Cynopsis Digital Out of Home 04/03/24: Walmart ups its retail media game; Cognitiv offers "More"; Uber circles baseball stadiums

Wednesday April 3, 2024

Walmart upping its retail media game, expanding the options it offers advertisers on Walmart Connect. That includes introducing in-store campaign management to the Walmart Ad Center, starting with TV Wall ads. Brand Shop capabilities will include video, new templates and expanded discoverability. Later this year, partners will be able to plug into Walmart’s machine-learning-powered, self-serve tool for building and optimizing ad creative, Creative Builder, through a Creative API. “Delivering these solutions to our suppliers, sellers and partners will take our retail media offering to the next level this year – but more importantly, support them better as they navigate an increasingly complex marketing landscape,” said Rich Lehrfeld, SVP and GM, Walmart Connect, in a blog post. “It’s how we put Walmart’s purpose in motion as a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer to better serve our customers and the brands that work with us.”

Optimum unveiled a new brand platform and marketing campaign, “Where local is big time,” highlighting Optimum’s hyperlocal focus and big-tech capabilities. The multichannel media campaign, which targets residential consumers and businesses in communities across Optimum’s service areas, is rolling out across out of home, TV, video, social media, radio and streaming audio, digital display and more, and features a refreshed visual identity. “We know how much our communities rely on us to stay connected, so how we show up for them matters to us,” said David Williams, President of Consumer Services at Optimum. “That’s why it is important our brand reflects our customer-first ethos and reinforces our local commitment combined with our ability to deliver world-class connectivity at a great value today and into the future.”

Cognitiv launched its first brand campaign, a digital out-of-home experience using deep learning and AI technology. Its theme, “more,” arose from interviews with clients, who frequently said they wanted to do more with more time. Agency reps described being “stuck in the weeds” and as a result, losing the opportunity to focus on other parts of their professional lives. Cognitiv worked with Manual Labor Studio, a creative agency, to design the images featured on digital signs around New York City targeted advertisers and agency buyers.

Place Exchange announced its integration with Health DSP DeepIntent, a partnership aimed at allowing pharmaceutical advertisers to access Place Exchange inventory. “Digital out-of-home advertising is the next frontier for healthcare marketers looking to reach patients and HCPs beyond their devices,” said Chris Paquette, Founder and CEO at DeepIntent. “We’re excited to offer Place Exchange’s extensive network of premium DOOH inventory to our customers and build effective targeting strategies that leverage DeepIntent’s unique audience capabilities, like our Patient Modeled Audiences, to serve DOOH ads in geographic areas that index the highest for targeted diseases and conditions.”

Uber is taking a swing at baseball advertising. In partnership with Carvertise, branded Ubers, known as swarms, are circling baseball stadiums throughout the country with out-of-home marketing messages. Cincinnati personal injury firm Merk & Gile was present at Cincinnati Red’s Great American Ball Park at the team’s home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, while Visit Pensacola advertised to Atlanta Braves fans at its team’s 2024 debut – and that’s just for starters. This is the third consecutive year that Carvertise will activate vehicle swarms at MLB games, and the number of swarms is expected to top last year’s nearly 100. “MLB stadium swarms have been an extremely effective way for our clients to amplify their media spend. Brands across all industries — from weight loss giants to law firms to tourism destinations — are able to get the attention of baseball enthusiasts in an impactful way that’s just a fraction of the cost of a stadium sponsorship,” Mac Macleod, CEO of Carvertise, told Agency Daily. “Our clients’ wrapped cars are getting that same level of visibility as a traditional sports sponsorship — but in a more creative way.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“When I started in the out-of-home industry in 1981, this kind of gathering would have been impossible. There simply were not any women in the room.” – OUTFRONT CMO Jodi Senese, opening the “Women, Wine & Wisdom” celebration

Vistar Media has reimagined its demand-side platform to provide a sophisticated planning experience for running OOH campaigns. Now, the DSP enables buyers to better understand the physical context of OOH and how their campaign will appear in the real world. “We’ve built Vistar on our unwavering belief in OOH as a channel, and its ability to make a real, business-driving impact for marketers,” said Michael Provenzano, CEO at Vistar. “We’re constantly pushing our brand and technology forward, which is what drove enhancements to our DSP as well, so the platform can better represent what the channel has to offer advertisers and how they can take advantage of it successfully.”

