4 Fine Examples of New Media OoH Advertising

In our regular flow of writing, we cover plenty of established and local businesses using out-of-home (OoH) ads to reach potential customers. But what about new media OoH advertising? Are digital startups and e-commerce companies exempt from the tried-and-trusted channels that came before them? Unless the owners like to leave a crucial element of brand awareness to chance, the answer is a resounding no! In this article, we'll look at four different cases where a vibrant new digital business turned to traditional media for greater reach and to build beyond their online foundations.   

New Media OoH Advertising

There are many old-school marketing techniques that still work, whether you're a veteran business owner or the visionary CEO of a digital startup. The trouble is, we don't hear enough about the latter! Instead, we have articles from experts in every area of marketing, proclaiming the "death of [insert established channel here]!" Although there has undeniably been disruption of formats like print, radio, and television with the rise of online marketing, it's equally true that these channels have battled back to offer more compelling ad products and Below you'll find four cases of companies that are founded by digital natives but have marketing vision beyond those online borders. If your business falls into that category, use these examples to inspire your own new media ooh advertising initiative.  

1. CNET Takes Pride in Print Media

Of all the products one might expect from a website founded to report tech news and write about online culture, a print magazine would probably be one of the last items on the list.   CNET magazine was launched in late 2014 to give the outlet a way to report in greater depth and share original stories and interviews. The move placed a brand that could only previously be experienced online into the hands of the site's most engaged readers.  Produced quarterly, the publication allows CNET's experienced stable of reporters to flex their journalistic muscles in a completely different way. It also serves to distinguish the brand from its many online competitors, offering mixed-media advertising opportunities that other sites cannot match.  

2. Spotify Goes Back to Billboards

Another unlikely candidate for traditional media advertising is streaming music platform Spotify. Widely credited with delivering the death blow to compact disc sales, the Swedish startup was still attracted to billboard ads for its New Year-related "2018 Goals" campaign late last year.  Speaking to Spotify's Chief Marketing Officer Seth Farbman, Adweek published a compelling inside look at why this example of new media ooh advertising works so well. Playing on specific data and locations relevant to the areas in which the billboard ads were used, the creative minds in Spotify's marketing department found a memorable way to bring Big Data out of its system and into the streets. Proof positive that even those who help end a long-established media format can benefit from other traditional channels!    

3. Meal Kits Make Radio (and Direct Mail) Tasty 

Even if you haven't used a meal kit service, it's likely that you've heard of one. The likes of Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Plated, and Sun Basket have all been exploring multiple channels to find new subscribers, with direct mail and audio ads proving especially popular.  While all the services have their own distinct flavor (pun partially intended), the promotional offer is essentially the same: sign up for a risk-free trial and get your first one or two meals for free. Digital radio channels and podcasts have proven an effective way to get the word out on such services, reaching hundreds of thousands of engaged listeners in their vehicles and on the daily commute.  In addition, although it's not really OoH advertising, another traditional channel has boosted meal kit makers: snail mail.  Direct mail might be one of the least appealing marketing channels for dynamic tech startups that live in their apps, but an entire sector that meets this description is finding value in snail mail. What direct mail adds to the equation is being in the right place at the right time, and looking rather good as it does so.   A lot of potential customers grab their mail on the way in from work, with many of them contemplating what they'll do for dinner that evening. Among the relatively small amount of physical mail most of us receive nowadays, meal kit marketers provide the answer: subscribe to our service and have everything waiting when you come home.  Beyond basic good timing, most of these mailings contain a card or coupon that the recipient can stick on the fridge or kitchen counter for follow-up. Radio and direct mail may be old dogs, but they continue to deliver new tricks for marketing campaigns. A fridge magnet could be added to a promotional pamphlet, for example, to make it more likely that recipients will follow up. And with so many podcasts popping up and traditional radio broadcasters finding a new lease of life on digital channels, there are plenty of audio spaces for brands to experiment with.    

4. Vehicle Wraps Get Google Everywhere

Okay, this example isn't advertising in the strictest sense, but it does epitomize why vehicle wraps are such an effective and affordable way to get your brand moving around town! You've probably used Google Maps and jumped down to street view to look at a specific site or building, but you might not have thought about how the search giant gathers those images. Google uses a fleet of Street View-branded vehicles, complete with a panoramic camera roof rack, to capture the latest local images for its dynamic maps product. In fact, the service just turned 10 years old, as the promotional video below explains.      While it's not the primary goal of the project, these vehicle wraps clearly transport the Google brand out and about in the real world. They give physical form to a company that has become synonymous with digital information, reminding users that the team at Mountain View is working on much more than search results.    What all of these examples demonstrate is that any digital brand can benefit from a real-world presence. New media OoH advertising might not be as compelling a headline as the decline of established channels, but it shows that traditional ad formats work just as well - and sometimes a lot better - for digital native brands who want to reach beyond their online origins.   [search-tag]