In fact, advertisers are expected to spend more than $8b on OOH advertising this year, bringing it back to pre-pandemic levels.

Jodi Senese, chief marketing officer of Outfront Media, said, “People are back out of home again in huge waves due to a combination of vaccines and pent-up energy. We are seeing an amazing rebound in all markets.”

For OOH advertising companies like Outfront Media, the return to “normal” brings a sigh of relief. According to the company, revenue declined by 32.7% in 2021.

Advertisers are excited, too.

In fact, a study found that 93% of advertisers plan to allocate 5% or more of their marketing budgets to OOH this year.

The growth of OOH is hard to ignore, but why are many B2B brands opting for it when there are so many more “future-facing” formats available?

What’s OOH Advertising?

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is any ad seen outside someone’s home. Traditional examples of OOH advertising include billboards and signage on bus shelters. With the rise of digital and programmatic technology, OOH advertising has spread its wings to include geofencing, tracking, retargeting, personalization, attribution, and measurement.

Examples of B2B OOH Advertising

MediaRadar team members spotted these B2B creatives out in the wild this week: 

Zoho One

Zoho One provides integrated software for sales, marketing, support, accounting, operations, and HR. Zoho spends under $100 million in advertising every year across multiple formats. 

Looker

Looker is a “business intelligence software and big data analytics platform that helps you explore, analyze and share real-time business analytics.” The B2B brand doesn’t have much of an advertising profile, but Google bought Looker Data Sciences earlier this year, meaning expanded marketing efforts.

Walkme

WalkMe is a software-as-a-service company that helps users navigate the features of other web-based services.

Outfront Media

Outfront Media owns OOH advertising space across the Continental US. Advertisers can choose from billboards, digital display, transit ads (like this one in a subway station,) street furniture, sporting arenas, and more.

monday.com

monday.com is a team management platform that helps businesses stay organized. They offer template solutions for many use cases, including client projects, product management, sales pipeline tracking, recruiting, and many more.

Lattice

Lattice is a San Fancisco -based software-as-a-service startup that facilitates performance management. Their solution aids in the process of performance reviewing, goal setting, offering feedback, 1:1 meetings, praise, and updates.

Here’s another great example of OOH advertising (not seen by our team in NYC):

The Trade Desk

The Trade Desk (TTD) tapped into OOH advertising to reach brands, media agencies, and commuters in New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Chicago. The campaign, “What Matters,” delivered programmatic OOH ads on digital panels on bus shelters, newsstands, elevators, and lobby screens. The campaign also included connected TV (CTV), YouTube, and online video.

Why Is OOH Advertising So Hot Among B2B Brands?

Social media. YouTube. OTT. Display. Podcasts.

All of these digital ecosystems offer incredibly powerful ads—and spending on them makes it abundantly clear that advertisers know that.

OTT ads, for example, are expected to generate nearly $10 billion in 2023 and account for 3.4% of all digital ad spending (10.2% of total video ad spending).

Meanwhile, YouTube’s advertising revenue amounted to around $29.24b despite an 8% decline in Q4.

With all that’s available, why are B2B advertisers opting for OOH advertising?

Two primary reasons:

1. The technology is improving
2. Other digital ecosystems are getting crowded (and expensive)

Technology Improvements

Historically, pundits of OOH advertising cited a lack of measurement and targeting as reasons to allocate ad dollars elsewhere.

Think about it: If you through up a billboard in a popular spot in town, how would you know the right people are seeing it? More importantly, how would you know it’s working?

You wouldn’t.

As OOH advertising levels up, the possibilities and impact are growing.

B2B advertising tools now focus on enabling B2B advertisers to plan and purchase out-of-home ads, build the format into their cross-channel campaigns and even place OOH ads programmatically via platforms like The Trade Desk. 

OOH is also more measurable than it used to be. As Heller points out: “Using technology and data, brands can target and measure impressions; attribute online and offline activity to OOH advertising exposure; and retarget people who have seen OOH ads.” 

Crowded—and expensive—digital ecosystems

No one will ever deny the impact and ROI of digital ads, B2B advertisers included. Ad spend wouldn’t be increasing if the return wasn’t there.

