George B. Thomas: Now, I know that we're only two questions in and about maybe six minutes into this live broadcast, but I have to ask, what do you think so far: Is out-of-home advertising a possible fit for you?

Now, don't answer yet really, because as we have a few more things we ask Matthew to help you answer that exact question. But again, I'm trying to help you with right fit and does it make sense coming. I ask Matthew about testing, getting started, and so much more. However, I'm curious, what are your thoughts so far about this topic?

Let us know by using the hashtag #mpb2b. Now we'll get back to Matthew and his thoughts on out-of-home advertising, but I have to ask, Are you part of the MarketingProfs community? If not, become part of the MarketingProfs community by heading over to mprofs.com/mptoday. That's mprofs.com/mptoday.

Now it's time for In the B2B News, where we talk about breaking B2B news or really important tips we find on the Google News tab related to you specifically and your B2B business this week. The title, Top Seven B2B Marketing Trends, What B2B Marketers Need to Focus On. My attention now, maybe it's because we're quickly closing in on q4, say it ain't so, and I feel like 2022 is almost over. Or maybe it's just because I love the number seven. To be honest. I'm really not sure. But what I can say is that if you want to read and learn more about things like AI personalization, video marketing, attract, acquire, and retain, as well as ABM and so on. Then this article might be just what you've been looking for.

Of course, the link will be in the description after the show ends, all the right links in all the right places at just the right time. But seriously, this article, it's a good one if you're starting to think about the future and what you're gonna do the end of this year or in 2023.

So let's get back to Matthew in his Marketing Smarts podcast episode. I wanted to dig into deeper, or deeper into this conversation of the topic around out-of-home advertising. I needed to know. I wanted you to know why should B2B marketers be thinking of trying out out-of-home advertising testing? And here's what Matthew had to say.

Matthew O'Connor: Yeah, I think a couple things jump to mind. One is that the creative required to do a good out-of-home campaign is relatively low, especially as compared to other traditional media's--tv, radio--and, and why that is, is that TV and radio require a lot of production, vocals, video, et cetera, that have long lead times and once they're shot are static.

Whereas with out-of-home, you need creative similar to what exists in digital, which can be relatively simple to create and updated and iterated over time. Going back to things changing is that in three to four months the messaging you might want to have around your B2B product might have changed because the world has been changing pretty quickly.

The other things that come to mind are that, you know, as budgets are getting tighter, recession or, or macro things are a bit influx as well. So out-of-home is one of the lowest-cost mediums that national average CPM is about $5. And when you compare that to rising digital costs and rising TV costs that are in the CPM ranges of $25-plus, out-of-home is a really low-cost way to get broad exposure at a low cost and ultimately, if you prove that it works in certain markets with certain demos, you can scale it to a national presence.

So those combination of things make right now a really unique time to actually give out-of-home a thorough investigation.

George B. Thomas: So did you hear that? Relatively low barrier to entry, a bit more flexible than other advertising opportunities, and possibly a bit easier on your budget. Not to mention you can scale it nationally or globally if you want. So maybe it is something you should see if you can make it work for your B2B efforts.

Now we'll get back to Matthew in a few minutes where we dive into the question around getting started. Because many times that is the hardest part of anything we try to do is actually getting it going, but getting started with out-of-home advertising.

But first, it's time for some dope B2B learnings from the vault of MarketingProfs articles. That's right. It's time to dig into the treasure trove of valuable information and pull out two pieces of gold to help you be a better B2B marketer. Article one this week is Digital Ad Strategy 101, a Starting Point by Rebecca Bugger: "As the way we interact with the world changes, so too do the ways companies advertise their products." That's what we're talking about today, by the way. "Online advertising is more powerful and more complicated than ever before. It takes a specialized approach to run a successful digital advertising campaign today, hence the need for specialized advertising agencies that focus on delivering the best results for online platforms." By the way, that's how that article begins, but there's a bunch of learning inside of it. Make sure you check out this article to learn more.

Article two for this week's episode is Five Common Pitfalls and Best-Practices for Measuring Marketing and Advertising Performance by Manu Matthew: " To improve performance, optimize spend, and enhance the consumer experience, marketers must inject data and analytics into every phase of their marketing and advertising process. And thanks to ever-evolving digital device types, platforms, and technologies, marketers now have access to more audience and performance data than ever before, so they can make smarter decisions that drive meaningful business results." That's how it starts. But there is a massive amount of learnings that you can get from that article.

To learn more after this broadcast and to read both articles in full, head to the links located in the description below. I won't do the links in the right place at the right time thing, or did I just do it?

Back to Matthew. Let's dive back into this conversation of out-of-home advertising and actually how to get started. Because, again, like I said before, many times that is one of the most difficult parts is the getting started, and here is what Matthew had to say about getting started with out-of-home advertising.

