by Nick Coston
Each year as a combo media buyer and salesperson, I do my best to see which products, which revenue streams, which companies, which brands are the hot ones. Year over year, that trophy doesn’t change all that much as it appears to only move the needle every three years or so.
While I like to think of myself as a student of OOH media, reflecting on these past three years alone, I’ve come up with a few lists. Everybody loves lists, easy to write, easy to read and digest. Last May 15th on my weekly Substack, I wrote a piece titled The Magnificent Seven. Yes, it was a list, titled The Top Seven Amazing Peeps (in OOH).
Big hit, winners well deserved.
This brings me to today. Recently, a brand asked me what’s the absolute hottest OOH product on the market today? There is absolutely nothing scientific about this top spot, it’s purely based on conversations, who’s showing up at conferences, who’s posting product photos on social media and what brands are using them more. Most importantly, who’s showing up more on OOH media buys.
My answer was quick and simple. Using my crude and completely unscientific criteria, mobile truck advertising companies, whether they are digital or static are in the lead.
By a lot.
Walk or drive by any large event, be it sports, the auto show, political campaigns, CES, POSSIBLE or OAAA Conferences, you’ll find mobile advertising trucks outside. Book it.
Simply look at the growth of mobile truck networks in the last 3 years alone, companies like LED Truck Media, Can’t Miss Us, Rolling Box Media, Lime Media, LUX Media, Adgile Media, MVS Media Group, Legend LED Trucks, FLO Advertising and Do It Outdoors to name a few. In fact, I’ve been working with or around the granddaddy of them all, Do It Outdoors since I got into OOH in 2001 when they were the mobile truck company of choice for Clear Channel Outdoor on the East Coast. In fact, Do It Outdoors has gone a lot further than traditional OOH, developing “Shadowfencing” that provides a true digital aspect for OOH where you walk away with the info on your mobile device, creating a moving geofence, increasing engagement. Shadowfencing sends digital ad display messages, first party data, when shoppers are within 300 ft of their mobile billboards.
Who’s still around since 2001 other than the legacy OOH media owners? They are. Since 1997 to be precise. Nearly thirty years later, look at the impact that mobile billboard trucks have made in our industry and how important they are in today’s OOH media plans.
As advocacy and political advertising push more OOH-style buys, mobile trucks have become an indispensable ad vehicle. They can get into areas where there’s no political copy allowed, especially the more controversial advocacy copy that some traditional media owners won’t take, and if it’s digital, they can be up and running in a matter of days with multiple copy, using the swarm method (multiple trucks) and without fear of most zoning regs or traditional OOH blackout areas. They can park smack dab in front of the U.S. Capitol or drive up and down the Las Vegas Strip. Some, like Las Vegas based FLO Advertising, use the Hypervsn 3D holographic technology in their displays.
It’s hands down who’s got the hottest hand, don’t you think?
Insider’s Note: Nick Coston has been writing opinion pieces for the OOH industry for 10 years now. His weekly pieces also appear on Substack where you can view the last 2 years worth. Full-time, Nick is the VP, Sales and Sales Strategies for Moving Walls, the Singapore based media and ad tech giant, here in The America’s.
If you are interested, here is Nick’s Substack LINK
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