INTRODUCTION
Matthew Dearden
President , Federation Publicité Exterieur International
“ The power of posters to communicate big ideas , and therefore build brands and activate sales , is further unleashed as the digital revolution moves offline into the physical world .”
Seventeen thousand years ago , the leading creatives of their generation painted cuttingedge works of art 15 metres underground by the light of small lamps burning animal fat that gave off more putrid smell than illumination . Their paints were local soils and minerals laboriously hand-mixed with water , or yet , more animal fat . Their airbrushing took particular commitment , blowing the foul paint from the artist ’ s mouth through a tube .
Today , the art of the Lascaux Caves still captivates and communicates powerfully . The vibrant images of animals tell of the survival and hunting skills of the artists . In the Hall of the Bulls , pride of place goes to a 5.2m billboardsized beast . These intermingle with depictions of humanity as well as abstract signs – the forerunner of the logo .
The greatest communicators and brandbuilders of our age also recognise the power of big ideas displayed in public . The biggest brands consistently use posters more than their competitors to build their business . From Apple to McDonald ’ s , Wall ’ s to Google , successful global mega-brands across all categories know that Out-of-Home ( OOH ) advertising builds the fame , recollection and affection needed to keep ahead of the rest .
What many know instinctively is also demonstrated by a compelling body of evidence . The need for a medium that creates fame among a target group , but also the wider population , is now well understood . Highly targeted ads have their role and have become increasingly fashionable online . But while they can be effective at short-term sales activation , they don ’ t build long-term profitable brands . The very public move by the world ’ s biggest advertiser , Procter
& Gamble , to reduce its use of narrow online targeting , due to lack of sustained sales response , is a high-profile example of a growing trend .
This big audience is matched by posters offering a big canvas , both literally and metaphorically . Numerous neuroscience studies have demonstrated that , compared to smaller media , a large poster creates a bigger impression on the brain and improves recall .
To be effective , these big creative ideas need to be simple , relevant to the brand and built on powerful human insight . There is nowhere to hide in OOH ; a weak creative idea can ’ t be glossed up with slick production values or clever tech tricks . The work lives or dies on its merits .
The best creatives know that these factors combine to make posters the ultimate showcase for their talents . Indeed , the Executive Creative Director of Google Labs , Steve Vranakis , requires his teams to show him the poster that would promote any new idea . To make a compelling poster , the idea must be distilled to its essence and still be powerfully motivating . Pitches that fail to do so are because they are unfinished , too complex , or simply not remarkable enough to be appealing , whereas ideas that pass the test are ready to develop into products , or cross-media creative and , of course , will particularly benefit from the big canvas of OOH .
The power of posters to communicate big ideas , and therefore build brands and activate sales , is further unleashed as the digital revolution moves offline into the physical world . Once confined to special builds , Digital OOH ( DOOH ) creative is now scaling without losing its new-found smarts . There is already fabulous new creative on our screens ; less visible , but arguably more powerful , is the new power of DOOH media planning . With the flexibility of airtime and greater responsiveness than any other medium , DOOH ’ s timing and triggers give brands exactly what they need : ice cream advertising in hot weather ; hay fever remedies during high pollen counts ; music stars synchronising ads to their radio airplay ; supermarkets responding on the same day to their competitors ’ price moves – all of this creative potential is live today , though far from being fully exploited .
All of this builds to the purpose of advertising : to change people ’ s behaviour . In our desire to do this better and more cheaply , we ’ ve created immense complexity and mystique in advertising , which brings great advantages to all involved . But , even at its best , this complexity often obscures the fundamental truth that all advertising is built on brilliant creative ideas that can change hearts and minds . Ultimately , the role of any media channel is to allow brands to engage with people by showcasing this great creativity . OOH is a fabulous showcase for the best creative ideas . If you wanted to see state-of-theart creative 173 centuries ago you had to take a dim light deep into the caves of Lascaux . Now , you hold in your hand a bright beacon of fabulous creative . It will inspire you about the potential of OOH and provide you with powerful insight from some of the leading thinkers in their field about how to deliver on that potential . Enjoy the work , use the insight , and continue the spirit of Lascaux in telling the stories of our age .
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