However, according to Zhongtian data, the proportion of large screens in total outdoor advertising revenue has been floating between 10% and 14% in the past five years. Although there are more large screens, the idle resources of large screens are also increasing (more than 70% of LED outdoor advertising displays have a vacancy rate of 70% - 80%).
Therefore, destocking and improving profit margins have become the urgent needs of LED screen operators. Transformation and upgrading methods such as one-stop precision delivery platforms and self-media operations that have emerged around destocking have been hot topics discussed and practiced in the industry in recent years. In this issue, we plan to talk to you about the brand self-media operation of LED screens from the perspectives of operators and customers.
What is the self-mediaization of large screens
First of all, what is self-media?
We Media, also known as "citizen media" or "personal media", refers to the general term of new media that is private, civilian, general, and independent communicators who use modern and electronic means to deliver normative and non-normative information to an unspecified majority or a specific individual.
It seems a bit complicated. Let’s keep it simple. The so-called self-media is your own media, and everyone is a media! If used on an LED screen, it means that within a specific period of time, the brand or individual will use the screen completely as their own. You can regard the LED screen as an enlarged version of a mobile phone and play all kinds of interesting tricks.
In a sense, today's LED screens are also "self-media" paid by brands. However, brands have complete autonomy in broadcasting content due to restrictions on policies, technology, or thinking and other factors. They cannot create freely and are not complacent enough. With the emergence of real-time and accurate LED screen placement platforms, the relaxation of outdoor advertising content approval policies, and the gradual popularization of new technologies and new gameplay, brands’ innovative placement of LED screens and independent self-media operations will be the general trend.
This also fulfills KK (Kevin Kelly, founding editor-in-chief of Wired magazine)'s prediction for the future, that is, "Access is better than ownership." In an era where everything is connected, the rights and business models brought by access and connection will be far greater than the property rights represented by ownership of something.
LED screens embrace connections and open their entrances to platforms or brands. Compared with sticking to self-operation, the outcome will be completely different. This is not only a problem of 10 customers vs. 100 customers, but also a problem of LED screens that can be cultivated intensively and make the best use of materials. Large LED screens or any digital media (except those that use LED screens as big names) will slowly die out if they are not connected and open.
Three ways to play the self-media operation of large screens
Based on the above definition of self-media operation of large screens, it is not only as simple as opening the idle time of large screens to customers or platforms. According to the current industry situation, it still requires breakthroughs in thinking and technology from all parties, including business games, and the costs of time and customers must be considered. In other words, how to increase customers and revenue sources for advertising screens through self-media operations without affecting the normal operation of the screen itself.
Referring to the practices of some domestic and foreign brands and operators, we have summarized the following methods of large-screen self-mediaization.
1. Self-operated large screen, play as you like
If a brand is optimistic about a certain location, it can directly lease, cover or buy out an advertising space, and broadcast its logo or brand and product-related content for a long time to show the brand's determination to enter the market.
For example, this is the case with many large screens in Times Square. They are directly operated by brands rather than media companies. For this operating model, of course, the earlier the brand implements it, the better. If the investment in self-operated large screens far exceeds the cost of directly launching existing large screens, the brand will have to choose another way to do it.
Forever 21 rented a store in the square and built a large screen. In addition to the hardware-related investment in the screen, the location fee was covered by the rent, and other investments were only a small amount. This method is naturally more effective than simply renting a screen in the square.
With the integration of online and offline, online operation of stores, or opening stores directly through large screens will also be a practice for future brands. Doing so in key locations in key cities is not just for sales, but also to influence and occupy people's hearts.
2. Partial buyout, innovative investment
In conjunction with their own marketing strategies, brands choose to buy out part of the broadcast time on large screens within a specific period and plan innovative advertising campaigns. These are some practices that have become increasingly popular in the industry. Let's look at a recent case.
