Is The OOH Media Industry Ready For A Tech Disruptor?

Over the past year, we have seen how technology has disrupted various industries.  Time and again in various conferences involving digital marketing and tech startups, we have heard this line stated repeatedly : "Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate. Something interesting is happening.

In the industry of transportation, a shakeup has been obvious given the popularity of Uber and Grab Taxi, way down to a point that traditional taxi operators could not help but run to the LTFRB for relief.  The game has obviously changed and old paradigns are left with no choice but to bend its knee to those who offer a better service option.  Can this be true also in the world of out-of-home media - where regulation is hardly in place in comparison to radio, TV and print?

There have been several attempts to replicate the success of Uber and AirBnb into the space of OOH media but none have been truly successful.  One attempt by an APAC based tech startup even involved investment of close to half a million US dollars.  The startup online marketplace for billboards and posters is no longer running and the founders have moved on to other tech startups.

Not too long ago, I was also called in to help out with a group which tried to resell a sophisticated mapping system which could provide street views as well as record vital information pertaining to the OOH medium.  The platform is still there but it is not being utilized.  The proponents have simply given up.

Given all these unfortunate occurences, I wish to answer the question posed in this title : Is The OOH Media Industry Ready For A Tech Disruptor?  Well, it's gonna be some time until a tech disruptor comes along because OOH is a complicated business.  It's not just as easy as placing all the available billboard inventory in one online selling platform.  At the onset, it looks like a simple real estate transaction.  Nevertheless, for those who are familiar, there are many intricacies involved.  I've studied what the intricacies are.  I've sounded like a "contrabida" always to those who have intended to create an online marketplace for all OOH media but, the fact that there is nothing really working even in more developed markets only proves that it is not that easy to pull off.

That doesn't mean it's impossible to do though.  Nevertheless, when the kinks are sorted out and the tech disruptor arrives, I'll tell you, the OOH Media industry will not know what it is. The balance between agency, advertiser, and vendor will definitely be upset.  And that is why it is called disruption.

Lloyd Tronco is a Certified Digital Marketer and Out-Of-Home Media Strategist.  He was one of the pioneers in agency-managed OOH media. He currently does marketing consultancy for tech startups.

Insighting by Issa Baron of Good Thinking Research, Inc.

Insighting is creating a link between the consumer and a brand and the link generates strong emotions that leads the targeted consumer to identify with the brand, and or see it as the solution to a need that has up to by that time remained unarticulated.

Like in constructing a complete sentence, before discussing the subject, the predicate must first be laid. So a narrative is created that leads to a denuoument wherein the consumer finds the answers to his questions represented by a product or service.

According to Issa Baron, Managing Director of Good Thinking Research, Inc. the most exciting insights she had come across includes Lactum’s Panatag si Mommy. Before that, Lactum’s were all on the mental development of children but there is also the insight on filling up or meeting the nutritional requirements of picky eaters, thus, the thrust on addressing this all to common a problem among parents.

There is also BPI’s  Bank Anywhere. There was a study wherein it was discovered that closure of existing accounts were due to migration of clients. BPI introduced a system wherein a client can bank anywhere there is a BPI branch that eliminates interbank charges for deposits and withdrawals.

Steps in generating good insights.

1.    Listen when interviewing consumers. Allow the consumer tro define the questions that need to be addressed.
2.    Have a “Consumer Wall” wherein notes can be posted  about the concerns of the target market.
3.    Find similarities among observations and come up with a theme. Find a value that the action reflects.
4.    Find out how your brand can answer can resolve a conflict in its own unique way.

 Source: Readings from josiahgo.com

Casino Billboard Proves That With OOH, The Medium Is The Message

One of the things easily forgotten by marketers is that in the case of out-of-home media, the medium is the message.  For the past decade, outdoor advertising has simply grown in terms of number of advertisers using the medium.  Once an optional medium to some brands, there is hardly any launch these days which doesn't have an OOH component.

Marketers or agencies must be reminded though that the uniqueness of OOH media comes with its intrinsic value whereby location, size, and position, can communicate a different message altogether.

Case in point is this billboard of a casino based in the MOA area.  For the size of its operation and for the bigness of itself as a brand, the size and position of the panel hardly communicates a celebration as stated in its layout.

Let's dissect this.  Design shows a celebration of a first year anniversary for a World Class Destination (stated below logo).
Location - Malibay which is the halfway point between Magallanes and Taft.  Position - lower panel of two.  Size - smaller than the top panel.

With this, the picture may communicate more than what words could do.  

Bottom line in selecting OOH, especially for EDSA billboards, is to choose properly and not just get one for the sake of having an EDSA billboard.