Barry Frey, president and CEO of DPAA, says digital out-of-home lets advertisers change messages by time, weather, news or audience, enhancing other media rather than compromising them.
DPAA grew from 22 member companies to about 240 across every continent during Frey's roughly thirteen years leading it, spanning brands, agencies, media owners and data firms.
Frey says he prefers outcomes to ratings, noting that Nielsen itself calls its results estimates, and urges marketers to plan from outcomes rather than starting from television or digital.
Why billboards are thriving in an age of personalized feeds
Out-of-home advertising has become a digital, programmatic, outcome-driven medium, and its revenue is at an all-time high. Barry Frey argues its edge is reaching everyone at once, in public, while personalized feeds split audiences into echo chambers. That makes it brand safe and full-funnel, so he wants marketers to plan budgets from outcomes rather than habit.
Takeaways
Digitization made out-of-home flexible and responsive. Digital screens let advertisers change messages by time, weather, news or the audience in front of the screen. Frey says this enhances other media rather than competing with them. Singer says out-of-home advertising revenue is now at an all-time high.
COVID pushed the industry into programmatic buying. With offices empty and gas stations busy, programmatic let budgets shift from where people were not to where they were. DPAA also introduced members with strong products but small sales staffs to members with large sales teams, which Frey says accelerated the sector.
One message to everyone counters echo chambers. Singer calls out-of-home one of the last media that reaches the whole population with a shared message, the most Lindy format. Frey cites Scott Galloway's work on personalized feeds trapping people in echo chambers, which he says harms psychology and society.
Outcomes beat ratings as proof. Frey, who sold ads alongside Ted Turner before cable budgets existed, prefers outcomes and notes Nielsen calls its own results estimates. AdQuick's founder, early at Instacart, found markets where Instacart bought out-of-home grew fastest. Startups and small businesses share this results focus.
Public, in-person context makes it brand safe. Singer says out-of-home is the only ad format people photograph and share. Frey links its authenticity to strong concert and sports attendance over the past six months, pointing to Major League Soccer and Formula One, and to a one-to-many format.
Out-of-home works across the full funnel. Using the railroads, which saw themselves in railroads rather than transportation, Frey argues the medium should define itself broadly. It can drive people into stores and to websites, and he says it deserves its right percentage of advertising budgets.
DPAA grew roughly tenfold in thirteen years. Since Frey joined, membership rose from 22 companies to about 240 across every continent. Members include brands, agencies, media owners, programmatic companies and data companies, and DPAA works with the business press to explain the sector.
Frey's advice for marketers and innovators
Legacy industries usually resist new ideas through inertia rather than hostility to change.
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On this episode 2
Show 1
Innovators should find the decision makers and the people inside who want to change.
Marketers should stop tweaking last year's plan and build from desired outcomes instead of starting with television or digital.
Young people should be curious, listen, ask good questions and dream about what if.