OUTFRONT Media (formerly CBS Outdoor), one of the largest outdoor media companies in the United States, recently made an innovative advertisement for JetBlue on the big screen in Times Square in New York City (JetBlue airlines and Barclays Bank cooperated to launch the JetBlue credit card. The purpose of JetBlue's advertising this time is to prove that consumers can fly faster and travel more conveniently with this card and its app).
During the advertising process, OUTFRONT's Android-based advertising screen uses real-time traffic and flight data generated by Google Maps API and JetBlue app, which can accurately calculate for consumers how long it will take to catch the next JetBlue flight at JFK Airport from their geographical location, and also tell them how to reach their destination in the fastest way.
It must be mentioned that the ON Smart media platform behind OUTFRONT is indispensable for the realization of JetBlue’s advertisement. In short, the platform is an app-driven cloud ecosystem that integrates hardware, software, content and data. It can deliver advertising information that is closely related to them and can be interactively participated in in an unprecedented way on outdoor large screens to consumers in real time and on a large scale.
Currently, due to limitations in technology, policies, thinking and other aspects, there are very few creative ideas for digital outdoor large screens. Our common approach is to place advertisements by week or month. The pictures or videos are completed at once and there is nothing new, and then the advertisements of many brands are played together in a loop. If we have a system like the ON SMART media platform, it will not be a problem to expand innovative outdoor large-screen display from point to point.
We can also look at a British case.
Recently, the British Bauer Media teamed up with the creative technology company Flux to conduct a series of outdoor advertising based on audience data on Kong Outdoor's digital media. Bauer Media's radio brands such as Kiss FM, Hallam FM, and Radio Aire use digital advertising screens to broadcast real-time, personalized content streams to target audiences.
For example, KISS FM broadcasts the live footage of the Brit Awards on the big screen, while Hallam FM and Radio Aire present news events, traffic conditions, birthday wishes and other information on the big screen. This is equivalent to the integration of Bauer Media’s broadcast content into Kong’s outdoor digital screens. The content is advertising. Because it is relevant and personalized, consumers also like it.
Broadcasting is the "self-media" of customers, and large screen is the "self-media" of broadcasting. Customers of radio and large screen can support each other, and the benefits of customers, broadcasting, and large screen are maximized. Among them, data, algorithms, and playback technology are still the key.
This is the future development direction of large screens. Currently, the content is broadcast in a time-based cycle to meet the traditional needs of customers. At least in the future, more accurate advertising will be played based on audience data. To truly make large screens the self-media of the brand, large screens must do a good job similar to OUTFRONT and Kong Outdoor. The existing broadcast control system may not be able to solve the problem of further development of large screens.
3. Targeted based on data
As long as it is a time period that the brand can use, it is the media time that belongs to the brand itself. It does not matter whether it is full or partial coverage. Effectiveness is the last word. How to make media effective and prove its effectiveness? Let the data speak.
In this regard, Clear Channel Outdoor is leading the way.
Not only do they use the location and composition data of the audience as a reference for precise placement, they even appointed a dedicated person in charge of programmatic purchasing. With more accurately segmented audience data and more sophisticated large-screen time-sharing broadcasts, combined with complex and sophisticated labeling and price algorithms, brands can buy ads for any period of time, for a few seconds or even one second, and can also trigger specific advertising screens based on specific data.
For big brands, this is an idle and useless time on the big screen. For small brands or individuals, this may not be the case. If people are willing to spend thousands of dollars to praise their favorite anchors and listen to Q&A from an Internet celebrity, it is not difficult to imagine that the post-00s generation is willing to pay to play games on the big screen and advertise for their idols.
After all, the world belongs to the generation of digital natives. The big screen may not change and adapt to them, but they may not adapt to these products of the 20th century.
The self-mediaization of the big screen is its own de-mediaization, and every effort is made to open up the big screen time to brands and individuals for use and sharing through technical means. Technology is one thing, but more importantly, human nature. If brands and individuals cannot find such a feeling of belonging to themselves, self-media will be nothing more than a false proposition, and I’m afraid it won’t go very far.
ANNA