Kirsty Carlson and Livia Brown, hosts of South Africa’s only out of home media podcast, tell Glenda Nevill about inspirations and insights gained and shared on this highly competitive sector.
What inspired you to launch a podcast on the world inside out of home?
We both share a passion for the sector, having both individually led out of home departments at large agency groups in our careers. We have often had discussions on the landscape regularly, and believed those discussions would be beneficial if shared on a platform for the industry.
We wanted to create a platform that would educate, inform and inspire the industry regarding out of home as a medium. OOH is a specialisation and a critical skill and we saw a gap in the local market for a podcast created and hosted by OOH industry experts, for the local industry.
We hope our listeners continue to enjoy the content on the Beyond the Billboard podcast.
You now interview people who work for what was previously your competition. Is this a case of the ‘greater good’ for the sector?
We are both independent consultants who provide consulting services to agencies, direct clients, and media owners.
We both have extensive senior experience specialising in OOH media, and believe that having guests from various agencies and companies within the industry offers a wide range of perspectives and insights.
We continually see the importance of collaborating as an industry to grow the OOH channel as a whole.
This requires us to work closely with media agencies, creative agencies and clients and bring all parties along the media process together to achieved the best results and drive the category forward.
How do you select your interviewees?
We look for subject matter experts who have the knowledge to share that would be beneficial for our listeners.
We also ensure that we are representing across the value chain, by including guests who represent media experience, advertising industry and client/brand experience to reflect all opinions, insights and guidance on how to get the best use from the OOH media channel.
What have you learnt about partnerships and collaboration from your podcasts?
The magic happens when all participants in the ecosystem work together to bring amazing work and campaigns to life. Award-winning work occurs when the client, creative agency, media agency, and media owner unite with the common goal of creating effective and impactful work.
This involves setting aside egos and focusing on the end goal rather than whose idea it was. It’s about partnering with the client and each other to deliver great work.
A critical component of great work is ensuring that you drive business results for the client; this has to be at the centre of shaping and crafting strategies that deliver for clients.
What possible trends for 2025 can you share?
Data will play an increasingly important role in OOH advertising in 2025. Jarred Pillai from Robust Marketing emphasised this in one of our episodes, stating that “the thinking is in the data.” We will see a growing trend in the use of data in OOH planning, from pre-planning to reporting.
Also highlighted by Roanna Williams, chief creative officer at Boundless, is how international campaigns like ‘Adoptable‘ by Pedigree have demonstrated the significant role data plays in driving efficient and impactful campaigns.
Additionally, there is a growing adoption of Programmatic DOOH here, and across the continent, as more media owners embrace this technology.
On the more traditional side we will see a focused interest and commitment to shaping creative for the OOH channel specifically, focusing on simplicity, and creativity that includes humour and creates intrigue.
We have seen brands starting to play in this space and winning favour with consumers and driving brand recall, and even results in sharing OOH campaigns on social media.
What have been the major industry shifts this year, and how will these play out in 2025?
Measurement remains a contentious industry topic and this will take centre stage in 2025, to be reviewed and unpacked further.
Creativity in OOH has also been discussed profusely in 2024, and the challenge is set for more impactful and effective creative crafted for OOH, specifically in 2025.
Faux OOH really has hit South Africa. However, the use of it remains in contention: some believe it should live under digital; some under OOH, from a budgeting perspective.
There is also some negative sentiment regarding how it is being used.
What essential factors should media suppliers consider in client campaigns?
Media owners need to position themselves as partners and trusted advisors to media agencies and clients. This can be done through the use of relevant data, research and insights about their format types and environments.
How is programmatic OOH playing out in South Africa right now?
Programmatic digital out-of-home is merging digital to the OOH channel.
It is important for media agencies to ensure that planning and campaign information flows seamlessly between digital channels and the OOH channel. This helps to complement and uphold the principles of OOH in (PDOOH) advertising.
Although advancements in measurement have facilitated the growth of PDOOH, there is still a need to standardise measurement and establish best practices for further growth.
Programmatic DOOH is gaining traction in South Africa and driving adoption across the rest of Africa, particularly in Nigeria and Kenya. Polygon is actively working to promote PDOOH adoption across Africa.
What about the measurement issue?
It is clear to us that there is a need for a measurement focused episode on the Beyond the Billboard podcast and we are working on getting that live. The measurement discussion was touched on with Sally Stewart in an episode on the podcast.
