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Digital Graphics
November 2003
Hearken back to days past, to a simpler time,
when advertising options included radio, newspapers
or magazines. Alas, those days are no more.
Aside from radio and print, you now can choose
from network or cable TV, direct mail, park
benches, telemarketing email blasts – heck,
you can even buy advertising on ski lifts.
And you’d better not overlook truckside
advertising, because if the pundits are right,
this new kid on the block has earned some credibility
and real teeth. Truckside advertising, it appears,
has grown up to become a mature player in the
modern advertising mix.
For a little affirmation, just visit the Outdoor
Advertising Association of America website
(www.oaaa.org) The OAAA, which is nearly 1,100
member companies strong,
has this to say: “Over the past few years, the outdoor advertising industry
has evolved into a rejuvenated media force… that’s poised to compete
aggressively in the 21st century media fray.”
According to Sam Kaplan, VP of sales and marketing
for Mobile Ad Group of New York City (and a
member of the OAAA’s Marketing Committee), “Today
my phone rings with new business inquiries because we planted the seed and now
it’s growing. And the reason is that truckside works. The media buyers
themselves know. This is something that has been five or six years in the making.”
But what Kaplan makes clear is that he doesn’t want to talk about the
past. The story, he claims, is what is happening today.
“Now we’re talking about Arbitron (radio ratings) and the guys at
Nielson (TV ratings). These are the companies that provide the accepted price
quotients for broadcast advertising. They have seen growth in truckside (advertising)
while others mediums have stagnated, and they’re doing something about
it. As soon as the fourth quarter of next year, a ratings system will be in
place that will rank test markets in the U.S. for mobile outdoor advertising.”
FACT OR FANTASY.
Does truckside and mobile billboard advertising
really work? Kaplan, who, after all, sells
these mediums, is convinced. But take a gander
at a tick list of
current truckside advertisers: AT&T, American Express, IBM, McDonald’s,
Procter and Gamble, Delta Air Lines, Skyy Blue, Cadbury Shweppes…
Now, a skeptic might argue that at an approximate CPM (cost per thousand impressions)
of 80 cents, these heavyweights have so much money padding their coffers that
the prevailing sentiment within the inner sanctum of each may be a derivation
of don’t sweat the small stuff. But Kaplan provides examples that reveal
a more complex story,
“Delta Air Lines,” says Kaplan, “wanted to impact the business
traveler, who typically is difficilt to reach with traditional advertising. This
person is a very important part of Delta’s business, and is really the
backbone of the travel industry, especially in the post-9/11 environment.
“With mobile advertising we can reach travelers at terminals and also at
fractional leased jet parks (where corporations spend lots of money to transport
busy executives). So, versus going into Barron’s or other business publications,
Delta decided to reach this audience directly where they are traveling and
doing business. Here is a pinpoint targeting method that is very cost effective
when
measured against broadcast mediums, because we are able to impact specific
demographics exactly where they are.” |
