Anna Bager’s Out of Home Issues to Watch in 2023

  On today's podcast OAAA President and CEO Anna Bager talks about the top stories of 2022, issues to watch in 2023 and new initiatives for independent out of home companies. What are some out of home stories to watch in 2023? Anna Bager, President and CEO, OAAA Keeping an eye on the economy...I have a strong sense that we're going to be fine... Signal loss, cookies going away, changing to IOS 14 and now changes in Android will happen...mobile ID's are going away...this is an issue...You are seeing the results of that signal loss...in particular on the digital side. On the privacy end there is...a likelihood that there will be the start of some attempt to create federal regulation...which will be good because privacy laws today are very different in every state...I think this is a big opportunity for out of home because we are not suffering from some of the same problems that traditional media does...We need to be aware of how we are using data and how we are talking about it so we are not putting ourselves in a bad light. P&G's Mark Pritchard gave a speech where he talked about reaching underserved and underprivledged audiences where they are.  People that don't have access to a computer or access to the internet...Out of home is a big part of being able to reach those communities. The category that I'm excited for next year is Pharma...It's a bit tricky with Pharma with all the disclosures but I still think it's a big opportunity for out of home. Accreditation and Measurement That's a huge storyline and a huge step forward...The MRC has leaned in to create better standards for out of home...There will probably be a standard in Q1 of next year...if everything goes to plan...That does not mean that they are creating measurement.  They are creating a process that's expected for advertisers and agencies to have faith in our medium...So getting that standard in place is a huge win for the industry...A lot of advertisers don't want to transact unless there's MRC accredited measurement so it opens up a whole new pool of advertising for us...I think we're making huge strides when it comes to measurement...all the exciting work that Geopath has been doing... What's your message to independent out of home companies? We need you.  Out of home is about scale, it's about reach and it's about location and we need companies that are everywhere in every little nook and cranny of the country because that's how we're going to be successful.  It's about 70% of the spend in out of home.  Local is a big part...and independent out of home companies are a big part of this industry. We're your trade association.  We want you to be involved.  Give us feedback and help us drive the industry forward.  There's often a misconception that we're only for the big 3 or the big 5 or big 6.  We're not.  We're for the whole industry. There's no other trade organization that can do what we do...protecting the industry...maintaining the Highway Beautification Act, lobbying on things that matter to real estate and first amendment issues, infrastructure.  We are also very focused on taxation both on a state as well as the federal level...and then obviously privacy is an area that we are increasing our focus on... We've talked about conference and events.  It's a nice place to mingle and talk to colleagues and exchange ideas and we want to create more opportunity for independents to do that in the coming year.  We are actually putting together an advisory board for independent billboard operators that will help us guide the output that we are putting out for webinars, sales training and research...   [wpforms id="9787"] Paid Advertisement