When it comes to the outdoor advertising market, industry leaders agree data holds the key to the future of sector While JCDecaux NSW sales director Oliver Newton and APN GM of marketing Janine Wood believe the “holy grail” comes down to the audience data made available through mobile, Adshel CEO Rob Atkinson says the Outdoor Media Associations (OMA) automated transaction platform is the real “game changer”.
Speaking at an NGEN event on the future innovation of traditional media, Newton said when it comes to utilising the best mobile technology and data, the out of home (OOH) industry still has work to do.
“In terms of technology, we aren’t there yet. And it’s not up to the media owner or agency to solve that problem – it’s actually up to the client.”
It’s no secret mobile has opened the door for a huge boost in digital out of home (DOOH) and beacons are leading the way in creating accountability for the outdoor medium.
Newton sees the integration of street furniture and data as the area that advertiser dollars will shift towards in the future.
Atkinson also spoke on the advantages of data, however he referred to the newly launched automated transaction platform as the “game changer” for the industry.
The platform will create a one-stop shop for buying and selling outdoor across Australia, developed with an eye to include programmatic trading of OOH media down the line – although Atkinson doesn’t see programmatic being the way to trade outdoor.
“Companies have been selling odds and socks through programmatic. We’re not putting our data in one marketplace to have it in bad places,” he said.
He also referred to Barcelona as an example of innovative outdoor activations, with particular street furniture fitted out with first aid equipment, like a defibrillator. While it has been happening for years, there is room for advertisers to get on board with providing outdoor utilities.
“Information that educates and entertains will take the humble bus stop from a shelter to a connection point,” Atkinson said.
Woods agreed, adding the “holy grail” of outdoor will be effective, location-based creative combined with segmented data.
Publishers meets outdoor
Ooh!Media recently acquired an 85% stake in youth publisher Junkee Media. The move came to a shock to the industry, with a partnership between the two raising questions on what that could mean for the two players.
Ooh!Media sales director Sean Rigby said while Ooh!Media has created content for many years, it doesn’t create the “award winning” content Junkee can.
“In the current outdoor environment, people want more,” Rigby said.
The partnership will allow Ooh!Media to provide real time, short content in a social context, including soundless video.
Creating a greater purpose for outdoor is an initiative that paid off for Ooh!Media in the past, with the launch of a fundraising appeal for veteran support group Walking Wounded.
The campaign allowed people to donate using tap payment technology via outdoor screens. Ooh!Media CEO Brendon Cook previously told AdNews the technology could hold huge opportunity for advertisers.
However Rigby said that at the moment, legal restrictions are holding back the use of the payment feature as receipts need to be printed for purchases over $2.
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