future customers – fast and professionally organised OOH plans. This applies to both large agency customers as well as the local pizza shop, whose founder is training his daughter (who is technically savvy) to take over the business. Customers want information quickly and concisely returned to them so they can make timely decisions.
Sharon Peyer, Crane Connectivity Solutions
We begin by demonstrating how OOH data helps them accomplish the client’s objective with the highest possible return on investment. We use historical viewership data to provide a benchmark for total viewable impressions. Location-based audience data (ranging from demographics to purchase behaviours at our associated points of sale) helps inform creative messaging by audience.
Sophisticated models both conduct A/B testing for optimal deployment and measure the effectiveness and impact of an OOH ad during and after the campaign. We look to bring in third parties wherever possible to measure the contribution of our campaigns to the entire media mix, and we incorporate the resulting insights into our standard best practices.
Data and technology-driven OOH advertising is only as valuable as the results it can generate. With numerous data points, near-real time reporting, and a relentless focus on continuous improvement, buyers can see that digital OOH campaigns are better positioned to succeed in achieving client objectives because:
- We know we’re reaching the right audiences at the right times, and;
- We can optimise messaging on the fly, based on the performance data we’re monitoring and comparing to proven benchmarks that have been developed over time and validated by third parties.
Nicole Randall is Communications Senior Director at the OAAA, leading the association’s communications, media relations, and public service efforts. She joined OAAA in 2011 with 10 years of association and non-profit experience. Randall communicates the attributes of out of home advertising via multiple media channels, serves as an on-the-record voice for the industry, manages OAAA webinars, and advises the management team on communication strategy.
*The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) is the national trade association for the $7.8 billion out of home advertising industry, which includes digital out of home (DOOH), and comprises billboards, street furniture, transit advertising, and place-based media.