That popularity, however, is a double-edged sword. While digital ads work, they’re all delivered in increasingly crowded ecosystems. There are so many ads that some people actually become “blind” to them—it’s called banner blindness.

People are growing tired of ads, some of which has to do with rising ad loads.

On top of that, ads are getting expensive. That’s always been a deterring factor, but given the state of the economy and declining ad budgets, the rising costs may be hard to stomach.

These reasons will continue to push B2B advertisers toward more cost-efficient formats. OOH advertising falls into that category.

OOH Advertising Takes B2B Advertisers Back to Their Roots

“B2B marketers have never been accused of being flashy or adventurous. Most of the time, they focus on driving measurable results in the most efficient way possible,” writes James Heller at MarTechSeries. These ‘more efficient’ approaches typically include direct mail, content marketing and account-based marketing. 

Heller goes on: “OOH advertising, on the other hand, has traditionally been thought of as a consumer marketing tactic. But that is changing, especially for technology companies. It’s more straightforward and measurable than ever before.”

OOH seems to be a popular option for B2B advertisers looking to think outside the box a little, and the strategy seems to work. 

Nielsen found that 33 percent of a B2B audience looked up information on an advertiser after seeing an out-of-home ad. Nearly a quarter visited the advertiser’s website, and 15 percent visited the advertiser’s social media page. 

So, while OOH advertising brings B2B brands somewhat back to their traditional roots, it’s also clear that it’s bringing them into the future.

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

More specifically, it is focused on vehicle-mounted digital billboards (like a techy update to the New York City taxi-top ads we’ve seen for decades). 

How else has OOH changed with new ad tech since then? 

Until the startup started pushing forward with New York taxis, it had largely worked with individual rideshare drivers. According to Anthony Ha at TechCrunch, the company “works with drivers for Uber, Lyft and other services to install a “digital smart screen” that can run targeted, geofenced advertising from companies like Brex, Segment, Caviar and Zumper.”

In other words, Firefly combines two existing ad tech solutions: digital out-of-home ads and programmatic platforms based on robust audience data. 

It’s a promising move forward for OOH advertising.

What’s Digital Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising?

Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is a subset of out-of-home (OOH) advertisers that delivers ads dynamically and digitally in outdoor and public spaces, including billboards, signage on buses, and in-elevator screens.

The Trade Desk and Dallas Cowboys embrace digital OOH advertising

The Trade Desk (TTD) used DOOH advertising to reach brands, media agencies, and commuters in major metro areas, including New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Chicago. The campaign, called “What Matters,” delivered DOOH ads on panels on bus shelters, newsstands, elevators, and lobby screens. According to TTD, the DOOH ads reached 15 million viewers.

The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys have also invested in DOOH advertising.

In 2019, AT&T Stadium (where the Dallas Cowboys play) introduced “Pose with the Pros” kiosks, allowing fans to take pictures with five virtual members of the Dallas Cowboys using Samsung 5G phones.

How Ad Tech is Pushing OOH Forward

It turns out Firefly isn’t the only company to move the needle on digital OOH. 

Digiday said digital ads represented 29 percent of total OOH revenue, up from 24 percent the year before.

“Both demand-side and supply-side platforms are recognizing the potential of the technology, and the influx of digital OOH placements over the last decade has buoyed this shift,” writes Kristina Monllos. 

MediaMath, VIOOH, Clear Channel Outdoor, Hivestack, and of course, Firefly are all companies that make buying, selling and measuring DOOH impact easier for brands and media companies. The bigger players are investing in programmatic OOH as well. 

Verizon Media, for example, has added DOOH ads to its DSP.

The offering “will allow advertisers to place ads on digital screens in transit shelters, airports, bars, roadside billboards, elevators and more,” writes Erica Sweeney at MarketingDive. “DOOH targeting parameters include location, weather, daypart, demographics and interests, which are all informed by Verizon’s data.” 

Arguably, the attribution makes programmatic OOH more attractive for the largest advertisers and media players. MarketingDive listed measurement as one of the five biggest OOH trends. The long and short of it is that companies are getting better at collecting mobile and IoT data, translating it into attribution for brands. 

