OUTFRONT Media Moving Digital Beyond Advertising

OUTFRONT wants to avoid ‘outdoor ad overload’ adding more editorial content

In an effort to deliver more than just advertising to urban consumers, OUTFRONT Media today launched a content program to infuse editorial content amidst advertisements across major metro transit areas. First up in the new program is the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and features iconic works from the famous museum’s art collection across the New York MTA, Metro North Railroad and Long Island Railroad.

Leveraging digital screens in public transit stations across the country (including major metros of Boston, Washington, D.C. and the San Francisco Bay Area), the new content program gives brands the opportunity to connect with consumers beyond advertisements and uses creative to engage new audiences.

avoid ‘outdoor ad overload’ adding more editorial content

OUTFRONT Media Kicks Off its NY Content Program with the Museum of Modern Art as Launch Partner

NEW YORK — OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE: OUT) announced the launch of its content program aimed at providing curated content to entertain, inform and engage audiences in transit environments. The material has been designed to earn the attention of subway riders with content that is visually engaging, relevant and of value to the transit rider. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will kick off the program, bringing renowned works from their collection out into the city for its residents and visitors to enjoy.

 

The project begins with a selection of works, including Vincent van Gogh’s iconic The Starry Night and James Turrell’s celebrated Meeting. Commuters will be able to take in beloved works of art from MoMA’s collection featured on OUTFRONT’s Liveboard digital displays in subway stations throughout New York City, as well as Metro North Railroad and Long Island Railroad stations and within cars, as the screens are fitted. MoMA will share a new compilation every month, including paintings, sculpture, animation and full motion video.

“We are excited by this opportunity to bring our collection out into the city. We hope it brings a moment of inspiration and enjoyment to New Yorkers as well as visitors to our city,” said Rob Baker, Director of Marketing and Creative Strategy at MoMA.

OUTFRONT is championing the use of the out-of-home to improve the quality of audiences’ on-the-go experiences with more than just engaging advertising content.

OUTFRONT is championing the use of the out-of-home to improve the quality of audiences’ on-the-go experiences with more than just engaging advertising content.

“The growth of digital out-of-home allows the media to become a vibrant channel that informs and entertains audiences with compelling and relevant content. We’re always honored to partner with organizations like MoMA that are just as passionate about what they do as we are,” said Jason Kuperman, Chief Product Experience Officer of OUTFRONT Media. “Being able to deliver museum-worthy art installations in a transit environment improves people’s experiences in these spaces and provides value for the entire ecosystem of content partners, audiences, transit authorities and advertisers.”

Not limited to New York City, OUTFRONT plans to include similar content across its digital network for consumers in metros and towns across the country. OUTFRONT plans to expand the types of curated content categories based on the needs and interests of transit riders.

“At the MTA, we are always looking for ways to improve our commuters’ journeys and OUTFRONT’s digital displays and the added content that comes along with them are a big part of this’” said Janno Lieber, Chief Development Officer at the State of NY MTA. “With these screens we are able to share moments of interest and fun with our riders, similar to the art and poetry they have come to expect from our system.”

One of the biggest outdoor media companies is adorning subway stations with more than just advertising.

Outfront Media announced a partnership on Monday that will feature iconic works from the Museum of Modern Art on digital screens in public transit stations and within some train cars across the New York MTA, Metro North Railroad and Long Island Railroad. The deal is part of a new program meant to explore ways that Outfront can add more editorial content to its digital billboards in major metro areas across the country, such as Boston, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The museum will curate a new selection of artworks for the billboards each month, including paintings, sculptures, animation and video. The inaugural collection includes Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night and James Turrell’s Meeting. MoMA is not paying Outfront for the deal, and placements won’t be specifically targeted—although Outfront said it is considering the possibility for content deals in the future.

Outdoor advertising has traditionally been unique among mass media in that the advertising is the main attraction—there are no news articles, TV shows or other content around which to advertise. But Outfront Chief Product Experience Officer Jason Kuperman said that could change as digital programming and more advanced targeting make it easier to deliver a more nuanced experience to each screen placement.

“We figured as we move into faster, vaster deployments of digital out-of-home, we have an opportunity to mix a little bit and to start including content with the advertising to increase the attention that the advertising earns from audiences,” Kuperman said. “We’re looking across a typical programming spectrum across everything from art, sports and entertainment to news and fiction, non-fiction—all kinds of content types.”

While most outdoor companies have dabbled in simple pieces of feed content like weather forecasts, sports scores and horoscopes, Kuperman said Outfront is hoping to experiment with much more complex formats like native content, sponsored visuals and more in-depth, unpaid editorial.

“What we’re trying to do with the deployments is provide content that is a little more unique and can surprise and delight,” he said.

While most outdoor companies have dabbled in simple pieces of feed content like weather forecasts, sports scores and horoscopes, Kuperman said Outfront is hoping to experiment with much more complex formats like native content, sponsored visuals and more in-depth, unpaid editorial.

“What we’re trying to do with the deployments is provide content that is a little more unique and can surprise and delight,” he said.

But the project isn’t just about drawing more eyeballs to screens in the short-term. Digital out-of-home industry figures like to tout their product as the only digital medium that can’t be avoided with an ad blocker, but people may start to feel overwhelmed and tune out as screens proliferate their daily lives. Kuperman is hoping more engaging models of content and ad delivery can help mitigate that effect.

“We feel like we have a profound responsibility that as we put digital in all these places that people are going to encounter it, that we keep an eye on the experience we are creating,” Kuperman said.