OOH Advertising and the 'New Normal'
OOH advertising and the ‘new normal’
The year 2020 will forever remain synonymous with the breakdown of regular life, as we had come to know and understand it. The Covid-19 pandemic is perhaps the largest event to impact life on such a massive scale in recent history, or at least when thinking in terms of an average millennial’s lifetime. Giving the public time to introspect on various aspects of their life. As of now, the apparent permanence of the Covid-19 virus has forced people to adapt to its presence. This new way of living has been aptly titled ‘The new normal’. The new normal can roughly be described as a new way of living, working and interacting with those around us, as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Businesses have all the while had to tailor their methods to ‘the new normal’. This is understandable considering that life during lockdown just cannot facilitate ordinary business practices. What is of particular relevance at this time is the impact of the pandemic on advertising and ad spending. Global ad spend is predicted to fall by a staggering $50 billion in 2020, as businesses from all walks of life refrain from spending on media ads. According to the World Advertising Research Centre the ad market was forecasted to grow by 7.1%, but due to the current global circumstances it will reduce by 8.1%.
With spikes in Covid-19 cases continuing to spring up randomly, people are having to turn to self-imposed lockdown. One has to wonder how a medium such as OOH advertising might fare under conditions where people would rather stay indoors.
OOH lives on
OOH advertising has seen a continual growth worldwide for the past nine years, according to the Outdoor Advertising Asoociation of America, and though brands and businesses are gearing more efforts towards e-commerce and digital advertising, especially during this global movement control order; marketing strategies that fail to integrate OOH advertising are missing out on a staggering 19% reach that OOH provides. How then are businesses still managing to reap the benefits of this medium in the ‘new normal?’
The country of Malaysia experienced a strict government sanctioned lockdown for 3 months beginning in March. Businesses across the country suffered massive losses during this period, and obviously so did the ad market. Though questions may arise about the relevancy of OOH in Malaysia, various companies have taken it upon themselves to revitalize the medium, proving why it has remained such an effective and enduring form of advertising.
The global pandemic has given rise to innovative strategies, keeping the medium well within the public eye despite the ever present threat of Covid-19. An example of this has been displayed by the recent efforts put forth by media specialist company Pi interactive, and its SME advertising subsidiary BRANDALAH that launched an advertising fund worth 3.1 million, providing free advertising on numerous Out-of-Home digital screens in the Klang Valley. This fund was essentially started to help support local businesses with their struggles during the Covid-19 crisis.
A positive aspect of ‘the new normal’ has presented an opportunity to the OOH industry to evolve the medium, and perhaps reconstruct the way in which it can be used, and how the public perceive it. The ‘Celebrating Heroes Campaign’ is an endeavour quite recently put together by entities of Malaysia’s Marcom industry and Moving Walls, honouring the efforts and sacrifices of Malaysia’s front liners. The project involved members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Malaysia (OAAM) contributing more than MYR 500,000 worth of advertising slots completely free of cost. Funds raised from ad revenue during this Digital Out of Home campaign is set to be donated to MERCY Malaysia, and IMARET; NGO’s that have both been actively combating the virus.
As mentioned, the current global situation has set forth a time of introspection for the OOH industry. But with effort put in by various companies, the innovations in technology and abundance of location data; OOH continues to endure, making it accountable and measurable in the midst of this uncertain time. This data driven shift in the OOH media format will inevitably make the medium much more effective in years to come, and is now more prevalent during the global movement restriction orders.
OOH advertising still remains an essential part of infrastructure, and even during times where the public will spend most of their time in the comfort of their homes, the medium still provides value to brands, governments, and society as a whole.