What Digital OOH Means for Advertising

Circling around, Monllos at Digiday does write that advertisers should avoid using digital billboards as any other digital placement: “billboards are a specific medium that needs to be used in a specific way.” 

Outside of brand safety concerns, ad tech means these campaigns can get even more creative.

Firefly announced a partnership with AccuWeather, allowing brands to target ads on geolocation and current weather conditions. “A lot of people are looking at how they can bring some kind of interaction with the physical world into their campaigns, but haven’t had the chance,” Firefly CEO Kaan Gunay told AdWeek. “We’re always all about bringing more innovation to this physical advertising space.”

If you’re heading out in drizzly weather, you may have seen a taxi-top digital ad featuring a hot drink or a cozy sweater. If it’s getting warm, keep your eyes peeled for an ad from McDonald’s promoting McCafe Iced.

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

Although advertising is always changing, it remains a key tool in the B2B marketer’s arsenal alongside drip campaigns and personalized landing pages.

As an ad sales pro, it’s important that you know where B2B advertising is going and how you can take advantage of trends.

1. Native Advertising Takes Over

B2B brands continue shifting their budgets from tried-and-true traditional formats to digital ones. This likely has to do with the value online advertising offers. While data is typically thought to drive programmatic advertising, online insights can guide B2B advertisers to smarter direct marketing efforts.

Said another way, they simultaneously allow for a bigger and more targeted reach.

Changing buying behaviors brought on by the pandemic—only about 20% of B2B buyers said they hoped to return to in-person sales after the pandemic—will continue to put a premium on digital formats.

But times are changing, and run-of-the-mill digital ads don’t shine as brightly as they used to.

The downfall of third-party cookies and shifting sentiment around ads mean that B2B advertisers can’t blindly throw ads online.

This is why native advertising will continue to gain steam in 2023.

In 2022, eMarketer predicted a 14.9% YoY increase in native display ad spending, with most of it going to mobile devices and social media platforms.

These ad formats—offered across the digital advertising world—deliver a more natural experience, a big reason why they’re so successful; 68% of consumers trust native ads seen in an editorial context, compared to 55% for social media ads.

Similarly, branded content studios will prove invaluable; their native feel and access to niche audiences will be too much for B2B advertisers to ignore.

2. Events Are Back

After taking a pandemic-induced break, in-person events are back, and B2B advertisers are excited.

By the second half of the year, almost half of the respondents to a survey sample said they’re “extremely likely” to return to in-person events—and that’s far from surprising.

According to Bizzabo, 87% of B2B marketers say in-person events are a critical component of their company’s success. Meanwhile, 85% of leadership (senior managers, executives, and board members) believe in-person events are important to their company’s success.

With events on their way back, B2B advertisers will look to them as an opportunity to regain authentic connections with leads and prospects they lost.

That said, virtual (and hybrid) events are unlikely to go away as B2B marketers look to connect with their total addressable market (TAM) without having to spend thousands on in-person events (booths, travel, printing, etc.). True adoption, however, will largely rely on industry players coming together to perfect software solutions that make virtual and hybrid events possible.

3. Podcast Advertising Grows

With 79% of the U.S. aware of podcasts—and a growing percentage of them highly engaged—podcast ads are poised to become an even bigger medium for B2B advertisers.

More on the nose for the B2B advertisers, research shows that podcast listeners tend to be educated and affluent.

B2B marketers are embracing the trend in a couple of ways:

• B2B brands are buying ads on existing podcasts. This allows marketers to reach an already engaged and niche audience actively paying attention. According to NPR CEO Gina Garrubbo, B2B brands make up one of their biggest advertiser categories.
• B2B brands are creating their own podcasts. These “branded podcasts” give B2B brands interested in content marketing a new medium. Creating a podcast takes more of an investment than a blog post, but it also likely leads to higher levels of engagement. Examples include Rise & Grind (ZipRecruiter), Masters of Data (Sumo Logic), and Luminaries (DELL).

The ongoing adoption of podcasts certainly has B2B advertisers’ attention, but so does the proven impact of the actual ads, namely, the ones read by hosts. Host-read ads give B2B advertisers an authentic and relatable way to connect with niche audiences.

