Campaigns, Creativity, and Out of Home

OOH Creativity: Amplification & Digital Impact Insights

Out-of-home creative provides brands with the opportunity to engage with consumers in the real world and drive action. As the medium becomes increasingly digital, technology and the media landscape continue to evolve. Thus, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of the latest trends, such as AR and AI, and understand how they will influence the creativity and effectiveness of OOH.

At Advertising Week New York, Talon’s CMO, Sarah Parkes participated in a panel discussion alongside Hilary Batsel, Senior Director for Global Media at Microsoft; Maureen McCloskey, Managing Director at GroupM; and Graham Smith, Executive Director, Business Lead at VMLY&R.  The panel was moderated by Barry Frey, President & CEO of DPAA Global, and showcased how brands and agencies can leverage outstanding OOH creative. Together, they delved into how brands perceive OOH opportunities, the amplification effect, and the impact of new technologies.

What we heard…

The Power of OOH Creativity and Its Amplification Effect

“For us, it’s about the convergence of cultural moments, digital ecosystem, experience, and creativity in OOH. Budweiser came to us with The Brits as a cultural moment. We used data to find the perfect billboard site, creating a stage for non-binary and female acts. They took over for a two-hour set, streamed on digital screens outside The Brits, and was shared globally. The campaign garnered 351 million social impressions, 250 million Spotify listeners, and one artist even secured a recording contract. This is the magic of OOH and creativity.” – Sarah Parkes

Another example is a recent Talon-Shake Shack collaboration that debuted a new menu item in an interactive way.

“Shake Shack was launching their new menu item and we incorporated QR codes into our campaign, which is experiencing a resurgence in OOH creativity. We transformed it into a scavenger hunt across New York, enabling people to scan the codes and win prizes. The campaign garnered 13,500 QR code scans, with 850 prizes distributed. Having relevant digital creative amplified its effectiveness by 42%.” – Sarah Parkes

Hilary Batsel added that OOH campaigns have the ability to transcend the screen and generate additional buzz on social channels.

“Amplification has to be orchestrated and this can be effectively achieved through social media. Using digital and moving billboards is a great way to achieve scale. With OOH, how do you extend the experience beyond the physical location and reach those who aren’t there? Often, social media plays a vital role, whether it’s the brand’s promotion or the organic buzz generated by those who have seen it.” – Hilary Batsel

“The challenge we have now is how do we monetize OOH’s amplification. The brands are buying the media, but what we’re not doing is putting the right value on that social amplification. And that is absolutely huge — and this is an area that we need to collaborate on as an industry.” – Sarah Parkes

How Data and Digital Fuels OOH Creativity

As Graham Smith points out, the availability of data allows for a more informed approach across planning, buying, optimizing, and the measurement of campaigns.

“I still cherish getting clean and rich data from the agencies. I recall my early days in advertising, working on Royal Bank of Scotland billboards, where we were just trying to gather as much contextual information as possible to understand the placement of these billboards – were they along a motorway, in a town, or near a shop? So, there’s still a tremendous opportunity to use data to fuel the creative process and that’s where we should double down on.” – Graham Smith

OOH will always enable brands to create bold, unmissable moments but digitization also allows for a more nimble, contextual approach to creative.

“The visually stunning aspect of OOH hasn’t changed, and it remains a creative canvas for any creator. Now with digital, there are so many unique ways to bring stories to life. It requires developing something special for it — and when you put in the effort to make it contextually relevant, it becomes much more attention-grabbing.” – Hilary Batsel

Educating Brands and Agencies

As advancements within the medium continue to develop, education will continue to be mission-critical for the OOH industry.

“We need to educate brands and agencies on OOH and the outcomes it delivers. What really excites them is the fact that OOH operates as a full-funnel medium, offering high impact, precision, and measurability. It’s crucial to highlight these statistics, whether it’s impressions or the shift from soft metrics to solid evidence. OOH should be at the top of marketing strategies. Data accessibility, connectivity, and managing frequency with other media is something that not everyone fully understands — and it’s evolved so much.” – Sarah Parkes