New York, New York – The Pitch For Outdoor

Filed Under Advertising, Digital Signage

This post from Media Daily is so timely, it’s incredible.

I’m in New York and have been for some time. I finally got the chance to go for a real “walkabout” today. While I’ve seen a ton of Digital Signage while here, I really haven’t been able to spend enough time to take it all in so it was nice to put some dedicated time to the mission.

ILuvNY From gyms to bars to salons to subways to taxis to pharmacies, it seems New York is on a mission to put digital signs of all shapes and sizes, pretty much anywhere. Most of what I saw was surprisingly well placed and relevant, which is a really positive sign, from my point of view. I wouldn’t have a problem supporting the placements or venues that I saw – they were mostly As and Bs…

…I would, however, say that, in most places the content needs some work (running TV doesn’t cut it) and even folks like CBS are obviously having some problems selling ads after I saw a GestureTek like projection on a wall in the subway at Union Square with just the CBS logo on it…mind you, pretty much everyone I saw walk by looked at it.

So when I finally got a chance to read Robert Fauser’s post from last Friday, all I could do was smile.

Fauser makes a great case for outdoor advertising in New York and I agreed heartily with pretty much everything he had to say. His comments had very little to do with Digital Signage but I think a good case could be made for its inclusion in his arguments.

Robert’s commentary overview goes something like this:

There are plenty of advertisers that would benefit greatly from a local New York-based placement, but are still too concerned to shift their buying strategy. If you are one of those people, here are a few tips to help you get started.

Top tips:

Listen to the locals

Consider Outdoor as a primary medium

Own some street furniture

Buy a spectacular or 2

Don’t be afraid of the complexity of the media but use and agency partner or someone you trust to help you decide what’s relevant

I’ll let you read the article but some keys that I took from it:

Complexity Number 1

There are more than 3,000 telephone enclosures (9,000 ads on those enclosures), 3,300 bus shelter enclosures, 1,600 urban panels — the ads you see when you enter a subway — 4,000 buses, 6,000 taxi cab tops and 600 billboards on the arteries and in Manhattan. There are also 225 spectacular signs, which are located on 7th and Broadway between 42nd to 54th Streets. And each category can be broken down even further.

That’s a lot of static media. I’d have to take a look but NYC and surrounding area has got a ton of properties concentrated in 4-5 primary venue categories by 25-30 someodd companies and if it isn’t already over 2500 venues it will be in the next few of months (maybe more time with the xmas season almost upon us and many installation periods suspended until January starting soon). Mind you, a C-Store “A” environment may not be the same as a Gym or a Mall but that’s a price reflection not a validity condition (some will argue otherwise).

Complexity Number 2

if you want to buy a telephone enclosure, you’ll have to decide between the bigger rear panels or the outside side panels. The rear enclosures may be bigger, but they only get crosswalk eyeballs. Pedestrians notice the outside panels more frequently because they are more visible. Are you scared yet? Don’t be. This just punctuates why it’s almost a given that anyone new to the market should rely on an agency or an expert for advice.

That’s a lot of extra options on top of media types. If you’ve bought Digital Signage before, you’re no doubt aware of the options and extras in a plan or buy, not to mention all of the differebt venue types. NYC static outdoor’s options and ad sub-types are not unlike Digital Signage’s own complexities.

Complexity Number 3

Consider outdoor as a primary medium. In most cities, you’d plan your print, radio or television campaign first, and throw in a little outdoor advertising for good measure. But New York’s target audience doesn’t have the same viewing and reading patterns as other top marketplaces

This one is a little tougher. In New York, you could definitely do this with static Outdoor and Digital OOH - fitting into that category - would help support the argument. My personal view is that Digital OOH should never be used in a silo and works well as a supporting pillar to a larger campaign effort if bought at scale.

Robert’s last points are centered on how to buy and his comments around how to allocate budget against campaign mix is interesting – obviously he’s in the outdoor game so, take it with a grain of salt. And really, Digital OOH (at least the place based and retail versions) are cost efficient enough (as a comparative) at this stage that it could be used almost in its entirety in New York for a sliver of your budget.

All around, a good little read on Outdoor Advertising in New York.