Return of the brand

Iain Chapman, sales director, Ocean Outdoor, takes a look back at 2009 and tells us what to expect from outdoor next year.

Outdoor advertising has received quite a hard time in the trade press in 2009, with changes of ownership among the major companies, high profile personnel casualties and revenues having fallen after years of consistent growth. But just like every other marketing discipline, it has been forced to adapt in order to survive and there has been a significant increase in clients using 6 sheets and retail targeted formats in order to ensure ROI and a huge increase in expenditure in the digital OOH sector.

The media owners who have invested in new formats and technology are winning the plaudits, and the evolution of digital has seen a diverse cross-section of significant brands and new clients dipping their toe into outdoor. More importantly, the way that this space is sold is changing, with ownerships of hourly, time or date specific slots now available to brands. This new creative use of the digital portfolio means that brands can be much more selective about how they are targeting consumers in a way that has not previously been available to them.

Despite outdoor as a whole undergoing a difficult year, we have still seen a requirement from clients for high profile branded advertising, and the sectors that have been particularly active are media/entertainment, mobile telecommunications for both hardware and networks suppliers, and IT. Recession or not, iconic and bespoke sites provide the perfect platform to pique the interest of millions and allow advertisers to think creatively about how to use these sites and effectively communicate with their audience.

With the disruption in the marketplace and so much competition for any disposable income, new opportunities have arisen as consumers look to reappraise their engagement in brands they can trust. Brands that are heavily watered down and try to overextend their identity are not fairing so well, and with this in mind the successful brands are those that are heading back to their core offering and reinventing it, making it key in their consumer’s mind.

For example, take the IMAX on Waterloo Roundabout in central in London, the largest single outdoor site in the UK and a significant investment for clients. Despite the recession, this site has seen an array of companies advertising including Budweiser, Sony Pictures, Apple, H&M, Cadbury, Blackberry and Nestle. Cadbury returned to its roots by re-launching the well known face of the Cadbury bunny for its Easter campaign, promoting the Cadbury Caramel. This was swiftly followed by a campaign from Nestle for Kit-Kat Caramel Chunky, as brands competed to push their core offerings to consumers through the highly impactful and premium location, which targets a desirable audience near the South Bank centre.

We have recently launched the most high profile, large format digital billboards available in the UK along the A4/M4 corridor and will continue to invest in the portfolio, the technology and site presentation. These are in addition to a digital site that we operate on Holland Park Roundabout that comprises three individual screens, which, when first used may have had three identical ads running. Creative departments in the advertising industry are getting more used to making tailored digital OOH advertising and we have seen some fantastic integrated campaigns that run across the three panels that are linked together as well as other digital sites and formats.

So what else can we expect from outdoor in the future? Well, we expect to see the return of investment and significant spend from traditional outdoor sectors such as motoring and finance, and as we are approaching the end of the year we are also seeing more investment companies beginning to advertise. It is highly likely that spend on digital formats will continue to increase dramatically and we will see significant reinvestment from mobile telecommunications companies as the mobile marketing space becomes more competitive then ever before.

It is also going to be interesting to see the effects of the World Cup in South Africa on outdoor advertising, which traditionally has seen more of a decrease in advertising spend than other sectors. Historically sporting events have seen TV and press increase share but the trend is also moving towards outdoor, supported by online and TV, with outdoor media owners making more flexible campaigns available and digital OOH offering up to date and almost ‘live’ updates on the roadside and the transport network.

Essentially, what outdoor is going to see even more frequently as we move in to 2010 is the return of brand promotion through large format iconic advertising, as clients look to flex their muscles as we leave the recession behind and consumers look to strongly performing and nostalgic brands that they can trust and that have heritage.