OUTFRONT has launched its “Political Avoidance Network,” offering premium OOH inventory where no political ads are allowed, in key markets across the country. Lindsay Kramer, Senior Director, Client Strategy & Solutions, explains what it’s all about.

Was there a particular event or incident that inspired the Political Avoidance Network? The surge of interest and investment in OOH from the political category in the 2020 and 2022 elections, as well as the ongoing conversations about brand safety, particularly on digital platforms, especially in a tense political environment, prompted us to think about the broader needs of brands and customers across their full media plans and how we can more strategically support them. Brand safety is top of mind no matter the medium and we have inventory that allows for 100% share of voice as well as locations that are completely devoid of the exact messaging those brand and businesses are trying to avoid. Transit presents a unique opportunity for brands to maintain a significant presence and share their messaging throughout people’s daily journeys without having to compromise on locations or audiences.

What types of brands are most likely to take advantage of the offering? Simultaneously to our development of the Political Avoidance Network and proactively identifying inventory that does not accept or is physically removed from political advertisements, we started to get requests from our agency partners and clients about demand for inventory later in the year and how they can plan ahead to avoid running alongside political ads. While this is relevant to brands of all sizes, we’ve seen the most inquiries from the healthcare, auto, insurance, and pharma categories. We believe this list of categories will only continue to grow as we get closer to election day in November.

What has the reaction been so far? So far, we’ve received only positive feedback – everything from relief that OOH is one of the few remaining true “brand safe” environments, as well as appreciation for sharing information about the network and opportunities early so agency teams can better plan for the second half of the year. We’re also starting to see an increase in interest from political and non-political advertisers about availability and the Political Avoidance Network has been a great safeguard for brands specifically looking for those types of environments. And for brands who do want to associate with key political moments leading up to the elections, fret not, as we have developed opportunities for them, too. For example there is tremendous interest from brands in OOH advertising in the party convention host markets with inventory in Chicago close to selling out.

The top 20 OOH advertisers in 2023, ranked in order of OOH spend, were Apple, McDonald’s, Disney, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Uber, T-Mobile, American Express, Coors, Dunkin’, Verizon, Netflix, Google, Anheuser-Busch, Morgan & Morgan Attorneys, Universal Pictures, Pfizer, IHG, Walt Disney Pictures, and JP Morgan. That’s according to the latest Megabrands report, released by The Out of Home Advertising Association of America, based on Vivvix data.

Other findings include: · McDonald’s has been among the top two OOH spenders since 1999, Apple has been one of the top three for a decade, and Amazon has been on the top ten list for five consecutive years. · When compared to total media spend, the top 20 spenders change a bit – those brands include Amazon, Walmart, Apple, Progressive, Verizon, Target, AbbVie, T-Mobile, Google, Disney, Expedia, Booking.com, Home Depot, Domino’s, Pfizer, AT&T, Capital One, Geico, Temu, and Lowe’s (ranked in order of spend). · When looking at top industries/categories by total OOH spend, Media & Advertising, Restaurants, Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts, Local Services & Amusements and Retail round out the top five.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

The Out of Home Advertising Association of has appointed Andy McDonald as SVP, Government Affairs. McDonald will advocate for the out of home industry at the state and local levels and work with state outdoor advertising associations on the advancement of legislative and regulatory issues.

Cynopsis Digital Out of Home 04/03/24: Walmart ups its retail media game; Cognitiv offers "More"; Uber circles baseball stadiums

Walmart is enhancing its retail media offerings through Walmart Connect, expanding in-store campaign management and introducing Creative Builder. Optimum launched a new brand platform, 'Where local is big time,' showcasing hyperlocal focus and big-tech capabilities. Cognitiv, with Manual Labor Studio, introduced a digital out-of-home campaign using deep learning and AI. Uber partnered with Carvertise to deploy branded Ubers around baseball stadiums. Vistar Media and Outfront Media also introduced new platforms and networks enhancing out-of-home advertising strategies.