Dress for the weather you want, not the weather you have
Opinion
Out-of-Home offers multiple ways to connect with audiences, but the many routes to market can make it complex to navigate. Let a specialist be your tour guide, says Posterscope’s planning and buying director.
Ever packed for a holiday in paradise, only to end up cursing yourself for bringing the wrong clothes? The forecasts promised sun; social media teased blue skies, but then reality set in. That hilltop town demanded walking shoes, not flip flops, and the city’s “best dining” came with a rainy side of weather roulette. As they say in Sweden, there’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.
If only you’d had a bit of local know-how and street smarts – if only you had someone who knew that whilst a tomato is a fruit, you shouldn’t put one in a fruit salad. Context and nuance are always key.
For those venturing into the sprawl and splendour of OOH, the huge array of opportunities can be simultaneously awe-inspiring and overwhelming.
Like a trip when the possibilities seem endless but you end up staying in the chain bar in the city centre – you can still have a great time, but you wonder if there wasn’t something more you were missing out on?
OOH provides an incredible platform for brands to connect with audiences in a variety of ways, but the many routes to market can make it complex to navigate.
An OOH specialist understands the intricacies of the medium, serving as a local guide for brands seeking to maintain distinctiveness in a cluttered market, stay top-of-mind at all times, and announce a new product to the world.
Some of the most popular travel destinations in the world have flagship attractions. The Tower of London, the Statue of Liberty, and the Sydney Opera House are icons for good reason. Sometimes, though, to find the real gems and the experience you want, you have to go off the beaten track and explore new places.
Within OOH, a specialist can help you navigate lesser-known environments and areas, how to show up in those spaces with nuance and tact, and understand their strengths and opportunities.
You can also get guidance on how to get the most out of the more iconic locations, how to use them, when to use them, and when to avoid them.
Knowing the local customs is key to understanding a location
Leaving your cash in your pocket in a Chicago bar may result in some less-than-welcoming service, but leaving a tip in Tokyo may be deemed as an insult. Showing up with the right tone and messaging can help advertisers get the most out of their OOH media at a time when marketing budgets are more challenged than ever.
Many brands have achieved significant success in OOH, both with and without specialists. These brands are mature users of the channel that understand its nuances and will continue to work adeptly.
However, with many brands facing numerous challenges and smaller teams to address them, utilising the ingrained knowledge and experience of a specialist enables them to work in partnership to tackle these challenges together, rather than starting from scratch.
This could be brands that were once historic proponents of channels that no longer hold a dominant position, or digitally native businesses seeking to scale by reaching beyond their online niche to a broader audience.
A specialist can embed themselves in a client’s business, understand their challenges and pressures, their ambition and perspective. The most successful partnerships come from collaboration and challenge.
A guide can’t take a tourist to new frontiers; they have to want to go there under their own steam. A guide can help explore new places together, look out for hidden pitfalls and potential opportunities, and draw on years of experience to make the brand’s experience of the environment as fulfilling as possible.
A specialist can just book media space. Alternatively, they can facilitate discussions, enable innovation, push boundaries, encourage optimisation, and empower partners to deliver groundbreaking, highly impactful, highly effective work that delivers hard business results for brands.
As in life, the journey is the destination. Exploring together is when you uncover the hidden gems and unexpected side streets. You might end up in Times Square or Shibuya Crossing, or you may stumble across something far more memorable altogether.
At a time when money is finite, yet possibilities are seemingly infinite, can you afford to waste your time and money? Can you afford not to have an OOH specialist?
Tom Murrihy is the planning and buying director at Posterscope