By Lindsay Kramer, OUTFRONT Client Strategy and Solution, and Lani Ferro, OUTFRONT Media Government Affairs
With the many unprecedented elements of the presidential race resolved, the 2024 election cycle has officially shifted into high gear. Here are five trends we’re seeing that show OOH is a leader in helping to create the moments that matter for candidates, issue groups and more.1. More advertisers are activating with timely and relevant pDOOH.
The explosion of programmatic digital out of home since 2020 created a new entry point for political advertisers. With its ease of activation and buying flexibility, we are seeing more advertisers overall as well as first-time OOH buyers, many of whom are strategically buying for shorter periods around events, rallies and in advance of key races and registration deadlines.
2. DOOH’s creative flexibility lets advertisers keep pace with the news cycle.
The ability to change creative over the duration of a DOOH buy has been critical to breaking down a barrier to entry that has historically prevented many political advertisers from considering out of home. In today’s cycle, we are seeing savvy advertisers who not only understand the value of their placements and the locations they are in, but also the importance of capturing audiences by creating conversational moments with OOH. For example, we have one issue-based advertiser that has run over 80 pieces of creative copy in recent months across a handful of markets. Each time the new news breaks, this advertiser has new copy ready to connect its message to the most recent conversations in today’s news cycle.
3. Political advertisers are discovering the power of social out of home (#sOOH).
We often talk about how brands are using out of home as social content, sharing their messaging well beyond the billboard via their social channels. Political buyers are quickly picking up on the trend and taking it one step further. Some are using the OOH as content by posting photos of the OOH and either simply sharing their messaging and/or making a call for donations. We are even seeing smaller grassroots groups crowdfunding political billboards to get their messages to the public. If elections are won based on what people see and believe, out of home is a physical means of activation that seamlessly translates into the social and digital media ecosystems.
4. Slower presidential spending has given local races and issue groups time to shine.
Despite a barely there presidential primary season with slow spending on both sides — even before the change in the Democratic nominee — the 2024 political OOH cycle was already pacing way ahead of 2020. We are seeing more advertisers entering OOH via new channels (i.e. programmatic), issue groups sharing messaging in support of their chosen candidates and more local and down-ballot races who showed up earlier during their primary races rather than waiting until the general election as in years past.
5. While the buy cycle remains short, OOH is being considered earlier.
As with many media channels, political advertisers buy quickly as plans are constantly evolving due to changes in polls, news events and markets/states of focus. In previous cycles, out of home was to an extent a place to spend “leftover” dollars; in this cycle, strategic decision makers at big campaigns and agencies are inquiring about out of home availability earlier. While many campaigns still go live within days of contracting, OOH is clearly a more intentional part of the media strategy than it has been in previous years.
We are excited and inspired by the role out of home is playing in the 2024 election cycle and how it is being considered a strategic media channel for campaigns and issues focused messaging of all sizes.
