As the sun comes out this spring, many marketers will be heading to Miami for the POSSIBLE conference, April 15 to 17,
“The timing of it is great,” says Anna Bager, President & CEO of OAAA. “We’re in a very interesting year, full of challenge and change, and it’s an election year. There’s a lot of opportunity… And I feel like POSSIBLE has really stepped in and filled that vacuum.”
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Bager explains why this season of new life is one in which out-of-home advertising will blossom.
Key Themes: AI, Data, Privacy, and the Future Consumer
When asked about the key themes for this year, Bager doesn’t hesitate to underline the significance of artificial intelligence in the current discourse. “AI, I’m sure, is going to be a big part of the conference,” Bager notes, acknowledging the dual nature of fatigue and fascination that surrounds the topic.
“I need to learn. So I’m really excited to hear how brands and…the media side are using AI.”
Data and privacy also sit high on the agenda. “Cookie deprecation…a lot of regulation and things that are going to change the way that we’re doing advertising,” she says, expressing interest in how the industry will adapt. “It’s about the future. New consumers, new media platforms, new brands and advertisers. What do they have to offer?”
The Digital and Programmatic Leap in OOH
The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) is a trade association representing the out-of-home (OOH) advertising industry in the United States.
OOH advertising is not just surviving; it’s thriving, thanks to digital advancements and programmatic buying. “Out Of Home has…gone through a huge and is undergoing a huge digital transformation,” Bager asserts. “All types of signage…is increasingly becoming digitized and that’s led to a huge growth for our industry.”
But the transformation doesn’t end at digital billboards and transit signs. “Programmatic and automation is sort of the next level of that because once you’re fully digital…you can use automated buying and programmatic efforts to just make more hay with what you have,” Bager explains. This evolution has placed OOH advertising on par with other media formats, something Bager sees as a critical step for the industry’s growth.
“Brands really want to use automation. They want to use data, they want to use programmatic when they buy. And the fact that we can now play in that game is important for out of home,” she stresses. With its own event on the horizon, the OAAA looks to continue the conversation sparked at POSSIBLE.
