By Luke Leonard – Senior Director of Marketing, Vector Media
Propelling Outdoor Marketing Forward
Marketing data and insights firm WARC published a study in late 2020 that projected the out-of-home sector was to see a year-on-year investment increase by advertisers of 20.2% in 2021. It was the ad category with the second-largest projected recovery other than cinema advertising. It’s still too early to say for sure, but from the driver’s seat of the bus we see only green lights for miles ahead.
In 2021 brands have been seeking outdoor advertising opportunities in top DMAs by an order of magnitude, increasing out-of-home’s share of overall media spend significantly compared to the time last year, according to reporting by Digiday. Within OOH, where marketers place their investment is determined by any given vendor’s differentiators – certainly the reach and frequency they provide to target audiences, but also their unique capabilities, audience insights, and their ability to seamlessly integrate additional tools like geofencing and mobile retargeting that help marketers make those buying decisions.
At Vector, the nation’s largest transit advertising company, we have been focusing even more closely in 2021 on fine-tuning our core differentiators to optimize our platform and prepare for what we expect will be a year of unprecedented growth in 2022. With our massive network of high-profile outdoor products, experiential expertise, and real-time campaign measurement partner, StreetMetrics, Vector has been able to give brands a leg-up, leveraging the core attributes that make our platform desirable. Let’s take a look at a few ways Vector is propelling outdoor marketing forward.
Technical Innovation and Dynamic Creative
In our quest to reimagine how marketers approach transit advertising, and with the increasing desire for adaptability, we developed an industry first product, “DDTV”; a large-format transit product capable of displaying digital video content in familiar billboard ratios at any intersection in New York City and Los Angeles, the top 2 DMAs in the country.
In early 2021 ViacomCBS came to Vector in search of an innovative OOH solution to highlight the breadth of content on their soon-to-launch streaming platform Paramount+. The DDTV’s double-sided digital display, and core-NYC routing was the perfect solution, and so it was Paramount+ that launched DDTV in New York. The campaign saw impressive stats reported by StreetMetrics, our audience measurement technology that accompanies any DDTV buy.
Paramount+ returned 6 months later to be first to market with the DDTV in LA.
Versatility and Capability
Vector may be recognized in the OOH community for our flagship Double Deckers but it’s our platform’s versatility that earns respect from national brands. This summer, in a recovering economy more dependent on delivery services than ever before, Grubhub sought to compete for a larger market share among New Yorkers and turned to Vector for help. Grubhub hit Manhattan with 15 Double Decker Full Wraps for a week-long promotional campaign. For one day of the campaign, the QR codes on the artwork offered free meal coupons. The following evening our production crew swapped out the QR codes to get the units back out on the streets and bring the 1-day deal to a close.
During the campaign Grubhub reported a 600% increase in orders.
Mass Reach and Attribution
Essential developments in measurement and attribution reporting for out-of-home has been a contributor to the propulsion of our industry through this incredibly challenging chapter. Vector has been a leader in the transit advertising space regarding measurement. Soon after announcing our partnership with StreetMetrics to provide best-in-class campaign measurement and attribution insights, we saw staggering results for Chase Bank in Charlotte, NC. In a campaign following the launch of a new branch experience and ATM network across the market Chase turned to the best mass media product available to connect with communities – Public Transit. Our local Public Transit advertising infrastructure in Charlotte covers 95% of the entire DMA.
Real-time data collected independently by StreetMetrics reported exposure to the OOH campaign was attributable to 6.6X lift in walk-ins to Chase branches in Charlotte during, and following, the 4-week run.
While the bank’s business results are confidential, new customer acquisition and ATM usage exceeded expectations.
Creativity and Customization
Sharkfest, a massive, six-week event of shark programming on Nat Geo, required some good old “shock and awe” style out-of-home to drive tune-in. How did Vector help? We incorporated canvas extensions, 3D printed embellishments and LED illumination techniques to create impressions that simply have a bigger bite. Being able to run their media on custom routes meant the sharkfest could specifically hit the beachside towns of New York, Miami, and Los Angeles, and drop jaws in all directions.
Mobile Retargeting
It’s known that Transit networks offer local and regional advertisers access to a mass audience at a range of budgets. After all, transit networks are the backbone of urban areas, where 80.7% of Americans reside per the Census Bureau. Small to mid-size businesses like Benenati Law Firm in Orlando don’t always have the resources and internal staff to execute integrated media campaigns alone. That’s why we offer mobile advertising in the form of retargeting to earn more impressions for the advertiser’s dollar and increase brand awareness for our clients in a single campaign.
Our unique geofencing technology and audience-first approach garnered Benenati Law Firm an additional 749,000 impressions within a 4-week period, an increase of 29% over the out-of-home campaign’s Geopath ratings.
The mobile campaign also outperformed the industry average click-through-rates too. According to Posterscope, mobile advertising click through rates increase by up to 15% when accompanied by OOH. With all-in-one solutions like this, Vector is able to bring more comprehensive advertising solutions to local businesses across the US via a single, streamlined solution.
Vector built its name on providing an outdoor advertising platform that was compelling, unique, and adaptable. The Double Decker format had boundless potential, and two decades later it continues to evolve. Alongside our flagship products are staples of OOH. Our traditional transit advertising networks remain unmatched for audience diversity and reach, and it’s through our steadfast municipal partnerships that we’re able to offer the creative solutions and adaptability for our clients that keeps them coming back. We’re innovating in all arenas and it’s because of this that we’re able to carry ourselves, and our brand partners, onward and upward. We know 2022 is going to be a historic year for our business, so hopefully you’ll join us for the experience.