Matthew O'Connor: I would go to where your highest value prospects are geographically. It's maybe obviously a geographical medium. If you can find sort of hotspots, events, headquarters, etcetera, that is a really good place to start initially. From there, you can look at where do these people travel, do I want to target them during a commute, are there other places that they might be like airports, which are another common B2B target where many companies are targeting decision-makers who are business travelers. Finding those geographic pockets and then working backward to engineer the best out-of-home campaign that really gets in front of those people on their journey, whether that's commuting, traveling, etcetera.

One point of emphasis here that is pretty unique, and a lot of people don't realize with out-of-home, is that dayparting and dynamic creative are now very prevalent and highly used. What that means is that you don't need to necessarily buy a 12-week campaign for your product if you know that decision-makers are going in and out of the office at 7:00 to 9:00 AM and leaving at 5:00 to 7:00 PM, you can hyper-target your out-of-home during only those time windows and only during the workweek. There is the targeting geographic density and then working backward on engineering those campaigns, and then there's even more specificity around when is my audience most primed and most likely to have this ad resonate with them.

George B. Thomas: Those are some great tips to get started and where to start your out-of-office, out-of-home advertising strategy. All of those sound like great ways to start, but I really love the idea of focusing on when will this ad resonate with them. Did I mention resonate? I really love that word. And the fact that it is specific or personalized to the person that's gonna see the ad.

Now, we're gonna get some words of wisdom from Matthew here in a few minutes, but right now it's time to turn the spotlight on you, the MarketingProfs community. Yep. Time for from the #mpb2b community. We searched far and wide in the #mpb2b universe to find amazing information and conversations to bring to the masses. By the way, that's you. So first, make sure that you're using the hashtag, and second, make sure you have fun and add value to the community. Then we'll spotlight you or your crew on the show.

Now, this week it's Lee Oden. Lee says on LinkedIn, Why should B2B marketers. use the hashtag mprofs? Well, we are gonna talk about that because we actually have his LinkedIn here. So Lee Oden says on LinkedIn, why should B2B marketers attend #mpb2b 2022 in Boston, October 12th through the 14th? Well, there's multiple reasons. One awesome content from top B2B experts, a welcoming community of peers. Maybe one of my favorites here. Meet the Queen of b2b, Ann Handley, and so much more.

Now I'm super excited to be at the B2B forum as well, where I'll be interviewing Tony Fan about web. Make sure you get your digital pass, or if you live local, you may still be able to get or grab a ticket.

I have to ask, are you going to be the next spotlight? Remember, community, use the hashtag mpB2B on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, and get the light shined on your awesomeness in the next episode or a future episode of The Marketing Smarts Live Show. Pro tip, it won't hurt if you tag me in your post as @GeorgeBThomas on LinkedIn and Twitter.

So it's time for some words of wisdom. Let's kick it back to Matthew and some words of wisdom around this topic of out-of-home advertising. Here's what he had to say.

Matthew O'Connor: In particular with out-of-home and our space is that you can think of these ads as blank canvases. At a high level, there are two directions. There's regular vanilla advertising that just describes what your company does. Then there's more thought-provoking, authentic angles around messaging and creative. I strongly suggest—and maybe it sounds obvious —going the latter route, which is authentic to your brand, potentially thought-provoking.

The more you can lean into that, the more that resonates with the consumer, and that will leave them A) remembering the ad, and B) asking questions, probably looking to learn more. I think there is a hesitation to be edgy, or maybe wanting to stay in a certain lane when you're using out-of-home, but I really suggest doing the opposite, which is going aggressively into what your company stands for, the values, the authenticity, the brand voice. That is a really important factor in out-of-home, and I think one of the pieces of wisdom that we've learned from seeing all of these different campaigns.

George B. Thomas: Zigging when others zag, being different... I have to ask, What direction will you take? Will you be authentic? Will you be thought-provoking? Will you create a buzz around your brand? These are definitely good questions we should ask ourself. More importantly, will you, or can you, use out-of-home advertising to enable your consumer to remember you and what you do?

Hey, have you enjoyed today's journey? Let us know. Use that hashtag #mpb2b. Head to the description below. Click on the links to the full Marketing Smarts Podcast with Matthew O'Connor and keep on learning more about out-of-home advertising.

Remember, these were just a few clips of the Original Marketing Smarts podcast interview. There's a lot more to learn in the original. If you got value out of today's show, hit that like and better yet, share it with a friend. To keep learning more, hit that subscribe or watch additional MarketingProfs videos depending on where you're at. Or go tune into the original Marketing Smarts podcast episode on your favorite podcast app. Don't forget to become part of the MarketingProfs community by heading over to mprofs.com/mptoday.

And always remember to be a happy, helpful, humble B2B marketing human. And we'll see you on the next Marketing Smarts Live show next week.