The pandemic will only prove how malleable the OOH industry is?

As the world pauses to recover from the onslaught of the pandemic COVID-19, Charmaine Moldrich, the CEO of the Australian OOH organization Outdoor Media Association (OMA), urges the media owners to build brands in the meantime. To ease off the tension and the uncertainty that the media owners are facing globally, Moldrich suggested that the advertisers capitalize this time to work out new ways to make OOH relevant in these times of crisis.

As the governments and the healthcare workers around the world are strictly advising people to practice ‘social distancing’ and to stay at home, Moldrich said that OMA is devising ways to aid the industry in sailing through these desperate times. Moldrich further added that the organization is also working incessantly with its members to make OOH relatable even at the times of ‘social distancing’. She suggested a few ways to make OOH advertising fitting even in this current state of affairs:

• Awareness: Moldrich stressed the need to fight the common evil by partnering up with the government agencies. All the government campaigns are directed to spread out the messages of proper hygiene and social distancing. So, Moldrich urges all the media organizations to make public messaging their short-term goal.
• Practice balance: Even though most of the streets are deserted due to the global lockdown of cities, upholding a sense of lucidity is crucial. This will be particularly helpful for service providers like healthcare workers and the local police who are on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19.
• Prolonged brand consciousness: It is further suggested that if the media owners continue to spend on branding and advertisement, even in these tough times, then this will establish a deeper brand connection among people. Viewers will then be influenced to see the brands in a new light and rethink the value of the concerned brands.

Furthermore, Moldrich put forth that OOH is a malleable channel through which effective mass broadcast can be realized. Based on these few arguments, Moldrich stressed on the idea of collective action to emerge out of this crisis together and strong. Consequently, she said that she feels that the media owners should engage in active brand building. This will mean that the audience will then have a greater recall value of the brands. And the customers of the media owners will find a renewed faith in the media owners who stuck with the brands through thick and thin. To sum it all up, Moldrich inspired the OOH industry to lead through the times of the pandemic in the world of advertising and media.

FAQ’s for Industry News (Advertising & Marketing) –