Using weather triggers, the RainX campaign delivered ads based on the current conditions, to convey the brand’s intended message to drivers.
SMC: What role does the creative play in a weather-based targeting campaign?
SM: The weather trigger can be based on a number of different messages. It can be driven based on temperature. It can be driven based on snowy conditions. Say it’s -30 C (-22 F) out and we want to serve an ad that says, “We want to show our winter windshield washer fluid is going to provide the most safety, to make sure you have a clear view of the route.” The weather trigger can do that.
Something that wasn’t part of the RainX campaign—and this is something different, but I still think it’s quite relevant—is the other approach we take, not only with data, but also with dynamic creative. We’ve worked with a few other brands on campaigns where we used data to target their audiences more effectively, but we also changed the creative to have that messaging speak to them in real time.
For example, we did a campaign with the NBA where we were actually able to change the scores for the playoffs in real time through a partner. We also worked with one of the world’s largest retailers to update their creative to include a countdown clock to one of their big launches. Essentially, we would serve an OOH ad, targeted using data the client is aligned with in terms of reaching their audience, and it would have messaging that says, “There’s four days until the big day.”
We have other brands we work with on a retail front where we use a data-driven approach to delivering the ad, and then we can tweak the creative in a dynamic fashion that allows us to show a message that says, “You’re actually only 500 m (0.3 mi) from the closest store.” We can serve that ad based on that OOH screen, and it’ll tell you that you’re 500 m from the closest store. This type of messaging is becoming even more contextually relevant to the consumer our marketers are trying to reach, providing the right type of engagement for them.
SMC: How do you foresee weather-based targeting or similar campaigns emerging in the DOOH media sphere?
In the future, there will be more opportunities for brands to use OOH media in more advanced and creative ways.
SM: It’s really exciting because ad software has continued to help advance OOH. We always get compared to the online digital space, but, of course, online digital is very different. It’s very data-driven. It’s very one-to-one. Providing these different types of capabilities is something we’re just starting to help grow with our partners. However, as consumer habits obviously continue to shift, we need to be able to provide customized content that meets the people where they are, and it’s not in the state of mind they’re currently in. It’s becoming very important.
If you think of yourself as a consumer, you’re much more receptive to being engaged to different brands when the message is actually relevant to you. The marketers that are starting to lean into this see it as an innovative way to continue to target and enhance. Using OOH in a meaningful way—to not only reach those consumers at the right time, in the right place, but also provide that extra layer of relevance, which makes them much more top-of-mind—helps them continue to speak to those audiences when they are taking the data-driven approach.
My hope is this almost becomes second nature. OOH is a powerful medium, and it has some nuances to it. It’s one of the oldest forms of media around, from an advertising perspective. However, I foresee the opportunity for marketers to continue using OOH in more advanced ways, similar to what they would do with some of their other marketing channels—giving them the chance to double down on being very creative with their ads. They can ask questions such as, “Can I make this more contextually relevant for my retail consumer who wants to buy my shoe? How can I continue to think of OOH in the same ways I think of reaching consumers in the online space with very contextually relevant messaging?”
Online, you can set this up in two seconds and get an ad for restaurants in your area. Maybe they’re offering a $5 off component or something. This same opportunity and customization are now available in the OOH space. Therefore, I think it’s going to be a continual approach to education with our partners, as well as helping them prove OOH remains an important part of their marketing efforts—and data’s going to help drive them to show the results they’re looking for.
