By: Candice Simons, President & CEO of Brooklyn Outdoor
In an increasingly saturated market, it is becoming increasingly harder to reach your target consumer through traditional channels. Brooklyn Outdoor is fortunate enough to be at the center of the oldest form of advertising – outdoor advertising aka out-of-home advertising. This is the only format of advertising that cannot be turned off in the digital age. This is an exciting time for this highly regarded industry to cut through the clutter and provide our key consumer with exactly what they need and where at point of purchase. We have had our ups and downs as a startup over the past five years battling our goliath competitors but have proven ourselves as a worthy opponent – just as our industry has stood the test of time. Just as we have built our own brand, our specialty is helping our customers build their brands just the same way through outdoor advertising, event marketing, experiential marketing, and more.
Out-of-Home (aka OOH) advertising is the catalyst for brand building. Advertisers can segment audiences and market campaigns more specifically than ever before and choose to reach consumers by multicultural audiences, general market audiences, age, etc. This long term and “always on” strategy is one that allows brands to be and feel as though they are everywhere to the targeted segment in the desired market. This is because OOH reaches almost the entire population and is the best mechanism for bright, in-your-face messages.
Consumers are increasingly on the go, and while on the go they are seeing various types of placements and advertising as they go about their daily routines. Reaching an audience at the bus stop, at the intersection, in a taxi, or during the commute has a tremendous impact on the modern consumer – especially when paired with mobile advertising. These various touch points allow brands and products to resonate with potential customers in a subtle, yet impactful way, as they go about their daily routine.
Digital out of home (DOOH) advertising is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing, technically advanced, and most interactive advertising formats for businesses to reach consumers.
DOOH advertising promises brand safety as it eliminates the risk of crisis by association. Promoting company content on social media platforms assumes the risk of having ads placed next to problematic or politically controversial content. However, in DOOH there is no uncertainty because advertisers know exactly where ads will appear and often make the site selections internally.
Additionally, DOOH advertising eliminates the potential marketing threat of ad-blocking. The biggest concern with most digital formats arises when an audience is able to avoid certain advertisements by shutting them off and media companies fraudulently account for proof of completion.
Due to this inefficiency, the word “digital” naturally brings concern to potential advertisers; however, with DOOH, ad-blocking is not possible for digital signage because it cannot be blocked, filtered or turned off. Real people are seeing our ads and formats.
When it is done correctly and thoughtfully, the public accepts digital DOOH more so than any other media formats due to the creative advancements in this exciting format. It becomes more than a selling tool for our clients – it becomes something much larger and more impactful.
Innovation and Trends
- Data-Driven Campaigns
Real-time data feeds can be integrated into digital displays, as a result, clients are able to produce a very clear picture and snapshot of the “now” for target audiences. Innovation is the name of the marketing game these days, and DOOH does just that.
With the strategic and thoughtful use of data and technology, in addition to a general market campaign, a client can create a truly powerful and unique experience for their target audience. OOH advertising is THE top medium to create the lasting connection and visibility that an audience needs to take action at point of purchase.
- Beacons
Beacons are real-world data generators that are insanely accurate. With them, you can turn your OOH advertising locations into signals, which help to pinpoint a specific target audience and market to them directly. This innovation allows the world of mobile and OOH advertising to further connect and maximize the most efficient exposure possible.
This cutting-edge technology proves extremely useful to reach consumers in specific situations that naturally warrant waiting time like the airport, bus station, or even hospital. Strategically sending creative messaging via smartphones to consumers in these particular situations makes them much more likely to engage with the brand or product.
Recently, COACH used beacons at the Hong Kong International Airport to engage customer participation in a cutting-edge OOH campaign. The beacon-based, social media campaign prompted participants to share a photo with hashtag #CoachPreFall2016 to enter a drawing to win merchandise from the collection.
Beaconstac reports, “to participate, passengers, had to go near a beacon hoarding (with the Bluetooth switched on their smartphones), go on WeChat and shake their phones. The beacons installed in the advertising media would then communicate with passengers’ smartphones and take them to the campaign landing page.”
As a result of strategically placing beacons in a high-impact area with predictable wait time, Coach was able to engage customers and create a lasting impression of the brand while maximizing exposure through virtual outreach.
Hand Painted Mural Advertising Originally popular in the 20th century, hand paint murals are making a comeback in vibrant cities with strong artistic communities like Detroit, Brooklyn and Los Angeles. By commissioning local artists to create brand-promoting murals, advertisers connect with communities on a more powerful level. Using local artists to create advertisements, authentically generates interest in the community and results in public relation opportunities not typically open to run of the mill billboard placements.
Additionally, hand paint murals take time to create. While painting, artists attract attention from pedestrians and street traffic. The process of the mural’s creation can be used as a marketing asset in itself. Time lapse videos of the process from start to finish can be used to supplement OOH advertising campaigns.
- Action
OOH advertising is a tried and true method in initiating audiences to take action. Over threequarters of Americans have been noted as smartphone owners, which is an enormous number of potential customers ready to interact and engage with brands at the tip of their fingers.
A recent Nielsen study states that OOH generates more online activity per ad dollar spent when compared to radio, television, or print. Because of OOH exposure, consumers interact with brands via social media.
Because we are always turned on and, on the go,, OOH’s unsurpassed ability to bridge the gap between audience and brand will ultimately drive action from consumers.
About the Company
Brooklyn Outdoor is a Detroit-based independent outdoor advertising agency. The company was founded in 2013 and has subsequently emerged as a national and regional force in the outdoor advertising industry with satellite offices and full-time sales representatives in Detroit, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.
About the CEO
Brooklyn Outdoor is led by its CEO Candice Simons, a longtime industry leader who returned to Detroit from Chicago to launch the entrepreneurial venture. The company’s multiple divisions include Outdoor, Experiential, Events, and hand painted. Brooklyn’s clients include national brands like General Motors, Adidas, Warner Brothers, Sprint, and Amazon. Simons also founded the Detroit-based lifestyle blog company, J’adore Detroit.
She has been recognized for her work with both companies by Crain’s Detroit Business 40 under 40, DBusiness 30 in their 30s, Entrepreneur 360, Detroit Young Professionals Vanguard, Summit International Marketing and Creative Awards, MichBusiness, and Enterprising Women of the year 2017.
