Out-Of-Home:NOW 2016 with Fred Schonenberg

By Fred Schonenberg, Founder | VentureFuel

Fred Schonenberg.jpg

@FredSchonenberg

Imagine it is the year 2026; tell us how out-of-home is being used and what impact it is making?

OOH will become the nucleus of a complex spider web of connected devices and remain one of the only mass-reach formats. Smart glasses, watches, wearables, ingestibles and autonomous cars will all connect dynamically to digital out-of-home screens (some of which will be virtual, augmented or supported with mixed realities). The devices will inform creative with artificial intelligence gathered around purchase habits, social media likes, commuter paths and other data we create as we move through our daily lives.

 

As out-of-home continues to evolve, combining the art and science of technology, what is it that excites you most about out-of-home?

As marketers, we have more data on consumers then was fathomable even months ago. But we are just figuring out how to leverage AI to make sense of the disparate streams of information. As that improves, creatives can tell stories in ways that speak directly to their audiences. The art, will become more and more important as the ability to convert new consumers will become more difficult. OOH will be one of the great mass-reach vehicles giving creatives a unique canvas on which to tell more informed and more compelling stories.

 

Out-of-home is everywhere but a lot of consumers are focusing on something else – their phone, driving…what should marketers do to maximize out-of-home reach?

They should be great. The days of lazy marketing are over. The days of advertisers dictating to consumers is finished. Mobile companies are crying about the fragmentation of their audience, the size of their screens. Digital and TV are freaking out around mobile. Every silo of advertising is squeezed because the model has been flipped. You can’t put a poor advertisement on any format and have it work anymore. But when you are great, truly inspiring and authentic – the scale is there. People will find you. OOH is one of the few non-intrusive ad formats people can glance at and decide to opt-in. Great art – people will stair at for hours, will share, will talk about. Marketers need to be great. Great at creative, storytelling, location, data, calls-to-action – everything.

 

What do brands need to do to make sure they reach the right audience at the right time in the right place?

First they need to make sense of all the data they have been collecting from disparate sources and analyze their consumer in terms of targeting, but also preferences, spending habits, and when is the right time to influence them. Each product, each brand, each consumer will be different – but if brands can decipher clusters of the right consumer and engage them in a way they enjoy then everyone wins. I would also recommend engaging them in unexpected ways. Delight them with new technology, value add in that right moment so that it becomes a life-long relationship rather than a one-off sales pitch.