How dynamic creative carried OOH through COVID-19 and will propel industry forward
COVID-19 forced brands to swiftly change their messaging. For OOH, it provided a chance to showcase dynamic creative capabilities and ability to engage audiences in a more relevant way.
30-second summary:
– In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, brands and their OOH partners were forced to alter campaign planning and change messaging on a dime
– The pandemic allowed OOH to showcase its dynamic creative capabilities on digital screens
– Research shows that dynamic creative in OOH resonates with consumers by delivering relevant and timely messaging
– As the industry recovery continues, brands and OOH specialists should continue to leverage the power of dynamic creative to reach the right audiences at the right moment in time
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on a multitude of industries with few spared the impacts of quarantine measures and stay-at-home orders. Not surprisingly, the Out-of-Home advertising (OOH) industry has been no exception.
Stung by COVID-19, but recovery in progress
The OOH industry was flying high pre-pandemic with advancements in technology and digital spurring significant growth. The good news is the industry is expected to return to growth mode in 2021.
A recently published report from marketing analyst firm eMarketer projects that OOH spend will return to growth in 2021 and continue growing through 2023, led primarily by digital.
Witness the power of dynamic creative
When the swift and sudden arrival of the pandemic forced brands around the world to pivot and upheave their messages on a dime across all marketing channels, it provided OOH the opportunity to showcase its dynamic creative capabilities like never before.
In the UK, for example, National Health Services utilized dynamic creative on transit shelters around major hospitals to display a live count of people posting with the hashtag #thankyouNHS on Twitter. Every time the hashtag was used, the live count increased in real time.
In the US, OUTFRONT Media used its digital network to spotlight and promote restaurants open for carry out and delivery in their respective nearby areas.
There are multiple examples of brands, health and government agencies and non-profits using OOH during the pandemic to broadcast messages of encouragement, hope and support.
OOH has always been known as the medium that builds awareness and reach in a memorable way. People tend to associate OOH with splashy creative on Times Square billboards, or bold messaging on highway units that garner millions of impressions.
But during the pandemic, brands have been exposed to the agility and pliability of dynamic creative in OOH, perhaps for the first time, and now recognize that OOH can optimize the moment in which consumers interact with an ad, leading to substantial increases in ROI.
The moment of truth meets OOH
In advertising, the importance of the “moment” is equally as important as the medium and the message. The “moment” is defined by the way in which consumer is feeling or behaving at the exact point at which they interact with the ad in front of them.
A recent study aptly named “The Moments of Truth” confirms that using ambient data to contextualize creative makes brands’ ad dollars work harder and ROI go further.
The multistage study used neuroscience techniques to measure actual brain activity of consumers the moment they engaged with a contextually relevant digital OOH (DOOH) message; conducted eye-tracking research to measure DOOH fixations, ad recall and creative ratings; and lastly, tested sales uplift to understand the direct sales correlation to dynamic creative.
The study found that, by combining moments of relevance and relevant content, brands can achieve stronger brain responses to their OOH campaigns by 32%.
In addition, the research showed that spontaneous ad awareness is 17% higher when using dynamic content. A $500,000 campaign can deliver nearly $75,000 of incremental value using impactful dynamic creative.
