OOH – the first, and the best, medium?

“It’s AN original” or “it’s THE original” are expressions most likely to be used to describe the first of something, the benchmark, the epitome, that which can never be surpassed, a thing to set the standard or, sometimes, just a term of absolute reverence.

In the media world, you can safely apply “original” to Out of Home advertising. It is well-documented that the first forms of outdoor advertising go right back to ancient Egypt. So, in terms of media originality, the prize clearly goes to the Out of Home obelisk where the ancient Thebans carved their first ‘advertising’ messages.

While the originality of the medium didn’t change for thousands of years, the canvas certainly did. From obelisks and hand paintings to paper and paste billboards, vinyl or even Trivisions (remember them?).

Yet, whatever the format, all stuck to the original premise of delivering high levels of coverage and frequency matched with the ability to deliver a cracking static image with a belting copy line, such as “Hello Boys” from WonderBra or my personal favourite from The Economist: “I never read the Economist”. Management trainee, aged 42.

When digital appeared on the media landscape many of the established channels were irreparably damaged. Print editions decimated, the rise of the non-linear TV and decline of the traditional broadcast, as well as the ability to actually ‘ad block’. All introduced to make the consumption of the content easier but at a huge cost to advertising cut through, advertising creativity and the overall effectiveness of the client’s advertising investment.

But one media channel’s problem was another channel’s opportunity and the “original” media channel, Out of Home, morphed into Digital Out of Home or DOOH. DOOH has acted as a magnet for original thinking in the advertising world, spanning creativity, media planning and buying, data, technology and will ultimately provide the bridge between the physical experience and a digital experience.

The speed which advertisers have adopted DOOH has been astonishing. In 2023, over 70p of every £1 spent out of home will be spent in DOOH. As somebody who has worked in Out of Home for over 20 years, it now feels almost like year zero.

The “original” channel is changing into a fully integrated communication platform that has not only captured the broadcast strengths of other declining channels but is now presenting a canvas for some of the best original thinking in the media, advertising and tech worlds.

Original thinkers are now grasping DOOH and I would argue that DOOH is now the purest form of advertising: beautiful large scale canvasses, full motion cinematographic delivery, unparalelled reach and frequency, data-led audience figures and fully automated delivery against dynamic triggers.

I’d argue that a key element of originality often stems from seeing something that nobody else has yet to see.

Starting a business from scratch with a clean piece of paper, not burdened with legacy product, allowed Ocean to develop and introduce something new into the Out of Home advertising landscape: an original product based on three fairly simple criteria. Prime location (the best in any city), full motion capability and tech superiority. Since 2010, every screen built by Ocean has included full fibre connectivity and a gaming-quality media player, giving brands and creatives a whole new box of tricks to play with.

However, when we launched in 2010, the main problem was how the screens were being used. Our media network was basically just receiving a digitised version of a paper and paste ad or maybe a press ad reconfigured. We had a Formula One car that was being driven like a heavy goods vehicle. So our focus was to sponsor original thinking at the source of the advertising process: the creative departments.

Roll forward thirteen years and we are about to launch our 14th Digital Creative competition where new ideas are rewarded and brought to life. Over the years, we challenged the best thinkers in the creative world and have had hundreds of ideas submitted. We have donated millions of pounds in media space and tech support and, most importantly, delivered some truly exceptional and original campaigns for clients. Campaigns that would never have come to fruition, many of which have gone on to win Cannes Lions’ awards (nine and counting). This change in creative thinking has played a massive role in the acceleration of DOOH and has shown how being an original doesn’t have to be a single moment in time. It’s a fluid process.

Here’s five of my favourite examples of original thinking in action.

1. Women’s Aid – #LookAtMe, 2015

In a world first for digital out of home, Ocean, Women’s Aid and WCRS/Engine delivered what has become regarded as the best DOOH campaign of the last decade. A powerful 2015 campaign which generated global headlines and went on to win more than 30 other industry awards including two prestigious Cannes Gold and Silver Lions. The collaboration was a world first because it was the first time the attention of people looking at the digital screens triggered an immediate change in the creative. Find the full story here.

Capturing the cinematic power of the channel, Universal studios created a world media first, the first film trailer for the highly anticipated 25^th James Bond movie ‘No Time To Die’ was released on the iconic Piccadilly Lights in London. Within 24 hours of the trailer’s debut on Piccadilly Lights, the amplification effect via earned media news coverage went far beyond those seeing the trailer first hand. It generated over 186 published articles, UK wide as well as internationally – reaching million. The trailer was so top-secret, it was delivered to Ocean by two security guards who stayed overnight at our offices. Find the full story here.

3. Jaguar Wimbledon Sponsorship, 2019

4. DeepScreen

Probably the most significant creative innovation in Out of Home in centuries. DeepScreen uses an age old technique called anamorphosis which mathematically warps imagery when viewed from a specific vantage point, the illusion of 3D depth on flat digital screens. Find the full story here.

5. Bridging the physical and the digital

Ocean launched the world’s first cross-platform-web3-metaverse Out of Home package with retailer Argos as its brand partner. This was the first campaign that bridged both the physical and digital world, connecting the consumer journey between the two. Find the full story here.