This week, our Community Uninterrupted series of webinars put the spotlight on Digital Out of Home and the incredible developments that are taking place in the channel. Kicking off the week we had an informative presentation from Bob Leroux, National Sales VP/GM of PATTISON Outdoor who discussed the combined innovations in technology and advancements in mobile data that have been infused to the Out-of-Home (OOH) offering which has resulted in real world call-to-action results.
Leroux’s presentation covered off three core topics which were supported with an abundance of research conducted in the Canadian media landscape. For starters, OOH, being one of the hardest hit media channels during COVID-19, is making its recovery as indicated by a clear and steady increase in mobility signals coming from the 24,000 geo-fenced Pattison properties that have been monitored since the beginning of the year. The upward trends were supported by Apple mobility data showing similar traffic patterns.
Some valuable data points shared in the presentation included highlights from a 2019 Brandspark Canadian Shopper Survey indicating that contextually relevant OOH ads are noticed by Canadians:
- 78% of dining consumers noticed OOH Ads within the past week
- 80% of shoppers noticed OOH ads in the past week
- 89% of office workers noticed OOH ads in the past week
The research also underscored that combined formats raise efficacy citing lifts between 65 and 75% when used. Examples included Transit Subway Door Surrounds, Horizontal Posters and Digital Office Network. In all cases, the inclusion of digital was noted as a key ingredient to a winning mix.
After noting that 1 in 3 Canadians have taken some form of action after seeing a product, brand or service in OOH formats within the past five months, Bob delved into the complimentary aspect of OOH across the broader media mix. According to one GroupM CPG MMM study finding, OOH amplifies other channels by close to the same levels as television at 1.4%
Similar to other traditional channels, OOH has faced its challenges in the evolution of the increasingly digitized media mix. Not surprisingly, at the core of its challenge has been the lack of standardized metrics. Appropriate measurement has been the channel’s achilles heel as in today’s competitive and narrowing media market, investors need empirical data to invest with confidence. This made the IAB Canada DOOH Committee meeting, featuring guest speaker, Rosanne Caron, President of the Canadian Out of Home Marketing and Measurement Bureau (COMMB), even more timely and exciting.
Rosanne shared a glimpse of what is to come in fall of 2021 on the OOH measurement front, and based on the presentation delivered, the future is looking bright. Roseanne presented a revolutionary framework that will be a total game changer for the OOH industry providing advertisers with granular, screen level and spot level reporting, grounded in the accuracy that mobile technology continues to provide. COMMB members will have access to advanced panel data within the media suite and will be able to create refined segmentations against their investments. We are very much looking forward to the release of this innovative new framework and applaud COMMB’s leadership in driving the OOH offering forward. We promise to keep you updated on its development and launch date.