Digital Out-of-Home Advertising, Creative Greenfield.

I’ve noticed several predictions on the importance and evolution of digital out-of-home “content” throughout 2009. Yes, great content is a MUST, but the digital OOH industry and more importantly the advertising and media industry need to properly recognize and award the “creative” work that has developed through this medium.

Channel content I agree is extremely important. The more engaging the content, the more valuable and credible the advertising opportunity becomes. We don’t buy Super Bowl advertising just because it’s on CBS versus NBC. It is because there is a very specific, scaled and extremely engaged audience opportunity.

The creative, however, is a powerful component of the consumer’s frame of mind when evaluating the offer. This becomes even more of an opportunity on the digital OOH medium because this media format has the ability to target by a specific demographic, or time of day and can drive an action.

“Re-purposing” ads can be effective if executed properly and basic rules of creative development for digital OOH are followed. However,today’s consumer is savvier to advertising quality and wants more than ever to feel special when being “pitched” to by advertising, making the case for original creative developed just for for DOOH to produce better ROI results.

Moreover, there is an increasing need to lobby advertising awards to start recognizing digital OOH with authentic creative needs and challenges. This has been a long standing “benchmark” and motivator for agencies to take serious stock in the work created. In doing so, digital OOH would actually be a consideration in the creative development strategy, which results in far better work than re-purposing.

Creative agencies in more ways than one are the key holders for brands. The reasons creative agencies are hired (to name a few) are: develop creative strategy, meet objectives and define critical points of engagement. Meaning they are the contact for the ultimate decision maker – the brand’s marketing executive. Receiving awards and recognizing creative strategy for digital OOH is a great way to have the ad agencies consider not only the utilization of the medium but new and exciting ways to tell a story and deliver a message. Doing what they do best!

There’s a veritable green field of opportunity for creativity and for ad agencies to step up and be recognized as leaders in the space not to mention a new line of revenue. Until major agencies do this there are amazing creative production shops that provide services specifically for digital OOH media. Show and Tell, Artisan Complete, Alchemy, and Technicolor are all well experienced in strategic development and streamlining creative work for digital OOH media. Here’s Show and Tell’s demo real wherein you’ll catch a glimpse of the M&M characters sitting on benches created for the Macy’s Day parade…still one of my favorite creative pieces contextual usage of digital OOH.

Show+Tell Digital Out-Of-Home Media Reel from Show+Tell on Vimeo.

Here are the recent Digital OOH awards we have noticed below… We hope to see further developments in creative initiatives throughout the year.

MediaPost is introducing its first annual awards program for “advertising creative” that will be integrated into Media Posts’ Digital OOH Forum 2009 in April.

POPAI is currently taking a public vote for Digital Signage Viewer’s Choice Contest: The criterion for evaluating is broad however, there was some good work done in the submissions. If you are attending Global Shop next week, ADCENTRICITY’s Graeme Spice will be on-site and was a judge on this years Digital OOH panel.

Looking back to a few weeks ago, the most recent awards issued for digital OOH media were presented at the DSE in February:

Five Content Award winners were named from a field of 78 entrants chosen by an independent industry expert panel on the basis of the following criteria:

1. Whether or not the content delivered the intended message,
2. Overall production quality, and
3. Creativity in the use of new or unique content elements and/or technology.

The five Content Award winners were:

• Retail Entertainment Design for McDonald’s – RED created three separate HD entertainment features for the new in-store network.

• X2O Media for Motorola Innovation Center – X2O created a state-of-the-art facility that lets customers and partners learn more about Motorola’s current and future products interactively.

• C-nario & Tim Hunter Design Group for Harrah’s Resort Outdoor Display – Content was designed for the world’s largest outdoor video display at Harrah’s Resort Waterfront Tower in Atlantic City, NJ featuring four large scale facades that play different 3D digital models synchronously.

• LocaModa for Jumbli™ – LocaModa launched the world’s first interactive word game that connects online audiences in social utilities to audiences in New York’s Times Square and 1200 other social locations.

• Niles Creative Group for The Comcast Experience – In Comcast’s Philadelphia headquarters lobby, a giant 10 million pixel LED is mounted on the wall that excites visitors all while changing the office building into a “must-see” destination.

Look forward to seeing more solid digital out-of-home creative work throughout 2009!