As I go through this new course on Business Research Methods as part of my Doctoral studies, there is much that aligns with the current evolutions of Out-of-Home pertaining to OOH research. The media industry is evolving at a similar pace with globalization and technology. OOH has not been left behind! In the just-concluded decade, traditional research methodologies such as paper questionnaires, diaries and, telephone interviews created tedious, expensive and slow processes of measuring trips to the locations of OOH audiences. The narrative progressed to evolve into computer-assisted to tablet assisted and GPS instruments to track and measure participant journeys.
Building on a number of foundations including big data sources from technological platforms, Out of Home measurement is moving from traditional research to tech-enabled research with tremendous benefits. The tech-enabled research gives media strategists a field day where everything can now be measured. We now have the technology to fully measure and homogenize OOH with other media channels i.e. TV, Radio and Print. ROI can now be measured across platforms. Eliminating the previous quagmire where we know OOH works, but we just can’t prove it. The possibilities and opportunities of liquid and linked or integrated marketing communications strategies are now endless. You can now:
- Assess the individual performance of OOH inventory by impact and reach
- Rank your sites based on performance
- Calculate ROI on OOH campaigns
- Plan for your OOH campaigns based on actual data/metrics to reach your target market
- Identify traffic patterns to proactively plan and gain a competitive edge
- Fight the War On Wastage (WOW) through optimization
One of our clients in Uganda, a multinational beverage company has been using the system over a year now and reported the following results:
- 15% cost saving as a result of optimization
- 30% improved site performance through optimization
- High reach and improved site impact
- Improved decision making based on the 48hr updates on-site conditions via satellite monitoring
OOH is now measurable with scalable methodologies that cover not just cities, but the African continent and any other continent for that matter. The economies of scale around the technologies have made it possible for small countries and even small companies to adopt OOH measurement for strategic planning. The technology can measure any type of OOH inventory whether, static billboards, street poles, wall branding, bus shelters and even digital screens.
To learn more on how you can leverage on our technology for OOH media planning, monitoring, measurement and overall integrated marketing communications, contact us on info@adspaceafrica.com or 0723-719-509
The article is written by Bertha Babu, the CEO, Adspace Africa.