OAAA’s Steve Nicklin on Outdoor Marketing

steve-nicklinSteve Nicklin is Vice President of Marketing for OAAA. Steve provides OAAA members, ad agencies, and advertisers with marketing insights and trends, oversees the OAAA marketing research function, and monitors ad spend performance of the OOH industry. His career has encompassed marketing leadership in the cable TV, radio, and retail sectors. Steve holds an MBA in marketing, and he earned his NAB Executive Development Program certificate at Georgetown University. 

Steve, how did you get involved with the OOH advertising industry.

I have a media background – cable TV (ad sales) and radio (consumer marketing and ad sales). My former cable company SVP of Marketing was in OOH and referred me to Stephen Freitas. I was quite impressed by the positioning work OAAA launched for the industry in 2012.  When I saw the OOH positioning video, it really piqued by curiosity and got me enthused about the industry. I was also struck by the potential for OOH and mobile convergence with the consumer. I researched OOH and thought it had tremendous upside, so I was excited at the prospect of helping drive that success. 

What’s a typical day like for you?

I live a block from my gym, so I row 3500 meters every morning. Nancy Fletcher is an information machine, so there are always plenty of emails to scan before I head to the office. The bulk of my days are spent communicating with OAAA members to provide research and other resources, managing our research initiatives, and planning my ad agency visits. I coordinate the agency visits with the local media companies, but I cold-call for the appointments, arrange the meetings, and coordinate all of my travel. I derive a high level of satisfaction from problem-solving and providing solutions to members and agency contacts.

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Meeting with Cramer Krasselt agency employees in Phoenix, AZ

You spend lots of time in the field visiting agencies and creative people.  What are the visits for?

I have the great pleasure of promoting our dynamic, and growing, medium to agency teams — primarily media planners. The meetings are designed to educate and create awareness about the breadth and capabilities of OOH. It’s a challenge getting the agencies to commit 30 minutes of their day, but once in the door our presentation is enthusiastically received. The interest in our medium continues to grow, and I’ve noticed the increase over the past four years. We have an amazing story to tell, so agencies are curious to understand why and how OOH is on this positive trajectory alluding every other traditional media form. I truly enjoy interacting with the agencies. They’re appreciative of the tutorial, and I feed off their enthusiasm and interest. It’s very rewarding!  

What marketing trends show the most promise for OOH during the next five years?

With the explosion of mobile devices, and the growing promise of IoT (the Internet of Things), our consumer culture grows even more desirous of instant gratification and demanding of convenience. OOH occupies the space where most consumer transactions take place, so we have incredible power to deliver highly-targeted ad messages and solutions to consumers. Digital platforms, along with new forms of OOH audience measurement, will be the most significant drivers, because they are critical to deliver consumer gratification in the most robust manner. However, I see a healthy future for printed OOH because these formats, too, offer many ways to drive online activation or mobile engagement.

Where’s the best coffee in DC?

I’m a tea drinker, and Teaism is a favorite – tranquil with a good selection.

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