Top 10 Creatives in OOH: Nathan Linder
OOH Today highlights the artistry of the top creative professionals in the industry
by Amber Larkins, OOH Today
This week we wrap up our highlights of the Top 10 Creatives in Out-of-Home 2024!
Today we shine a light on Nathan Linder, Sr. Art Director/Eastern PA and Norfolk Region at Adams Outdoor Advertising.
“Creative” is a label people often use to describe Nathan Linder. He discovered his passion for advertising in college and enjoys a career where he can contribute and lead in a creative environment. Though he often doodles during sales meetings, his true passion is using Outdoor Advertising to provoke, amaze, and enlighten.
“The secret sauce? It’s that spin on the client’s message they weren’t expecting but still ticks all of the boxes they requested. It’s that moment you reveal the creative and see that lightbulb of inspiration switch on in their eyes,” Linder said.
Linder is an award-winning creative professional. He has won multiple AAF Greater Lehigh Valley Silver and Gold ADDY awards, including a BEST IN SHOW. He was nominated for 7 and won 3 OBIEs:
- 2019 billboard for Emmaus High School’s production of West Side Story
- 2018 billboard for Natürlich Amish Yogurts
- 2017 digital billboards countdown for lehighvalleyzombies.com
Most recently, the Allentown Fair won top honors at The IAFE (International Association of Fairs & Expositions) Communications Awards for “No A.I.” campaign.
Linder believes that sales and awards are both important. They feed into each other, becoming a “chicken or the egg” situation.
“If it’s not sold, it doesn’t hit the streets. If it’s not on the streets, then no award,” Linder said. “Although, showing a client what award-winning creative looks like can lead to a signed contract. They want us to be just as creative for them.”
He says the most crucial ingredient for a great campaign is client input. The advertiser should find out the general message they want to convey. Are they open to humor? Who is their target audience? What type of messaging is their competition currently utilizing?
But there are also some basic tenets to adhere to in OOH advertising. For example, everyone believes that a billboard should be legible. This is objective.
“However, multiple designers can be asked to execute the same piece– all very readable, but each chose a different font. Which is the most appropriate to use? Which captures the tone of the headline the best? That’s where the subjective comes into play. So, design can be both,” Linder said. “Ultimately, it’s the client’s call.
Linder thinks AI is an interesting tool to assist design, but sometimes it goes too far.
“There’s no denying it’s helpful for tasks like editing photos where the subject’s arm is cropped or expanding a background to fill space,” Linder said. “However, when entire ads are generated using AI, I feel that’s a little overkill.”
In Linder’s interview, he had some advice for Sales Reps: “Take Creatives on your discovery calls. Get them in front of clients. Ask them to present their own creative. Let them see sunlight! You won’t regret it.”
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