How is Technology Changing the Outdoor Industry?
Digital may be the rage, but all media is improving in reach, connection and return on investment. The constant? Technology.
Beside the great digital disruptor, another medium that is transforming with technology is outdoor, or out-of-home advertising as those in the outdoor advertising area call it. (Although I’m not sure why mobile marketing is not considered out-of-home.)
Digital billboards have been in the market for nearly 10 years. But I feel they still have not fulfilled their true potential: Different color combinations should be used for daylight and nightlight, connecting content to the environment at different times (for example, a specific message for people going to a football game one day, vacationing messages another day) and using multiple billboards to simulate movement.
GM is using the new technology in a new way in Chicago. GM’s billboard is delivering a personalized message to drivers in cars that are not GM cars. A camera reader identifies passing cars by their grilles and then the billboard delivers a message such as “More Available Safety Features than Your Hyundai Sonata.” Some billboard companies are now delivering targeting information about traffic patterns which can tell you if people were in a car dealership or furniture store in the last few weeks.
According to Advertising Age magazine, we may be able to by ads only seconds before they appear on boards to reach specific audiences. This kind of big data usage will be incredibly expensive but much more efficient.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
