Gone Mobile: The Out-of-Home Connection -- Suzanne Grimes

To personify how mobile is changing the consumer experience, Greg Stuart, CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association, said grab a pen and, “If you’re right-handed, write with your left hand. If you’re left-handed, write with your right hand.” Go ahead, try it; this is what change feels like before it’s familiar.

That’s how Stuart got his audience going at the TAB-OAAA Out-of-Home Media Conference in Orlando last week. Across the Atlantic, mobile was also the focal point, as Clear Channel Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman officially introduced Connect at the International Festival of Media in Rome. Connect is Clear Channel’s new global mobile ad platform introducing interactive capabilities on our pedestrian signage across 23 countries and 5 continents, reaching 175 million consumers a month. This is a first, and there’s one device that made it possible – the smartphone.

Out-of-home has long been viewed as a static medium. Not anymore. Here are five ways we are using OOH-Mobile integration to drive innovation:

Location, location, location . Mobile is tailor-made for hyperlocal advertising, targeting users based on location, time of day and even, the weather. Out-of-home caters to local advertisers. Marry the two and advertisers are capable of reaching an entirely new set of consumers. It’s no longer about choosing a DMA – but delving in deeper to individual consumer DNA.

Personalization. SMS, QR codes and iBeacons transform a static board into an interactive, personalized experience. The instant gratification for more information is delivered through technology built right into our transit shelters. Engage passersby with great creative and provide more than what they were expecting.

Connection . While mobile developers continue to produce smaller devices, the fact is you can’t fit everything on a small screen. As Josh Kruter, Clear Channel Outdoor’s vice president, digital product has simply put it – create larger moments. Take mobile messaging and amplify it on an outdoor screen.

Path to Purchase . Moving consumers quickly through the purchase funnel has always been the goal for retailers. “Shop-able” content has evolved from circulars to mobile flash sales and customized couponing. With iBeacon, billboards can project a targeted sales message with data gleaned from logged-in mobile devices.

Application of Data . Media analysts now know precisely how many people, on average, see every flip of every measured piece of digital out-of-home inventory nationwide. Combined with mobile data, these insights provide a road map to purchase intent and increase marketing efficiency. But we need more. More data, more metrics, more insights, and they need to be accountable, comparable, and keeping pace with measurement innovations in other media. Our industry is moving faster to get there and is laser-focused on providing the best ROI for advertisers.

As you’re reading this, another dozen mobile innovations will be conceived, tested and launched, maybe biometric (mood-based) or a new take on gamification. It’s our job as marketers to be media-fluent in what we’re selling. Share innovations with clients and create a game changing campaign together.

President and COO Suzanne Grimes is leading the transformation of Clear Channel Outdoor NorthAmerica into a dynamic media business that fully recognizes the potential of integrated digital and mobile marketing opportunities in out-of-home across the US and Canada.

Follow Suzanne on Twitter at @SuzanneGrimes

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