Jodi Senese on what ads work and what ads don’t and what to expect in 2019

Jodi Senese is the Chief Marketing Officer at OUTFRONT Media. She began her career with the New York Subways Advertising and joined OUTFRONT (then TDI) in 1990. Jodi oversees all aspects of marketing including research, advertising, and creative services and is integral in developing new business strategies for OUTFRONT Media. Insider talked with Senese last week.

Why do certain OOH campaigns blossom and others stall?

There are several factors that contribute to the success of an out-of-home campaign, however where we see the most success is in captivating creative. OUTFRONT Studios, OUTFRONT’s in-house creative studio, has collaborated on both national and local campaigns that are crafted so expertly, there’s a laser-like focus on the creative, including location and placement, that creates a huge impact. The by-product of great creative is social amplification which add impressions and a level of engagement that is simply unparalleled.

Give an example of an OOH campaign that properly used digital during 2018.

The best digital out-of-home campaigns leverage digital offerings in unique and creative ways. A few come to mind from this year alone.

  • Audible and Tailored Digital Copy
    • Audible partnered with OUTFRONT Media to launch a digital out-of-home campaign with creative that was triggered by weather and traffic. When traffic hit 40MPH or below, Audible offered book suggestions to help consumers get “unstuck” in traffic. When the temperature reached 85 degrees or above, creative rotated to feature copy relating to how hot it was outside.
    • With tailored digital copy that directly related to experiences commuters were going through that moment, Audible was able to connect and resonate with their target audience in ways that aren’t possible outside of this space.

      Bauducco Foods social influencer campaign.
  • Bauducoo and Social Influencers

    • This year, OUTFRONT launched our Social Influencers program, which gives brands of all sizes the opportunity to incorporate social influencers as part of their out-of-home campaigns, through our partnership with social influencer platform 8app. To kick off the launch, Bauducco took over the Cube in Times Square New York where onlookers and online influencers were encouraged to share holiday messages with their loved ones to be displayed in real-time on the digital screen.

    • This campaign pulled together every element seamlessly to create not only beautiful visuals, but also a meaningful touchpoint and interaction between Bauducco and consumers. Through OUTFRONT’s Social influencer offering, Jonathan Cheban, a social influencer prevalent in the food space with over 3 million followers on Instagram, shared a message on the Cube, bringing awareness from all over the world to Bauducco’s campaign.

      Body Shop Ad which ran in Times Square
  • The Body Shop and Increased Web Traffic

    • The last example that comes to mind of a beautiful out-of-home campaign that utilized digital components is The Body Shop’s campaign in New York City aiming to ban animal testing of cosmetic products and ingredients.

    • In this campaign, The Body Shop partnered with OUTFRONT Studios for content creation that encouraged individuals to sign the petition online, or at any one of the Body Shop’s 3,000 store locations worldwide, and led to over a 300 percent increase in website traffic.


  • What are three trends to look out for in 2019?
  1. Video OOH

    • Video in ooh is a trend that we are very excited about. The ability to tell a story through full motion video in transit environments with huge urban audiences is an opportunity for brands to engage consumers at scale. We are currently building- out our Liveboard network in transit systems in NY, Boston, DC, Miami, San Francisco, and Atlanta. The marriage of full motion video on large screens in high dwell time locations combines the best elements of digital and OOH media. It could be considered the perfect medium.

      OUTFRONT Liveboards featuring MOMA collection.
    • Adding content to earn attention enhances the screens value to both passengers and brands. An example of this is OUTFRONT’s recent content partnership with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Commuters are able to take in new beloved works of art from MoMA’s collection every month, including paintings, sculpture, animation, and full-motion video.

  1. All Things Mobile

    • The fluidity between OOH assets and all things mobile will continue to evolve. Whether the intent or outcome is driving people to search, shop or share, OOH assets will continue to be the best primer of all mobile behavior.

    • We currently have two platforms that provide turnkey mobile solutions for brands; a geofencing product and a social Influencer product. The former adds mobile ads targeted by geography (geofencing) or behavioral indicators; the later uses influencers with targeted followers to amplify an OOH campaign.

  2. Creative! Creative! Creative!

    • Even with all the excitement and discussion around audience delivery as our data gets more refined, a trend we are seeing is that brands are increasingly interested in the creative opportunities that come with OOH’s big canvasses. Perhaps its “small screen fatigue”! We are having significantly more requests from big brands to meet with our OUTFRONT Studio’s creative team to engage in creative conversations. Even the most perfectly placed advertisement will not succeed if the creative does not cut through and create impact.

    • With people spending an average of 70% of their day outside of the home, this medium is far too visible to suffer from bad creative, but creative done right can be the shot heard around the world. Particularly today when social media and cross-channel interactions are so prevalent in today’s society, a great creative campaign in New York City can become viral and noticeable across cultures and countries.

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