Insider thanks Kevin Bartanian EVP, Sales & Business Development at StandardVision for allowing us to reprint his article.

There are several spurts of development in the Outdoor Advertising (OOH) space causing much buzz and excitement. Better metrics, more VC money for tech startups in the sector, quality inventory, and automated buying platforms (aka programmatic) top the list. However, these should not serve as weaponry against our friends in the digital (web) media world. Recently, I’ve seen too many articles enumerating the negatives of digital while promoting OOH as the ‘better’ solution. I am of the opinion that this merely serves as a distraction. If we take a gentle step back and look at the broader picture, we’ll see that we’re all on the same team. It’s not a zero-sum game – get it?

OOH is a larger than life delivery platform, not a medium. What’s key is that brands continue to become better at communicating their message to the masses. In this regard, the same key note principles apply: ads need to be in the right place with an appropriate message in the right context, and they must be delivered to the right person with an appropriate call to action. OOH and digital are both part of a spectrum of platform options that advertisers can use to get their message across.

While growth is partly attributed to advancements in audience measurement and technological capabilities, the momentum fueling the growth is the advertisers increased ability to effectively communicate their message to the masses. As this trend continues, OOH will concurrently increase its market share.

OOH—and more specifically, digital OOH—is creating new advertising opportunities at both the local and national level. Automated inventory purchase models will make a lot of the inventory more accessible, not just to larger advertisers in regional or national markets, but also to local and smaller advertisers. At the same time, the focus of the industry on viewability, targetability, software, and better measurement will drive more dollars and deliver better results.

The OOH sales pitch has evolved. Most, if not all involved in the process of selling outdoor advertising should perfect their knowledge of digital advertising, including formats, options, processes, and sales tactics. As the digital advertising pie grows, OOH professionals need to understand that ecosystem in detail so they can demonstrate that they speak the language and can provide solutions that enhance the digital offering. It’s not just about the size and location of OOH formats—it’s about the audience, the overall campaign goal, and the best positioning of appropriate formats for the audience’s needs.

I became IAB digital certified last year and I now make attending digital conferences a priority. I’d encourage any OOH professional to do the same. I also recommend that in certain cases, OOH sales teams involve staff from their technology departments when they are working on solutions for advertisers, and begin introducing unique customized packages that align with the overall goal of the brief. This will empower the media buying partner and ultimately benefit the advertiser.

Final Thoughts

Because most people are connected at any given time (smart device or computer), each individual moment has become an important part of the customer journey. The key for advertisers is to be present in all the environments where someone might be during the different stages of that experience. Those environments include city streets, central business districts, freeways, highways, and expressways, railway stations, airports, shopping centers, events, concerts, and movie theatres—all places where OOH excels as a message delivery platform. Americans spend 70% of their waking hours away from home entrenched in messages they see around them including the device in their hands. This calls for a marriage, or at least a first date, between OOH and digital, making both part of the customer journey.

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