The Power of Contextual Relevance: Is This Ad Speaking to Me?

The Skimm a daily newsletter targeting Millennial women is one such example amp160Playing on the same wit as the publicationamp8217s articles the editors position their ad partnersamp8217 products as essential to their readers and boy do they know them well amp160Theyamp8217ve done so with sponsored wine which they suggested was perfectly paired with a cozy night in reading that trending book amp160Another was sneaking in a coffee special as the pickmeup you need after a long night watching the Oscars amp160These instances go to show the power of brilliant ad placementConsidered one of the oldest and most established locationbased mediumsamp160outofhome OOH advertising can exist without amp8220traditionalamp8221 content Its environment instead fills a larger role and could itself be considered a part of the content amp160Similar to native advertising online when an OOH ad is contextually relevant and relates to its space it is better received from the moment the audience becomes aware of it to recall standpoint later onContextual relevance and location at one point simply meant proximity for OOH advertisers amp160Now they mean so much more amp160For example picture the copy for a hypothetical McDonald39s outdooramp160campaign featuring the words quotNext Exit for a Big Macamp8221 amp160There is nothing inherently wrong with this type of billboard alerting drivers of the next food stop an arguably useful tool amp160Be honest how many times have you pulled off the highway for that juicy burgeramp160 Today however your location can be extremely important to advertisers because where you are where youamp8217ve been and where youamp8217re going can say a lot about who you are if properly measured With the ubiquity of smartphones behavioral audience segments are defined more than ever by these very parameters observed alongside existing demographic attributes The smartest brands are catching on and ensuring that their ad creative not only speaks to the location itamp8217s pictured in but also aligns with the mindset and lifestyle of those in the areaThe first step in addressing an audience based on their location is to look at the city or region the ad will be put up in amp160Verizon does an impressive job of executing this on a large scale purchasing national campaigns but adjusting their copy slightly to speak to each city for example calling out San Francisco or even the dreaded Lincoln Tunnel traffic amp160Similarly Hamp228agenDazs juxtaposed one of its key value propositions in Los Angeles stating amp8220Itamp8217s The City of Angels Not Additivesamp8221Snappleamp8217s strongest sales were in New York which prompted a subway campaign to empower New Yorkers to be spokespeople for Snapple Love for the rest of the country amp160This demonstrates that the original physical location can be the bridge between an ad and a conversation in the social sphere as its reach spreadsAnother level of contextual relevance in an outdoor space directly relates to the mindset of the audience standing in front of the ad amp160In my opinion no one has done this better than StreetEasy did during their firstever advertising campaign amp160Their series of OOH ads spoke directly to the ridiculous reality of shoeboxsized apartments we New Yorkers call home with copy lines like amp8220Sure your window faces a brick wall but behind that wall is NYCamp8221 or amp8220500 sq feet in NYC is bigger than 500 sq feet anywhere elseamp8221 or amp8220The city where a washer and dryer mean youamp8217ve made itamp8221 amp160That last one pictured at top is my personal favorite amp160Fingers crossed I get there one day amp160These advertisements were such a hit they actually became works of art with many New Yorkers clamoring for the billboards to find a home in their very own tiny apartmentsWhen it comes to digital OOH Spotify successfully elevates the medium to another level by leveraging the internal data collected to create OOH creative that reflects its listenersamp8217 music choices in specific locations amp160For example one of their ads in Times Square asks amp8220Dear person in the theater district who listened to the Hamilton soundtrack 5376 times this year can you get us ticketsamp8221 Or amp8220Sorry not sorry Williamsburg Bieber trended highest in this zip codeamp8221 amp160I bet the hipsters hated seeing that oneOutfront Mediaamp8217s own Liveboard execution with JetBlue in Times Square truly embodies the potential and future of digital OOH and maintains Outfront as a major leader in the industry amp160By effectively marrying two sets of data the Google Maps API and its own flight tracking data JetBlue was able to deliver realtime calculations on how long it would take to get from that exact location to their advertised destination down to the second amp160This campaign succeeded in creating a unique realtime happening for the audience that experienced it and it was considered impressive and memorable which was reflected in the huge ROI amp160In JetBlueamp8217s words the campaign amp8220accomplished the impossible It got New Yorkers to stop and look upamp8221We know that location has effectively infiltrated every media format we see on the market today amp160With new sets of data collected and distributed every day my hope is for advertisers to capitalize on said stats and produce ads that genuinely speak to their target audienceOne thing is certain There is power in producing ad creative that is contextually relevant amp160Do it right and you might just get your target audience to think amp8220Is that ad speaking to meamp8221Disclaimer Website references included in this article have been provided as a convenience and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this articleClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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The Power of Contextual Relevance: Is This Ad Speaking to Me?

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Elizabeth Rave

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The Power of Contextual Relevance: Is This Ad Speaking to Me?

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