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this cause. Then there is the experience that
OOH can create. In The Mind & Mood Report we
have found, particularly in the aftermath of the
global financial crisis, a small but significant
shift in focus among Australian consumers
from ‘things’ towards ‘experiences.’ After years
of persistent gloom and doom about the cost of
living and the domestic economy, Australians
have now started to get excited about planning
and spending on travel, eating out, festivals
– the full spectrum of out-of-home activities.
Consumers have also complained for some
time about how they’d like Australian retail
environments to be more dynamic, interactive
and innovative. There are many examples in
OPEN2 of how OOH can provide an experience
to passers-by – something that will entertain,
distract, lift their mood and focus their
attention.
In more recent times, the big opportunity
for advertisers is how OOH can speak to the
mobile devices we carry with us at all times.
Australian consumers have a huge appetite for
communication; in fact, there are more mobile
phones in Australia than people. We look to
our mobile devices for advice on everything –
where to go when we are lost, what to buy and
where to buy it, what to eat (and to document
what we eat before we eat it). Each of us is an
explorer, with a mobile device as our compass.
And so, there are numerous examples in OPEN2
of the ways in which OOH can interact with
technology to sell, tell, inspire and entertain.
The Pepsi Max Unbelievable campaign (p. 165)
uses augmented reality to surprise and delight
commuters with images of tigers walking
towards them and snakes popping out of
manholes.
There is no such thing as the undistracted
consumer anymore. We watch our TV
screens with mobile devices on our laps. We
multiscreen and multitask. Our attention is
/ 8
always divided. Even on a holiday to Disneyland
we are experiencing, reviewing, critiquing and
yes, consuming, across multiple channels.
OOH has a particular challenge:
catching the eye of people riding a bike,
driving a car, rushing from work to the train
station. But OOH also creates a sense of
place that other media struggle to do. What
would Times Square be without OOH? Even
in our own iconic cities there are landmark
advertisements, like the largest billboard in the
country overlooking Sydney’s ANZAC Bridge.
And therein lies the opportunity for disruption.
Great OOH creative is smart about recognising
not only its own geography but the mindset
and needs of the people that share the space
with the advertising content. A recent study
in the UK showed that “people Out-of-Home
have a 33% heightened alertness than people
in home.” 2
OPEN2 contains examples of OOH
tha t are short, sharp and impactful. These
are the ads that you notice and understand
immediately, even if you are driving home
thinking about what to have for dinner, or
telling your daughter to stop annoying her little
brother. The 3D Dove billboard from Australia
is a good example (pp. 72–73), as are the
Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia’s
billboards (p. 74), or Destination NSW’s Love
every second billboards (pp. 130–131).
Then there is the OOH that challenges
you to stand in front of it and read. There are
moments in our day when we stop rushing, stop
talking, put the phone away and are prepared
to be interested and engaged. Check out Write
your own ending from Bookworld (pp. 150–151).
The media environment is in a constant
state of change. Australian consumers are
thrilled about this, eager to adapt and embrace
the new. As the examples in OPEN2 show, there
is power and potential in OOH to hook the
excited and media-savvy consumer, to create
outdoor interactive environments, to speak
to the digital devices that have become our
everyday compasses – to sell, to tell, excite
and inspire.
1
AC Nielsen 2011, OOH Public Attitude Study
2
Outdoor Media Centre UK 2014