oOh!media's Outfront prioritised a data-led campaign planning and performance suite, a Sydney network build, retail media and plans to lead the out-of-home industry to a more sustainable future.
Media agencies responded positively, focusing on the opportunities that the new premium Sydney network presents for advertisers and the rise of retail media.
Lorena Danes (pictured below right), Sydney trading director at UM, said that oOh!media’s Outfronts showcased that oOh! are investing in the right places – Sydney, measurement, retail and sustainability.
"As Cathy O’Connor stated in her intro, digitisation is leading the growth of the OOH sector, and it’s clear that oOh! are investing heavily in digital with announcements being grounded in digital and new digital assets," she said.
"With oOh!’s wins across Martin Place dining precincts, Sydney CBD Metro and the long-awaited and highly anticipated Woollahra Council contract, they have a very compelling proposition in Sydney to add to the already hot battleground within Sydney. Their “Premium Sydney” offering is particularly compelling for our luxury and premium clients such as AMEX.
"There was a nod to MOVE 2.0, which agencies are waiting for with bated breath, however their focus today was on measurement through oOh! Outcomes. With much stronger data partnerships through Unpacked by Flybuys and Westpac Data X, oOh! now has access to 12M+ customers weekly. It’s a clever way to increase share, with a requirement of 50% OOH share to oOh!, but more importantly, it’s a compelling opportunity for advertisers to measure ROI across their total campaign in an economic environment where marketing teams are having to justify every dollar to their boards.
"Retail is expected to grow to $2B in 2026 and oOh! are hoping to expand their offerings in this space to include in-store advertising opportunities through Reooh. Reooh is one year in and still has a long way to go in Australia but has made a good start in NZ with the Warehouse Group. Once this proposition grows, it will be great to see how they can use their data partnerships with Flybuys and Westpac to activate audiences addressably.
"Sustainability initiatives across decarbonisation, circularity and nature are a big tick for our clients leaning into sustainability, such as ING. oOh!’s new ecobanner skins will become the default skin in 2024, but advertisers will want to know whether this will increase their production costs."
Victoria Budge (pictured right), managing partner at Claxon, said given the limitations around what out-of-home upfronts can realistically showcase, oOh!media effectively struck an emotional chord with the audience by emphasising their integral role within the community, spanning daily commutes to airport travel.
"In a strategic response to reduced consumer confidence, oOh!media has shifted its focus towards market segments that continue to exhibit robust spending," she said.
"Firstly, the introduction of "reooh," an end-to-end retail advertising solution tailored for retailers and advertisers seeking to engage with regular shoppers. Their proposal to leverage customer transaction data to deliver measurable outcomes sounds like something advertisers will find appealing, but ultimately, it will come down to the quality of the retailers who are onboarded to deliver this advertising.
"The outdoor publisher is also expanding it’s advertising portfolio through it’s premium Sydney OOH network, enabling ooh!media to provide an impactful OOH solution across Sydney’s more affluent areas in the CBD, north sydney and eastern suburbs, which will be an attractive proposition for many advertisers (as we’re increasingly seeing briefs targeting the affluent within the current economical climate).
"Furthermore, they have significantly increased their programmatic trading capabilities, broadening their scope across office towers and high value retail panels, providing more flexibility and targeting options to those trading programmatically.
"From a format perspective, "oOh! motion" will enable advertisers to extend their social video advertisements across oOh!'s digital network. This innovative technology enables advertisers to make more use of their video content previously reserved for online channels and boasts an impressive potential reach of 70%+ Australians every week.
"Overall, the outdoor publisher demonstrated some compelling new initiatives. However, the will be influencing advertisers to deviate from traditional buying habits and test new technology within a short-term market so heavily focused on minimising risk and driving a strong return."
Marianne Lane (pictured right), head of investment at Kaimera, said oOh! have always had a great offering and the addition to Sydney Metro locations and Premium Sydney will only enhance this.
"Highlighting a gap in premium outdoor advertising options in the Sydney CBD and Eastern Suburbs emphasises the demand for reaching premium audiences on premium assets in premium locations," she said.
"The data play is always of interest and we definitely want to delve deeper into those 800 buyergraphics. If advertisers can double ROI by using buyergraphics rather than demographics, it makes for more targeted and effective campaigns.
"Recognising and addressing market gaps while embracing the potential of data to enhance the effectiveness of advertising campaigns is a smart strategic approach. The focus on premium assets in premium locations demonstrates a commitment to providing advertisers with a premium platform to connect with their audiences in meaningful ways."
Vera Manalac (pictured below right), group investment director at iProspect, said what really caught her attention was oOh!’s focus on a clear growth strategy which sees them expanding in 2024, not only in the market but also through sustainable practices.
"They provided confidence and clarity on their plans for expansion in 2024 with their Premium Sydney offering," she said.
"Premium Sydney will provide advertisers access to a previously untapped market, Woollahra Council. Due to their affluence, the Eastern suburbs has always been a highly sought after audience but has been hard to access through advertising. In addition to that, when it comes to premium small format that can be bought as a concentrated pack in Sydney, City of Sydney has had a monopoly on luxury advertising spend.
"Given both these factors, this announcement will be a welcome addition to the landscape as it will provide some healthy competition.
“Another big announcement was oOh! outcomes. It’s becoming increasingly important for any channel to prove their ROI and oOh! have big plans to address this through oOh! Outcomes. oOh! Outcomes encourages advertisers to shift away from demographics and towards buyergraphics.
"Through their data partnership with Unpacked (Flybuys) advertisers will now be able to measure and attribute the ROI of their outdoor activity, not just across oOh’s network but the entire sector. oOh! have committed to providing access to deeper insights and attribution that will increase the total share of wallet of the entire outdoor category.
"Any outdoor trader in market knows that in the past oOh! have required 80%+ minimum share requirements to access their data, but they also announced that they would be lowering this to 50%. This should remove barriers for a lot of clients (usually with smaller outdoor budgets) who couldn’t afford to give oOh! the former share requirement.
“Part of addressing and proving their ROI, naturally leans into being able to demonstrate how they can now play throughout the entire funnel. With Reooh, oOh! will now be placing pannels in store. They had already established themselves in New Zealand but are now available in Drake’s Supermarkets throughout SA and QLD.
"This is a step in the right direction as it demonstrates how they can access consumers throughout the entire consumer journey and for some categories, their panels could be the very last touch point.”
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