Posts by T.C. Torres, Senior Media Planner/Buyer

Manifestation of screened interactions

March 13th, 2012 by

Screened interactions are popping up just about anywhere you can imagine. From fast food chains to high end retail stores, you can expect to have a more digitally enhanced shopping experience.

McDonald’s fast food chains in Europe have started implementing touch screen kiosks in place of humanoids to help take orders and money. “What’s next?” one might ask, computers to flip the hamburgers?

“It had to happen. Supermarkets have already started the shift in this direction, installing self-service tills so that their customers end up doing all the work.” — Giles Turnbull.

“The downsides? Hmm, touchscreen computers in a place stacked full of fried food. Sticky, greasy finger marks all over the screen. Ewww.” — Giles Turnbull.

Retailers are also jumping aboard the proverbial “touch screen” bandwagon.

“Retailers are placing interactive touch screens in and outside of stores to provide a more immersive and engaging experience.” JWT Intelligence.

The mass adoption of touch screens is escalating the number of digital screens with which consumers can potentially interact. Great! That’s just what we all need, another consumer touch point. These screens are not cheap and installation certainly isn’t free, which means that more and more of these units will begin to carry advertising to subsidize the cost. Our guess is that they will end up being a part of a digital network where you can purchase inventory in targeted locations like restaurants, retail stores and many others.

Note: Assistant Media Planner/Buyer Melody Loveday co-authored this article.

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OOH Funnel Update – 4/14/11

April 15th, 2011 by

Most of the media world’s focus in the past few years has been on the ever increasing use of online and mobile technologies. But, out-of-home is also growing like crazy, somewhat under the radar to many. Per OAAA, OOH ad spending increased in 2010 by 4.1 percent to $6.1 billion. The oldest form of media is getting a major facelift in many cases, but static boards continue to remain strong posting increases as well. All of the reported growth is not all coming from digital. Although, some of the digital offerings that exist can be very impactful and engaging if used smartly.

Here’s a site that offers up some very cool interactive sample executions. The increase in use and advancement in technology have allowed creative ideas to almost come to life with digital OOH.

Evolving tracking capabilities

Much like Eyes-On-Ratings, a technology called Eye Tracking is helping OOH vendors quantify their audience within mall settings during a consumer’s shopping experience.

In the initial study, EYE found that “shoppers do not experience advertising fatigue over the course of their shopping experience. Even when they passed an advertisement a second time, 47.8% of people took a second look – and that second look was usually twice as long as the first.”

For more information on Eye Tracking, visit: eyecorp.com

Notable Quote on OOH advertising: “More than ever, out-of-home aligns with 21st century consumers. People are always on the go and they want content in short bursts. Billboards are the original tweets: You get a quick image or piece of knowledge and you move on.” – Stephen Freitas, CMO of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America

I previously noted the growth of the medium, and wanted to put it in more context for you. In 2010, $6.1 billion was spent on OOH advertising, which accounts for 9.6 percent of total ad spending. Most people don’t realize that it’s on par with internet display ads (9.9 percent) and TV (10.3 percent)! With typically low CPM’s, broad reach and high impact, there is a reason OOH remains a strong part of the mix. IT WORKS!!!!!

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OOH Funnel Update – 1/11/11

January 12th, 2011 by

If I start by saying that everything is going digital, you probably won’t read the rest of the blog. You would probably say, “yeah I know,” and move on. But truly, if it can go digital, it is or soon will be. We all know that digital out-of-home exists in most of the top markets in the country. The expansion of the utilization of digital is where the story lies here. Some of you may have been exposed to an outdoor vendor’s online dashboard, allowing you to search for available inventory without talking to a sales representative. These dashboards are evolving to allow buyers to manage media plans, browse digital and traditional out-of-home networks, look at measurement data like EYES ON* Ratings, and access demographic information, maps, photos and videos. Here’s an article about the roll-out by Ayuda Media Systems.

*EYES ON is a comprehensive measurement system designed to be used as a currency for the buying and selling of the OOH medium. The system’s primary specifications include:

  • Audiences for billboards, posters, junior posters, transit shelters and phone kiosks.
  • Audience impressions and ratings available for each individual panel or display.
  • Demographic audiences similar to other media.
  • Reporting commercial audiences actually noticing ads.
  • Consistent reporting and detail in 200+ markets throughout the country.

Sample Executions

What would the OOH update be without a few sample executions? Check out the images below to see what some of our competition is up to.

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Digital meets the great outdoors

August 20th, 2010 by

In a time when it seems like new media vehicles present themselves every day, it’s time to give some respect to the elders in the space. Outdoor advertising is the oldest form of advertising, but it too is changing its look and offering. More and more, consumers are seeing digital outdoor boards throughout their everyday lives. It may be in the form of a billboard on the side of a highway, a screen at the grocery store check-out or even in the elevator on your way to a meeting. But like any other advertising medium, it’s not only about location but also the message.

While planning for the 2009 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open PGA tournament, we were asked to find ways to explain to the Las Vegas market that we had a solid field of top-tier players while reminding them to come out and buy tickets. We showcased the field online, made a few call-outs in print but the icing on the cake was our digital out-of-home campaign. We worked with Clear Channel Outdoor and the PGA Tour to connect the online data feeds from the PGA website to Clear Channel’s database. This connection allowed us to show a live leaderboard from the tournament throughout the digital boards utilized throughout the Las Vegas valley for our campaign. Every time our message displayed on-board, it theoretically could have been different. On Wednesday, before the tournament started, they held a celebrity pro-am. Throughout the Pro-Am, we used the same functionality, allowing consumers in the market to start getting excited about the event and everything it has to offer.

This is one simple example of creating a custom execution within an existing medium. It is important to understand the functionality of mediums and the technology that powers them. It may provide you insight into thoughts and ideas that the vendor may not have considered, creating yet another “first-ever” execution in this “old” medium or elsewhere. Moving forward, what will R&R Partners’ next out-of-the-box outdoor execution be? Is the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority going to utilize live Twitter feeds showcasing consumer thoughts on Vegas in our feeder markets (these can be filtered of course)? I challenge any and all who read this to take your next idea or campaign to the next level. Whether you plan and buy media, or help create content for us to place, bring an idea to the table that will help our clients win in ways that we imagined!

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