by Tom Cherry
CEO, POP Tracker LLC
OOH Collaboration
At the 2019 OAAA conference in Las Vegas, OAAA President and CEO Nancy Fletcher offered words of wisdom during her 29th and final “State of the Industry” presentation. Nancy is stepping down after an incredible 29 years as President and Chief Executive Officer of OAAA.
“I want to leave with you the single most important lesson I’ve learned in 40-plus years in OOH. The OOH industry would in no way be where it is today without collaboration.”
This sentiment was echoed by numerous speakers and panel discussions throughout the three days. There is general agreement that collaboration and standardization of data and practices are critical to the growth and evolution of the OOH industry.
Despite the general consensus, specifics are lacking on how this collaboration and standardization will occur. Who is leading the effort? What baseline standards have been established? How have these been communicated or what is the plan for communication? How will compliance be monitored and facilitated?
Critical to collaboration is the ability for everyone to share the same knowledge, which in turn requires a forum for that collaboration. Understanding how each member of the OOH supply chain functions and the obstacles they face is important if the goal is to collaborate for the betterment of the industry as a whole.
Peter McGuiness, CMO, Chobani shared in a May interview in Ad Age, that in moving to the brand side after two decades at agencies taught him self-awareness. “One thing I’ve learned from going on the client side is all the annoying things we did as agency people.” This is not to say that agency people are annoying but that after 20 years he didn’t have an appreciation for the perspective from the other side of the table.
Technology can help with collaboration and offer all members of the OOH supply chain access to information about a campaign that typically falls outside their direct area of responsibility. For example, centralizing campaign information in a single platform allows media buyers to check creative installation status across a variety of media types, markets and vendors. This saves sharing photos and dates in endless emails which increases friction in the entire system. Vendors, in turn, can update the platform with notes about creative delays and agency reps will be instantly alerted.
Collaborative work platforms such as Asana, Basecamp and Slack have demonstrated the benefits of teams working in a single integrated environment. We believe that providing the OOH industry access to a similar collaborative platform will increase efficiency and drive value for every member of the supply chain.
We wish Nancy Fletcher all the best for whatever captivates her next and will work to honor her call for collaboration.
Tom Cherry
CEO
POP Tracker(POPT),
E: t.cherry@mypoptracker.com
About POP Tracker
POP Tracker (POPT) is the leading supplier of 3rd party proof of performance solutions to the Out of Home industry. POPT is integrated into the vendor supply chain to deliver campaign visibility through development, production, distribution, installation and posting. Data can be captured using the POPT mobile app or supplied to the platform via API. Activity is tracked via a centralized, third party portal which results in greater accountability and drives efficiency for each member. The POPT platform offers the flexibility to function separately or be integrated into existing client workflows to guarantee information is available in the most convenient and efficient format. Reporting and campaign analysis improve performance and help maximize return on future media choices.