The use of different measurements from media owners to rationale their OOH proposals can create confusion for media agencies as well as for clients.
We understand that having varying measurement for different types of environments, i.e roadside vs mall as an example, given that different environments operate differently, and the consumers in those environments can often move, and behave differently.
However the varying use of measurements that require multiple explanations to clients can cause confusion. It is also important that the industry agrees to what type of measurement/format is included on site rate cards for ease of reference. In addition, understanding that different measurement can be used for different purposes.
For example, standard fixed measurement is great for pre-planning and for medium comparison or utilising in media mix tools, however more ‘real time’ data is great for post-campaign reporting.
It is about understanding how the different data can be best used in the OOH strategy, planning and reporting process.
This topic remains important and critical one for us to unpack further with the right guests.
What is the outlook on global brands to local markets?
There are often cases where there are global principles that have to be followed by a client and agency when executing/planning media locally. However it is always important to adapt and localise global campaigns to ensure relevancy to connect with your audiences. i.e. speak to the community in their local language.
At times global guidance can be limiting in a market such as South Africa where there is a vast landscape, economical and audience differences, it is critical that both media agencies and media owners work closely with their clients and empower clients with relevant data and research to approach global businesses to gain a greater understanding of the local market.
What defines innovation in out of home?
Innovation is being disruptive. As Eve Pennington references in the OOH Innovation episode ‘Innovation is the process of bringing about new ideas, methods, products, services or solutions that have a significant positive impact and value. And ‘Innovation in outdoor is creating something that is so compelling that it literally stops people in their tracks’.
As an industry we need to be mindful of not referring to LED lights, 3D moulds and cut outs as innovation, as these are more production techniques to “enhance” a billboard site, for example.
EPISODIC INSIGHTS
Beyond the Billboard’s expert guests have shared crucial industry insights; let’s explore some takeouts from various interviews.
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Erik Warburg on understanding fragmentation in OOH…
With more than 400 media suppliers in SA and 15 000 roadside billboard sites, it is increasingly challenging to navigate the very competitive OOH media landscape.
Ad spend is fragmented, with media owners now getting less and less of the OOH spend ‘pie’ due to many new players in the space. In some locations the landscape is quite cluttered, which can negatively impact the consumer with too many billboards vying for attention. On the upside, this also means that creative works harder at being disruptive amongst the clutter and finding innovative ways to remain relevant to consumers.
A surplus of billboards can also drive the price down, ultimately devaluing the medium. Lastly, the increased number of media owners also means that media agencies and clients have to brief, negotiate and review OOH from A LOT of suppliers, making this extremely time-intensive.
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Newcomers Nalesa Media on starting a new company in OOH…
Nalesa highlighted the support they received from a previous media owner to establish themselves, which played a vital role in their startup journey.
The landscape is very competitive and it is critical to establish oneself from the start with compliant sites; built in strategic locations that are supported by data and research.
Navigating the complex media owner landscape can be tricky and newcomers should not underestimate the emphasis on establishing strong relationships with media agencies built on a solid foundation of trust, and reliable work.
ª Brian Muguto on OOH strategy…
Brian highlighted that while channel selection often seems predetermined, a solid understanding of the client’s business challenges and consumer perceptions is critical before deciding on the appropriate media channels.
He explained that effective strategy begins with identifying the client’s business problems – such as meeting sales targets or addressing market share loss – and understanding the consumer’s mindset and decision-making process.
Overall, Brian underscored the need to be adaptable and innovative to remain relevant in this ever-evolving media landscape.
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Kabelo Kale’s take on the township market…
We loved how Kabelo explained that there is a ‘system’ within a township community and how important it is to understand how people move and commute within and around these spaces.
It is not always as perceived, which is why it is important to work with township media specialists, and partner with media owners, to have a better understanding of a specific township and with that knowledge and insight you can then better plan your OOH approaches.
Follow Beyond the Billboard on LinkedIn for further information and for regular updates on all episode launches. Beyond the Billboard podcast is available on Spotify and Apple.
Kirsty Carlson, owner of Synapse Media, and Livia Brown, owner of What3things, are independent consultants and experts in OOH advertising, with over 13+ years of experience. They have successfully led OOH departments in large media agency groups in South Africa, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the OOH landscape, its complexities, challenges, and benefits. They have also developed key relationships with partners in this ever-evolving space. They share their insights and knowledge via Beyond the Billboard, an informative podcast in which industry experts lead insightful and topical discussions on all things OOH.
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