It's a New Era for Outdoor Media, Too.

On October 17th,  Lamar Advertising Company took a shot at changing the outdoor ad business. Their proposal was to substitute current traditional billboards around the city for a fewer amount of a different kind: digital billboards that would display multiple ads. Lamar said the new billboards would also be available for usage by the city and charitable organizations with no charge.

That wasn't the only step taken by Lamar Co. to innovate outdoor media. They advertised on a highway for an iPhone app (also their creation) called “RoadNinja”. The idea: You are driving; and you are hungry. You pull over, download the app, and find exactly what you were looking for. Lamar seems to be willing to use every channel of communication to best reach the consumers. RoadNinja isn’t a typical “spots-near-me” app, like Yelp or Urbanspoon. It’s specific to road trippers and helps to find food, rest stops or hotels along the route. The ad brings together the good old billboard and the new media apps system, delivering what the consumer needs, where the consumer needs it the most.

"What truly makes media new is not simply the opportunity to display content in new ways and new locations; it's about finding new ways for all forms of media to work together", says Jonathan Salem Baskin (BaskinBrand) on AdAge. The trend is no longer to shoot the consumers with information they don’t need. The key is to use the innovations in media to deliver, in a dynamic and interactive way, exactly what people are looking for. “’What's old is new’ when you mix it with new media as long as it is appropriate, relevant and smart" – Debbie Nierman, President and CEO (HGXCreative).

Full story at AdAge.

(sources: The DMonline; AdAge)