For Business to Business OOH is the business

After many years in media and advertising, I feel I can confidently say that B2B is not generally thought of as glamorous or cutting edge. I don’t see B2B campaigns scooping the big prizes in Cannes or at Park Lane Awards bashes. Ironic really, given I’ve spent much of the last 30 years running marketing teams at media sales companies where the focus has been exclusively B2B. “We want to tell you why your business should advertise with our business”.

But in a media landscape where attention is fragmented and trust is hard-won, maybe it’s time to rethink the usual formula – a dense product-focused message communicated via an ad placed with a tried and tested trade publisher? Minimal wastage in targeting, maximum relevance. Preaching to the almost-converted, while ignoring those who might be persuaded by scale, stature, and surprise?

But maybe there’s another way? A road less travelled. A platform less played out? Why doesn’t OOH feature more on B2B media plans? I suppose one barrier might be that concern regarding potential wastage. Why place a comparatively niche message in what’s still a high reach medium? Well, these days it doesn’t have to be broadcast.

The advent of programmatic digital OOH coupled with geo-targeting, means that B2B messaging can be delivered almost literally to the doorstep of your primary prospect businesses. All you need is a list of addresses, and if that list is relatively short then so much the better.

And of course, the prospect customer won’t know they’ve been precision-targeted. They’ll see an ad for a potential supplier on what they perceive as a big, public platform. And any business that can afford to do that must surely be robust, trustworthy, and well worth meeting? As Justin Gibbons memorably once said “You can’t tell lies in public”.

Put your brand in an airport and the opportunities - and perceptions – escalate. A B2B brand in the right location at the right airport is making a big, confident statement. According to research carried out by GWI, 60% of business travellers perceive brands advertised in airports as market leaders.

Couple all that with the fact that OOH messaging has been proven to prime and amplify existing online and mobile messaging, and you’re surely onto a winner? For B2B brands, OOH doesn’t just say ‘we’re here.’ It says ‘we mean business’.