OOH:NOW – Gaining Momentum & Market Share 2019
Hilary Fischer-Groban, Brand Director, Thinx Inc.
1. As Out-of-Home continues to evolve, combining the art and science of technology, how should both the buy and sell sides be framing themselves for this new era of OOH transaction?
We are continuously evolving our approach to OOH to perform in line with the rest of our digital and offline channels, while respecting the unique creative imperatives that OOH entails. This means those of us on the buy-side are evaluating our OOH buys with similar metrics to the rest of our channels, like efficiency, and reach, and experimenting with cadence and targeting.
Also, speed and relationship building are crucial. Today’s marketers move quickly, and being in close touch with sell-side agencies and reps leads to more opportunity for immediate placement and results.
2. What do you think is on the mind of BRANDS in relation to out-of-home?
At Thinx Inc., we are on a mission to empower every body through innovative solutions and social change. We accomplish this through our groundbreaking products and through the conversations we start. OOH fits beautifully into our advertising portfolio as we raise awareness for our brand, but also as we look at more general category awareness and public interest. Getting people talking about periods and bladder leaks in the public arena is the first step in a journey toward learning about our brand, and our products.
For many brands like ours that scrutinize every marketing dollar, we need moments that can be multiplied through social media, press hits, reposts, and ideally, virality. Those also layer more touchpoints that can be quantified and tracked, which help build a more robust dashboard for success.
3. What is re-energizing the creative community to maximize out-of-home?
Our creative team loves diving into the challenge of creating a huge public splash with a product that, at its core, is designed to not look differentiated (even though our period underwear now absorbs up to four tampons’ worth!). This means we need to draw eyeballs in through other methods like messaging, poses, design, and styling.
We work to show periods and bladder leaks through an elevated but realistic lens. People respond to this in OOH. You can point to it with your friends and say, Oh, I totally get that feeling, I want to learn more. We see that so much in campaigns we love now, the relatability, the commonalities bringing together ordinary experiences. The best OOH creative these days isn’t about sell sell sell — it’s more about community building and sharing.
4. How do you define what it means to be a “modern marketer” today?
For me, being a modern marketer is about three core fundamentals: using data and testing, being nimble, and being responsible. Especially at a digitally native brand, I have a wealth of customer data and research opportunities. This is where most of our major marketing pushes begin. We test everything, from big bets to minor tweaks. It’s important to stay nimble (and humble too!) as we have more tools than ever at our disposal. Nothing is off-limits, from the more traditional channels like TV and OOH, to cutting-edge retargeting. Additionally, I think about my responsibility to shape a more equitable world through the marketing stories I produce. How can our campaigns create the inclusive world we deserve? How can we use our platforms for social good?
5. We are creating a “Media Archive” section on our website featuring our event speakers’ current favorite book, blog, television show, podcast. As we wrap up the year, do you have one to share with us?
Brand Thinking, by Debbie Millman.