Given the expected interest in out of home ad placements this cycle, one big question: What messages will fly with the owners of these ad networks, some of whom are new to the campaign industry?
Focus on voting advises Jim Wilson, a veteran ad industry executive who since 2020 has led Talon, which manages out-of-home strategy, planning, buying, execution and data services for large independent agencies and national brands.
“Out of home is perfect for registration, it’s perfect for get-out-the-vote,” he told C&E.
Companies like Wilson’s are relatively new to political ad buyers. While Talon got some campaign business during the Georgia Senate runoff in January 2021, this is the first full cycle that Wilson is courting the industry’s marketing dollars for OOH.
A candidate with a juicy contrast message about her opponent? Well, that’s going to need to go through additional approvals and might not get the greenlight. But for those looking to run creative to lift a candidate’s name ID or encourage supporters to vote or get registered, OOH is a good option, advises Wilson, who previously founded OTT/CTV platform Premion.
And for some practitioners who believe in the power of billboards, that’s just fine. Plus, vendors like Talon now offer data services to help optimize OOH creative.
“We can measure foot traffic. We can look at creative optimization. We can look at engagement,” he said. “We have a [data management platform] DMP called ADA that allows us to select audiences, to look at ROI and look at outcomes, and also the effectiveness of an ad. And if there’s an ad out there that’s not working for a candidate, we can quickly switch it out and then test the performance of that [new] ad.”
Pricing for those data options is similar whether the placement is on a digital billboard or a static one, he adds. Moreover, turnaround time can range from three-five days. And while the cost of OOH dipped considerably during the early pandemic lockdowns, don’t expect rock-bottom prices.
“It’s not at the value pricing that you could get in 2020,” said Wilson, “but in what you’re spending for TV, there’s a better value.”
