The Shareability of OOH

The reality of OOH was at the center of our industryamp8217s recent Feel the Real campaign which demonstrated how OOH makes digital real The campaign proved OOHamp8217s effectiveness in the digital age by targeting media professionals with customized OOH executions Targeted media professionals shared their Feel the Real experiences across multiple social media networksThe desire to share experiences is inherently human Digital engagement is simply an extension of that desire which has been accelerated thanks to technologies that make sharing simple Until recently digital strategies focused primarily on desktop users and mobile was often considered as an afterthought There has been a notable shift to companies embracing a mobilefirst mindset For many people mobile has become the preferred method for accessing news and entertainment making purchases and sharing sociallyBehavioral shifts in technology usage have also had an influence on social sharing habits Using search engines is still the most common behavior for finding information online But many users are starting to bypass search engines choosing instead to perform searches using social media channels Consumers know they are more likely to find visual context using this approach People also value feedback from others more likely to trust reviews and comments posted by likeminded peers and consumersUsing technology to connect people or to help consumers research and purchase products is a straightforward outcome of digital engagement Trying to align digital engagement with advertising objectives is when outcomes get murkyDigital has changed the basic rules of engagement so that media planning is no longer a singlestrategy decision if it ever was A wellbalanced marketing mix today essentially relies on the combined strengths of paid owned and earned mediaPaid media is naturally what we think about as traditional advertising and includes OOH television radio and print Owned media includes exclusive assets that companies curate such as websites delivery trucks and onpremise signage Earned media is social sharing press coverage and wordofmouth amp8211 and this is the new opportunity for advertising using OOHAdvertisers are keenly aware of the power behind social sharing and its ability to influence brand consideration and preference Thatamp8217s why so many comprehensive media plans today include a considerable earned media component As more consumers have become fluent in the use of social media generating earned media through social sharing has become a highly desired prize at many ad agenciesToday OOH is an essential element within sophisticated social media strategies because it can serve as a conduit connecting realworld consumers with personalized digital experiences The ubiquitous nature of the medium that surrounds and immerses consumers as they move throughout their day can entice consumers to make online discoveries sparking interactions that lead to increased brand awareness and recall In fact a study conducted by the Media Behavior Institute found OOH has the potential to increase the reach of a social media campaign by up to 212 percent and a mobile campaign by up to 316 percentThe recent Share a Coke campaign in Times Square is a good example illustrating the inherent potency of a wellconceived OOH and social ad strategy Coke wanted to engage Millennials in a techrelevant way so the company developed an online experience that celebrated stories behind names Times Square visitors Tweeted their first names using CokeMyName to see personalized stories about their names broadcast on a digital screen A camera mounted on a nearby building snapped a photo of each story shown on the screen and Tweeted those photos back to consumers who could share themThe recent Delta Dental of Minnesota campaign is another good example proving how people can become influencers of advertising The affordable Care Act created a need to increase awareness about individual and family dental plans The OOH campaign drove consumers to a microsite where Delta Dental products and services where featured along with instructions for sharing a Smile with someoneA user could enter their email and a recipientamp8217s email along with a personal message to the recipient and their own Smile The useramp8217s photograph and message where send to the recipient and displayed on Delta Dental digital OOH units throughout the Minneapolis marketThe Coke and Delta Dental of Minneapolis examples demonstrate an unavoidable byproduct of social sharing is content generation as advertising The lines have blurred In fact Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes amp8220Ads should be content They need to be essentially just organic information that people are producing on siteamp8221As the popularity of sharing increases so does the volume of content available to users But with an avalanche of information comes high expectations of quality relevance and variety The best content gets sharedThe job of ad agencies is to connect the dots by integrating media channels to produce optimum results for clients The emerging role of social media has presented advertisers and agencies with a unique challenge since social behavior cannot be allocated to vertical silos like traditional advertising Social media moves horizontally across media channels interacting with every part of a communications strategy including advertising press customer care and more making it much more difficult to manageThe phenomenon that is social sharing will continue to flourish as both younger and older populations seek out better ways to connect with friends strangers and brands Fortunately OOH can be an important conduit that works synergistically with digital as a powerful accelerator and amplifier of social sharingBy linking OOH more closely with the tidal wave that is digital and particularly mobile advertisers will make smart bets on a media combination that effectively engages audiencesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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