4 Keys to Impactful Out-of-Home Campaigns

In January, just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, two notable out-of-home campaigns debuted in New York. Comedy Central and the MTA tapped actress Awkwafina to take over as the 7 train announcer to promote the new series Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens. Australia-based agency Cummins&Partners debuted Koalas of NYC, placing plush koalas throughout the city to draw awareness to the Australian wildfires that destroyed the continent’s forests at the beginning of the year. These creative campaigns ended up earning top honors in Adweek’s inaugural Out-of-Home Impact Awards, which gave Comedy Central the Innovation Grand Prix and Cummins&Partners the Strategy Grand Prix. The marketers and creatives behind each campaign discussed their strategies during Adweek’s virtual Elevate: Out of Home Summit today. As advertisers now have to constantly adapt the way they craft out-of-home campaigns to reach consumers during the pandemic, here are key takeaways for navigating the space. Envision the ideal news headline MTV Entertainment Group’s svp of consumer marketing Shawn Silverman and vp of consumer marketing Sara Eaton explained that when brainstorming ideas to promote a series, they first consider the press headlines the idea could generate and how it would resonate. Eaton said the go-to promotion of wrapping a subway train wasn’t considered for Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, since the show had no distinct following yet. “We wanted to invest in something that could break through,” she said. “We felt like there was an opportunity to reach consumers and industry people alike in the subways. The idea was homegrown and came out of a brainstorm with our team internally.” The campaign, in which Awkwafina recorded some 160 prompts including facts about each 7 train station and standard MTA announcements, was the first of its kind for New York public transit. Ultimately, it drew the results Comedy Central wanted: an estimated $10 million in incremental media value and 36 million media impressions. What works for the IP? The MTA sent Comedy Central scripts for the campaign, but Eaton said her creative team reworked most to align with the show’s comedic voice. “Obviously, [Awkwarfina] needed to read the name of the stop and essential information, but they let us have a ton of fun with the reads,” she said. As the ViacomCBS network strategizes marketing moving forward, Silverman said he views OOH as a “space we can have a lot of fun and be creative with, and make noise that grabs attention.” Eaton said Comedy Central could integrate audio into OOH campaigns in the future, but it depends on what makes the most sense for a particular show. “There are some shows I don’t think audio would work as well for, because [a character’s voice] might not be the most identifiable piece about the show,” she said. “The timing and the IP would have to make sense.” Small ideas can create dramatic impact Clockwise: Adweek creative and innovation editor David Griner, Cummins&Partners' design director Rachel Mitrani and agency partner Olivia Santilli. To crowdfund for Australian wildlife rescue organization WIRES, Cummins&Partners placed more than 100 plush koalas with QR tags on poles and trees throughout New York. Without getting permission from the city, the agency’s small New York team dressed in all black and secured the toys with zip ties at 5 a.m. on a cold January morning. The agency also hired professional photographer Jeremy Cohen to document the initial placements. Cummins&Partners partner Olivia Santilli and design director Rachel Mitrani said the objective was to stop passersby in their tracks with something they hadn’t seen before. “Getting real koalas wasn’t an option. But we had this image of koalas juxtaposed with the concrete jungle of New York City,” Santilli said. “We had to find a koala [model] that looked the most realistic, which sounds very menial but it was something that made an impact.” The campaign went from a New York-based stunt to a global sensation in 23 days and has now reached more than 150 locations worldwide. The campaign garnered some 1.9 billion social impressions and celebrity attention from Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox. The campaign was also covered by 152 news outlets and exceeded its target donation by more than 400%. Remain ready to adapt Santilli said Cummins&Partners didn’t foresee the project exploding globally. When folks in cities like London and Los Angeles asked how to replicate the activation, she said her team had to act quickly to help it grow. “In the first key cities we expanded to, we assisted teams [on the ground] that wanted to activate, providing the same photographer, tags and zip ties,” she said. “When demand became too much, we had to figure out a system for people to build this in their own city.” The Koalas of NYC website now has a DIY guide for consumers on how to contribute, from purchasing the toys and supplies to the ideal placement and how to share on social.

Out of Home Advertising News

Adweek’s OOH Impact Grand Prix Winners on the Keys to Successful Campaigns

Pros from Comedy Central and Cummins&Partners talk 2020 learnings and the future of their out-of-home strategies

Ian Zelaya

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Ian Zelaya