A study from Nielsen found that host-read podcast ads were “significantly more likely to be described by respondents as authentic and believable, and less likely to be felt as forced.” 

4. Out-of-Home Advertising (OOH) Expands

OOH advertising is up across the board; OOH advertising revenue increased by nearly 30% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year, accounting for more than $2.6b.

Many B2B brands are running these ads and will continue to do so in 2023. From airports to cabs and the subway, B2B advertisers are getting their messaging across during your morning commute.

“While OOH may appear ‘old-school’ on the surface, exciting new OOH placements and integrated geolocation data have transformed the medium into a sophisticated outlet for savvy marketers,” explains Vector Media, a creative agency.

For example, location data allows advertisers to target the initial ad placement and retarget people who have been close to the ad on mobile or web platforms. It’s the natural next step in bringing together the physical and the digital in B2B advertising.

Here’s an example from The Trade Desk (TTD):

TTD’s campaign tapped into OOH advertising to reach brands, media agencies, and commuters in major metro areas. The campaign, “What Matters,” delivered programmatic OOH ads on digital panels on bus shelters, newsstands, elevators, and lobby screens. Additionally, the campaign included connected TV (CTV), YouTube, and online video ads.

OOH, especially of the digital variety, will remain top of mind among B2B advertisers as they fight to find respite from some crowded online ecosystems and prepare for a world without third-party cookies.

B2B Advertisers Fight to Stand Out in 2023

B2B advertising hasn’t always been “cool.”

Historically, B2B advertisers have defaulted to traditional channels, like print and TV, to get their message across. If they did enter the digital world, their journey was often limited to LinkedIn.

But as the B2B world grows and the competition intensifies, advertisers are spreading their wings.

As they do so, they’re adopting the latest and greatest the digital advertising ecosystem has to offer. In 2023, that means native ads, events, podcasts, and OOH.

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

As big tech companies drop third-party cookies, regulators crack down on privacy issues and consumers become more aware of how important their data is, ad tech companies are reimagining what the future holds for them. 

Amid all this change, the pandemic sped up investments in new channels and technologies. Of all the innovative developments, these three stand out as the technologies brands will capitalize on in the upcoming years. 

1. Out-of-home and Geotargeting

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is having a comeback. When people stayed home last year, billboards and other OOH placements were selling for significantly lower prices. In New York City, OOH screens were sometimes reduced by 10%, while tunnel spots could be purchased for 85% off. Now that people are returning to work and school, prices are back to pre-pandemic levels.

But we’re not just talking about traditional billboards. OOH options are becoming more sophisticated. By using data, 5G and geolocation, advertisers can optimize their digital OOH efforts. Geolocation allows brands to understand what customers are doing where and at what time. With digital placements, they can change their ad placements instantly and adjust their strategies based on customer behavior. 

Companies ranging from big tech brands to DTC startups are taking advantage of this growing technology, and consumers are taking notice. 

2. Augmented Reality 

The rise of Augmented Reality (AR) is not new—but like many other things, it drastically accelerated during the pandemic. eCommerce has long allowed customers to buy products once they were mostly in the decision stage. But with AR, shoppers can go through the entire process of discovery to purchase just as they do when they are perusing stores at the mall. 

The value of the AR market is expected to grow five times by 2023, according to Tech Jury. A big reason for this is that stores allow customers to ‘try-on’ products before they buy them. Customers can try on any type of clothing, accessory, makeup shade or they can see how their new furniture will fit in their home.

David Ripert, CEO and Co-founder of Poplar Studio, an AR and 3D creative platform says that he’s seen conversion to sales metrics hit 90 to 200% more with ‘try-on’ AR compared to typical eCommerce buying. 

Snapchat, Facebook, Pinterest and retailers like IKEA, Wayfair and even David’s Bridal have all been pouring investments into the technology. 

This trend is clearly here to stay in our post-pandemic life.

3. Shoppable TV

NBC is seeing great success with their new Shoppable TV, touting a 9% increase in partnering brands’ social media followers and a 30% higher conversion rate than first-time visitor eCommerce shoppers on other channels.

