Artificial intelligence has transformed out-of-home ad campaigns by enabling precise targeting, real-time content optimization and enhanced measurement and analytics, making campaigns more personalized, interactive and effective. But can AI bring OOH advertising into the performance age? At Ad Age's recent Business of Brands conference in Chicago, top executives explored this topic. Stephanie Gutnik, global chief strategy officer at OOH technology company Billups, and Justine Frostad, senior VP of marketing at AI marketing company Cognitiv, examined how their OOH campaigns reached out to high-value audiences in New York's competitive media environment. Cognitiv's goal was multifaceted: building brand awareness for the platform, and also deepening connections with key New York agencies. Its campaign, which featured striking assets with key phrases stressing the benefits of deep learning, was a visual representation of how clients can be more strategic, and focus on professional development and more time to be creative. "Engaging in out-of-home specifically allowed us to get hyper-targeted around the agencies and create this sort of connective experience and storytelling, reaching agency employees on their commutes, on breaks, even in their elevators," Cognitiv's Frostad said. Billups used its technology to help Cognitiv understand consumer trajectories. The company also used a recommendation engine to help Cognitiv understand outcomes and be able to plan and measure against them. According to Gutnik, two of the biggest misperceptions about out-of-home advertising are that it's reserved for brands and serves as a "spray and pray" strategy as a mass medium. "I've had many experiences with marketers who are focused on performance marketing, who say: 'There's no out-of-home in this campaign because we're just driving lower funnel,'" Gutnik said. "Further, the spray-and-pray idea isn't true either, because as this campaign shows, we were able to target specific points of interest, specific agencies that Cognitiv wanted to reach." Frostad noted that as a result of Cognitiv's out-of-home campaign, the company was able to tie business back directly to a 650% increase in organic LinkedIn search and an 18% overall organic search outcome. "This out-of-home campaign allowed us to show up in front of buyers in places that, frankly, they might not expect to engage with us as a brand," she said. The campaign had a second life at the Palais at Cannes Lion, where Frostad shared that she recalled having previously seen the campaign at Grand Central Terminal and Bryant Park in New York. "It's Manhattan, so to be able to cut through the clutter is just a testament to the out-of-home channel," said Gutnik. "Warren Buffett has a quote: 'Investing is simple, but not easy,' and the same applies for out-of-home," Gutnik added. "We at Billups try to make things simple. We have AI that underlies the platform that we use for planning all the way through the measurement. We try to make it easy."

How AI is fueling branding and measurement in OOH campaigns

Artificial intelligence has transformed out-of-home (OOH) advertising by enabling precise targeting, real-time content optimization, and enhanced measurement. At Ad Age's Business of Brands conference in Chicago, executives from Billups and Cognitiv discussed how their OOH campaigns reached high-value audiences in New York. Cognitiv's campaign focused on brand awareness and deepening connections with key agencies, leading to a 650% increase in organic LinkedIn searches and an 18% overall increase in organic searches. Billups used its technology to help Cognitiv understand consumer trajectories and outcomes.