As those that follow us on LinkedIn will know, we recently attended the DPAA Summit in New York City (NYC). Being the busy man that he is, our Director, Justin, was in NYC for less than 48 hours so there was a lot to pack in! So we thought we’d tell you all about Justin’s trip.
The DPAA Summit
It was fantastic for Blue Billboard to have a presence at this huge one-day global media and marketing event. It was really good to hear from some excellent DOOH industry speakers and from top brands about how they’re using DOOH in their own marketing campaigns to get some really great results.
A particular case study that stood out to us was about Wag! partnering with Shoutable to allow dog owners to put their beloved pets on digital billboards to celebrate National Dog Day. The fantastic thing about this was that it got lots of people talking about Wag! and consumers were taking photos of the billboard with their dog on it to share on social media. Creating a very well-received, multi-channel campaign with the use of DOOH advertising and social media.
The whole summit was full of inspirational stories like that and it really got us thinking about how much of a future the DOOH industry has got.
The Screen Jungle
A lot of people refer to New York City as ‘the concrete jungle’ but we think it should be called the Screen Jungle because there are so many screens, especially around central Manhattan.
As we spoke about on LinkedIn, one of the cleverest advertising placements was on the subway service information screens. Not only because of them being in one of the busiest places in NYC and generating loads of impressions but because the main use of the screens is to provide service information.
Subway users have to look at the service information screens to confirm whether their train is running. Making the screens unavoidable for most people on the subway platforms and a prime place to advertise.
Digital screens really are everywhere in New York and seeing screens on top of yellow cabs and on the side of car charging stations is a testament to that. Being there really was like stepping into the future of advertising and it was really affirming to see that Blue Billboard is one of the few companies ahead of the curve back here in the UK. The conference also allowed us to build contacts in the industry from other parts of the world.
Times Square
No NYC trip would be complete without a visit to Times Square or ‘the Crossroads of the World’, as it’s affectionately named. It really is the heart of the city and Justin was in his element, surrounded by digital screens as far as the eye could see. Even the shops have digital screens above their doors to advertise to the people walking past, enticing them in.
It was fantastic to both see NYC and be at the biggest summit in the DOOH space to date. A big thank you to DPAA for putting on such a fantastic event. Bring on 2023!