Shoppable TV allows brands to sell products within the context of popular programming. These NBC metrics come from four major campaigns so far— The French Open + Lacoste; Walmart + TODAY; Zwift + Tour de France; and Roli + Songland. 

From a viewer’s perspective, they see three simple steps to follow when a ‘shoppable moment’ pop-up appears:

1. Open phone camera
2. Scan QR code
3. Shop

The alert for this shoppable moment has creative that matches the highlighted brand or product showcased in the show. 

Though these three ad technologies have major differences, they can be used by a variety of brands across B2C and B2B. And it’s clear they make the digital shopping experience for buyers much easier. Even though the sunsetting of third-party data is taking place, brands and ad tech companies are finding innovative ways to make the buyer’s journey personalized and as frictionless as possible.

For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more updates on coronavirus and its mark on the economy.

“What we see happening in the coming months is this pent-up demand,” said CMO of Clear Channel Outdoor Americas Dan Levi. “We’re all going insane and we want to go out, so we expect that as restrictions are relieved a bit we expect to see people leaving their homes pretty aggressively.” 

With more people traveling by car, OOH advertisers are starting to prepare for a season of recovery.

But what does bouncing back from a pandemic look like for OOH advertising? 

Here we investigate how the crisis impacted OOH advertisers and what the path moving forward may look like. Hint: geo-targeted ads will be even more essential than before. 

We encourage you to subscribe to our blog for the latest data surrounding the advertising industry. We will provide daily updates as COVID-19 continues to make its mark on the US economy.

The State of Out-Of-Home Advertising

Shelter-in-place orders were not good news for those in OOH advertising. 

OOH advertising stocks dropped significantly with everybody in their home. Outfront Media, an OOH advertiser, saw its stock decline by 64% since late February. Clear Channel’s stock value fell to $.45, the first time it has been under a dollar in its history.

While many brands paused their placements, others changed their media to be used as sponsored public health announcements. Blank billboards could be found in Shibuya Crossing (Tokyo’s equivalent of Times Square).

Despite the shock to the industry, an analysis conducted by Technavio, suggests that the OOH market will experience recovery and incremental growth over the next few years post-COVID. The study emphasizes the fact that this market is segmented and vendors should focus on growth of the fast-growing segments.

What about where OOH and programmatic converge? 

MediaRadar Insights

In April, we saw 8% fewer advertisers using programmatic advertising MoM.

The hardest-hit industries in terms of programmatic spending include:

• Travel (-79% MoM)
• Automotive (-40% MoM)
• Events (-34% MoM)

The industries that saw the largest MoM increases in terms of programmatic spending include: 

• Education & Training
• Technology
• Toiletries & Cosmetics

All of these categories were up more than 35%.

Moving Forward: The Importance of Geo-Targeted OOH Ads

Programmatic billboards and street level, smart screen displays placed on top of ride-sharing cars will become critical in the recovery process because placements are flexible and location-based.

There are still many unknowns when it comes to a recovery process after this crisis — and much of it is regional. Geo-targeting will allow advertisers to place the right ads, in the right space, at the right time. 

Fortunately, OOH advertisers were already pushing for this technology. Just before the COVID crisis hit, Uber was set to launch its own OOH program. Digital ad displays will be placed on top of cars. The ads will be sold based on location and time of day.

Uber is not the first company to do this. Firefly is already in this space. The company places digital ads based on location-based, WiFi-enabled triggers on top of Ubers and cabs. 

During the pandemic, Firefly partnered with drivers to ensure they are safe in their jobs. It equipped cars with a protective film to separate drivers and passengers. They also donated ad space for PSAs. As normal activity increases, ads will begin to change.

This type of programmatic OOH advertising is going to be critical in the oncoming months as advertisers will have to be flexible. 

“Hyperlocal data will help brands understand how audience journeys are shifting as the country reopens at different paces,” explains CEO at Posterscope USA Christian Vollerslev. “And it will inform how to best use different OOH formats to reach those audiences along the way.”

As we enter recovery, it will be essential for OOH advertisers to use programmatic because we don’t really know what’s going to happen. With programmatic OOH, advertisers can be agile and hyper-localized.

For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more updates on coronavirus and its mark on the economy.