It’s time to think some more about Out-Of-Home advertising.

While marketers continue to agonize about their inability to translate the potential of social media to actual sales, they may be missing out on opportunities in traditional media.  Out-Of-Home (OOH) is one of those media.  There is no doubt that it has been gaining traction as a mass media as television audiences continue to decline and fragment.  But I still wonder if it is getting the attention it deserves.

Recently several articles have discussed the value (and cost) of advertising in New York City’s Times Square.  And indeed the amount of traffic it attracts is powerful.  But the biggest eye opener for me was an article from the Wall Street Journal that discussed Verizon’s Precision Market Insights.  The product allows malls, stadium and billboard owners access to data about the activities and backgrounds of cellphone users in particular locations.  (Troianovski, 2013)

Connecting advertising exposure with action is huge.  The Phoenix Suns are apparently using the data to map where attendees live so that they can increase advertising in areas that haven’t met expectations.  Interesting.  But what really caught my eye was this – The average increase in traffic at a fast food chain was 8.4% within 24 hours of a promotion at a game.  That’s impressive and certainly worth a closer look.  Don’t you agree?

Troianovski, A. (2013, may 22)  Phone Firms Sell data on Customers.  Wall Street Journal.  p. B1

Psst. Those missing 18-49 year-olds are watching Univision.

Now that the 2012/2013 television season is wrapping up, some interesting data on audience trends has emerged.  While the traditional networks continue to lose 18-49 year-olds, Univision and Telemundo are showing gains among this key demographic.  (Hagey, 2013)

Here are the specifics:

Losers

CBS: - 3%

Fox: -22%

NBC: -7%

ABC: -9%

Winners

Univision: +1%

Telemundo: +7%

Latinos currently make up 19% of 18-49 year-olds.  But, nearly a quarter of Americans age 6-34 are Latinos.  (Loechner, 2013)  And, 25% of all births in America today are to Latinos.  (Lukovitz, 2013)  So we can expect those numbers to keep going up.

Advertisers clearly need to tune in.  Are you?

Hagey, K.  (2013, May 6)  English Ads on Spanish TV? Wall Street Journal.  p B7

Loechner, J. (2013, April 23)  A Fourth of Americans Age 6 to 34 Are Hispanic.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/198573/a-fourth-of-americans-age-6-to-34-are-hispanic.html#axzz2U3Pj1pvb

Lukovitz, K. (2013, April 9)  Beech-Nut, Goya Team On Hispanic Baby Food Line.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/197668/beech-nut-goya-team-on-hispanic-baby-food-line.html#axzz2U3Pj1pvb

Can an original song sell Oreos?

Still basking in the afterglow from the success of its Super Bowl power outage tweet, Oreo seems to have gotten its mojo back.  Now they are celebrating with an original song fans can download for free.  Before you get too excited, you should know that while it’s being performed by Adam Young of Owl City it was written by a creative director at The Martin Agency -- Dave Muhlenfeld.  (Lukovitz, 2013)

It’s cute, but once was certainly enough for me. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/Oreo

So, what do you think?  Will you download the “Wonderfilled Anthem?”  More importantly will you buy some Oreos to eat while you listen to it?

Lukovitz, K. (2013, May 14)  Oreo Unveils Animated ‘Wonderfilled’ Campaign.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved May 15, 2013, from  http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/200289/oreo-unveils-animated-wonderfilled-campaign.html#axzz2TOZwfyP5

What will the neighbors think?

Scotts LawnService has just launched a digital campaign featuring 15 second online videos interviewing real people talking about the worst lawn on their block.  The tagline is: “Get The Lawn Your Neighbors Expect.” And the implication is that people will judge you based on your lawn. (Greenberg, 2013)

While we have discussed using the fact that some men are extremely competitive about their lawns as a consumer insight for Scotts, we have not discussed approaching those who feel differently.  So what do you think?  Can these guys be shamed into cleaning up their act?

Greenberg, K. (2013, May 2)  Scotts LawnService: What Will The Neighbors Think?  mediapost.com.  Retrieved May 8, 2013, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/199447/scotts-lawnservice-what-will-the-neighbors-think.html?edition=59538#axzz2SidEE0tP

Will RadioShack’s partnership with Beats bring Gen Y into the store?

In an effort to connect with younger customers, RadioShack has announced a partnership with Beats.  The campaign includes tv commercials that play homage to Robin Thicke’s latest single “Blurred Lines.”  Here’s the link to the video, which has racked up over 8 million views since March.

http://vimeo.com/63173106

And here’s the commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbtewxfcptw

Customers will be given access to an exclusive remix of the Thicke song with purchase.  Behind the scenes videos will be posted on Facebook, and a social media campaign will feature the chance to win tickets to a future show. (Baar, 2013)

So, what do you think?  Will it work?  Is music a good way to connect with this audience?

Baar, A. (2013, May 1)  RadioShack Aims Younger With Thicke, Beats.  mediapost.com.  Retrived May 1, 2013, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/199266/radioshack-aims-younger-with-thicke-beats.html?edition=59429#axzz2S3IMQE4d