Last week was certainly one that was jam packed with all things Out of Home and media. From stand out advertisers, esteemed panels and noteworthy insights to discussions, disagreements and alleged decapitations, we had it all.

Mediatel kicked off the week with their inaugural Out of Home Summit at the RSA.

The first session featured Dominic Mills in discussion with a man who most people in the room were dying to have a word with. Simon Valcarcel is the Head of Creative and Media for O2, the advertiser who produced the most memorable and creative Out of Home campaigns of 2017.

The OOPS campaign was praised for turning a classic Out of Home format on its head, quite literally. Simon explained that great creative should be visually arresting and a poster seemingly hanging by a thread certainly does just that. He went on to say that he challenges his team to think of innovative ways of using the medium by drawing on inspiration from all aspects of their daily life: newspaper clippings, science, menus, fashion… Simon loves the medium and acknowledges its ability to drive branding and fame for his brand.

The next session was made up of brilliant minds from agencies, Out of Home media owners and Out of Home specialists. The topic for discussion was Out of Home’s ability to build brands. Whilst the panel were unanimous in their views that the medium does this as well as any other channel, Sophie Pemberton of Talon Outdoor believes the industry is on a knife edge. She elaborated by saying that as clients become increasingly persuaded by short-term response metrics, they need to remember that this is not suitable for many Out of Home campaigns. It is a broadcast medium whose brand effects build over time. It talks to people, not a single person. It is sophisticated mass marketing.

Inevitably, the question of Outsmart’s role in OOH was raised. The view of the panel was that it should be doing more, and comparisons to marketing bodies such as Thinkbox, IAB etc were made. Perfectly understandable given Outsmart was launched in 2015 as a marketing body - staffed (and budgeted!) accordingly do deliver on its promise to “Inform, educate and inspire people to do wonderful things in Out of Home.” What the panel probably did not know was that in September 2016 this changed, and with considerably less fanfare Outsmart became a Trade Association. Whilst we do some marketing via our social and website, our primary remit is to “Protect and advance the trade interests of members and the Out of Home advertising industry.” Perhaps not quite as awe-inspiring , but arguably just as important. Ironically the summit highlighted to us that one of our tasks is to market the message that we’re not all about marketing! So to see what we are doing, have a look here. 

Despite bumps in the road, one thing is clear, Outsmart’s success is dependent on the continued involvement, valued expertise, and unrivalled resilience of its members. We are better together and as we surge into 2018, we should all remember the wise words of Sophie from Talon (my new favourite person in Out of Home): ‘imagine how powerful our voice could be as an industry if we all said the same thing at the same time.’ With my trade association hat on, these words have never been truer.

Next up it was Rapport’s turn to bring the Out of Home industry together for what promised to be a very worthwhile session by providing another step on the effectiveness ladder. The impressive study that was unveiled was done in collaboration with the IPA and used its databank of over 2000 case studies to quantify the business and brand effects of Out of Home. As emphasised at the Mediatel Summit, Out of Home is brilliant at delivering long-term metrics like brand building. Rapport’s study highlighted how it can also achieve short-term sales activation. Not only does the medium boost market share by one third, but it delivers a significant uplift of 47% in short-term sales by power users (those who invest at least 15% of their budgets in OOH vs. non-users). The stats that gave colour to the session's apt title ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ were those that highlighted the effect of OOH power-users on other media giants, boosting search by 54% and social media by 20%.

Out of Home delivers fame. It builds brands. It generates sales. It boosts business and brand effects. And when campaigns use the killer combination of branding and sales activation, they double long-term results. Anyone need a piggy back?

Last but not least, and to round off a stellar week, the Advertising Association held their annual LEAD conference. As to be expected, the over-arching theme of the day was Brexit, its impact on businesses and what initiatives they will adopt to succeed when the time comes.

It was clear that all of the impressive speakers shared a common sentiment. Whether they were politicians, economists, broadcasters, CEO’s, advertising gurus or even bankers, they appreciated the value of advertising. They spoke eloquently and enthusiastically about the industry that brings colour to businesses, context to culture and smiles to faces. Make no mistake, there are a number of issues highlighted which the industry needs to tackle as areas like fake news, transparency, trust and consumer confidence become increasingly apparent.

I took away a melange of brilliant soundbites: ‘advertising is for life, not just Christmas’. ‘Media can be a beacon of positivity in a transformational world’. ‘We all have a voice which must be heard’. ‘It is like two bald men fighting over a comb.’ ‘Now, more than ever, consumers care what a brand stands for.’ But nothing struck me more than the wise words from the very eloquent and entertaining Nick Manning, founder of MGOMD. He said that ‘trade associations cannot do it alone’. A healthy industry needs real partnership between associations and members, something that Outsmart continually drives and encourages.

Whilst every industry, not just that of advertising, continues to deal with a huge amount of uncertainty that comes with Brexit, one thing remained crystal clear, when times get tough, people pull together. Whether that be economists and politicians, advertisers, and agencies or even Out of Home folk, when faced with adversity and uncertainty, we come together, focus on what unites us and work as best we can not just to survive, but to grow.

If this week has highlighted anything it is that advertising, and Out of Home, has things to work on. It is not perfect but what is certain is that it has limitless potential, for businesses, economies, and people.