This week’s key themes seemed to revolve around circumvention. How can we get around (or over) that 4% slice of the ad pie wall? Is static really slow? How can billboards be used to break the rules and question assumptions? Please read this weekly recap of the top OOH stories you may have missed and colorful commentary from BB.  

1. Moving Beyond 4%

The use of a consistent data set is essential for avoiding potential mismatches in datasets that could compromise the understanding of campaign results. However, the adoption of this principle in OOH has been slow and fragmented, with a patchwork of approaches. There is no comprehensive suite of planning metrics and attribution reporting seamlessly integrated using the same dataset. Some reasons OOH veterans are slow to adopt consistent datasets include change aversion, contractual challenges, and facing the reality that the product being sold might not deliver as expected. OOH will not grow and survive if it does not begin using a consistent dataset.

BB’s Take: Sorry Drew and crew, data, attribution, measurement and planning are NOT the holy grail to solving OOH’s 4% wall. But what I am not sorry to say, is the cheap shot that you say if someone fails to adopt or is slow to adopt as you write, the person “OOH veterans” are the problem because they are against it. The reasoning that you use, ‘that you are right and if anyone disagrees with you is old, slow or unadaptable’ is simply baloney. What a cheap shot. My 8-year-old grandson used to say if you don’t agree with me then there is something wrong with you.  He’s since outgrown that.

Plain and simple there is no silver bulletin to solving the 4% wall. And might I add that your argument supporting ‘data’ as the solution is less convincing knowing that it is your position as a measurement business and of course, you are going to say measurement and data is the solution.  The reality is, the 4% wall is not going to be solved as you suggest and if you had more experience in selling OOH you would most likely be aware of what the solution is. 

2. Think Static Means Slow? Think Again. 

Last-minute requests are not new in OOH, but they do seem to be getting closer and closer to the absolute last minute. Big City Outdoor may have less inventory than some other media suppliers, but they focus on prime locations and markets in “Big Cities.” For fashion week, they managed to plan, print, and install a static campaign in just one day. With clients expecting similar timelines for digital and static ads, are suppliers poised to move quickly?

BB’s Take: Nice, heartfelt story. But doesn’t everyone do this?  In my experience speaking with and listening to OOH Owners across the country for the last 43 years and particularly the last 6 years with OOH Today, the type of turn time Big City speaks to is relatively commonplace as it needs to be to win business. The real advantage of digital over static is the speed for sure but more so the flexibility of delivering changing copy daily, hourly, by the minute and in mass. Static is not going to do that. Static has its place in the Industry obviously. Speed is not going to carry the day.

3. Dove Campaign Targets Foreign Tourists to Question Stereotypes About Brazilian Women’s Bodies During Carnival

Dove launched a campaign, #RealBrazilianWomen, which questions the sexualization of Brazilian women by foreign tourists. The campaign aims to broaden the debate, raise awareness, and spark reflection on the topic both within and outside the country. The campaign ran from February 10th through the 14th, as that is Carnaval – the time of year when Brazil receives the most tourists.

BB’s Take: OK, I get the campaign and a B+ for effort.  But Dove/Soko/Unilever as much as I appreciate all the photos that were provided for our readers, too many of those pictures which were provided, appeared contrary to the campaign’s message. Look at the people women in the photos who were around the billboards. Come On Man! 

4. Billboards Help Circumvent The “Don’t Say Period Bill” In Florida

In 2023, Florida passed a bill that restricts menstruation education for students below ninth grade. A global youth-powered nonprofit called PERIOD partnered with OHG’s Purpose Group to take action in Florida through Sans Period. Sans period is a secret font that replaces period punctuation with period education. Students can download fonts to receive menstruation education. Two digital billboards that use this typeface are running in Jacksonville, Florida. The billboards help PERIOD connect with students from 7 am to 8 am when they are en route to school.

BB’s Take: It’s 2024 and the State of Florida is prohibiting educational people from saying the word ‘Period’ as in Menstrual Period. You can’t be serious!? So happy they used billboards to get the word out. I wish they were more creative and bolder with the message. It’s a start. 

Did we miss something you think is important? What do you think were the top stories of the week? Let us know in the comments below.

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