Here is a superb post on the Creative Process by Jodi Senese, CMO for OUTFRONT Media.
Yes it is OUTFRONT Media centric but more focused on #OOH and the value of Creative. Bad creative hurts everyone in the Industry. As Jodi says, it denigrates the medium. Consider the Client / Agency Marketing Directors who will not meet with your sales teams because of all the crap creative on the street he/ she sees everyday, believing that is OOH’s lot in life. They don’t eat outdoor advertising everyday like we all do. Check out Jodi Senese’s perspective. This is well worth the read.
Our award-winning team is proof of what happens when the creative process is done right: the outcome is powerful and the client wins.
By: Jodi Senese, CMO, OUTFRONT Media
Creative is THE it-factor in out-of-home (OOH).
Creative is equal parts risk and reward. Done wrong it’s a waste of a client’s money and it denigrates the medium. Done right it can be the shot heard around the world.
We’ve seen it happen both ways.
Done right, we’ve collaborated on campaigns crafted so expertly, there’s a laser-like focus on the creative (inclusive of the placement) that creates a huge impact. It results in social amplification impressions and a level of engagement that is simply unparalleled. Recent Alexa and Smirnoff ads are “poster child” examples that come to mind, and brands like Apple, Miller, and Coors have been getting it right for years.
The other end of the spectrum can be aesthetically grim. Why is this? For starters, the best OOH design is an oxymoron of sorts; the largest creative canvasses in adland demand the least amount of copy! To the uninitiated, a big canvas is tempting to fill with a lot of information and detail which become unreadable at 65 miles per hour.
a big canvas is tempting to fill with a lot of information and detail which become unreadable at 65 miles per hour.
Bad OOH creative is not just the domain of local advertisers; national advertisers can err too, although it’s usually for different reasons. As #OOH is often part of an integrated campaign, some brands will simply reformat a print ad— with fonts designed for that medium—but that doesn’t translate well. We see both scenarios with alarming frequency and neither bodes well for the client or the medium.
Yes, in OOH creative is THE thing. It is so important that it can render the best data useless. An unreadable ad in front of the exact target audience, is still an unreadable ad.
Yes, in OOH creative is THE thing. It is so important that it can render the best data useless. An unreadable ad in front of the exact target audience, is still an unreadable ad.
We believe all our customers have the absolute right to the best creative possible. And with our name on every one of our assets coast to coast, we also believe that our brand deserves to be seen in the best light. OOH is simply far too visible to suffer from bad creative; unlike other media, sub-par creative is not relegated to the 2AM slot or an invisible banner ad.
We are always there, always on, always real.
Three years ago, we decided to shift the landscape. We created OUTFRONT Studios, an in-house team of talented and skilled creatives who share a strong passion for the art of OOH. This team, led by Eddy Herty, is connected, collaborative, competitive, and client-focused. Our creative department has been game-changing to our approach and the results speak for themselves. For decades, OOH companies have employed ‘creatives’ as a service for local clients who did not have access to creative talent. That’s not our approach. Instead of a back office, post-sale function, OUTFRONT Studios is a driver for the medium and works with all customers from the hyper local to national level.
Our award-winning team is proof of what happens when the creative process is done right: the outcome is powerful and the client wins. And in a media environment with different (and seemingly opposed) ways in which customers engage with advertising, especially with increasingly disparate screen sizes, the laser-focus on how to create for our medium has become even more critically important. And thanks to OUTFRONT Studios, the game has indeed changed.
But don’t just take our word for it. Take a look at our campaigns, an image can speak for itself.
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