Can 5G revitalize outdoor advertising in the mobile-first world?

OUTDOOR advertising, like ads on television, will begin to suffer sooner or later as companies smarten up and focus on capturing eyeballs on the mobile screen.

However, experts say 5G might bring some hope — turning outdoor display units into interactive ad screens, just like mobile phones — only larger.

Although 5G isn’t here yet and will likely take a few more months to make a debut in the region, it’s important for businesses to evaluate what the technology can do for them.

Outdoor display asset owners, for example, need to think about replacing their units to capitalize on the digital era.

As soon as 5G makes a commercial entry into the marketplace, it’s going to create new and exciting opportunities for companies to reach consumers — via interactive and engaging advertisements. Planning ahead will help industry participants across the board.

Those that are able to leverage that opportunity will delight customers and wow them with innovative advertising that makes an immediate impact on revenues.

5G will need support from IoT to thrive

When a company works with a creative agency on a campaign, it’s hard for them to figure out the exact impact on their revenues. However, that is about to change with the arrival of the internet of things (IoT) in the advertising space.

Experts believe that the arrival of 5G will be the breakout moment for IoT devices, and if that’s true, it’s going to transform every digital billboard into an IoT device capable of interacting with customers and relaying back their interest — from time to time.

In fact, with the help of IoT (and other related technologies), advertisers will be in a better position to draw the correlation between an advertisement on a certain set of digital billboards and the number of customers walking into a store to buy their products.

All of this will, of course, be enabled 5G. It’s what will bring digital billboard to life.

5G will create new digital ad opportunities

There’s enough and more proof that people enjoy watching videos more than anything else. It’s what their behavior on various social media platforms have proven and it’s the reason companies/products such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and iFlix are doing so well today.

When 5G finally arrives, it’s going to make it easier to watch high-definition videos on the go. In fact, engaging AR/VR content will also become untethered and within reach in the coming months — intended for consumption while commuting in autonomous vehicles and on the train or bus ride home.

5G will also turn the screens in buses and cars into high-definition media-rich digital ad opportunities. Smart devices such as on-premise cameras and customer’s smartwatches could also be added to the mix.

All in all, tomorrow’s advertising campaigns need to be different from what we see today because it blurs the lines between physical and digital and gives omnichannel a whole new meaning.

Advertisers will need to up their game

“With more customer touchpoints, it could become even harder for marketers to design cohesive campaigns,” said ON Smart Media Senior Vice President and Chief Product Experience Officer Jason Kuperman.

“Advertisers will be competing in a complex new ecosystem and will need to find innovative ways to market their offerings through virtual assistants, connected devices, telematics displays and more.”

The connected media landscape that 5G will create tomorrow will provide innumerable opportunities to marketers.

However, in order to truly leverage those opportunities, they’ll need to embrace the complexity and focus on creating campaigns that not only resonate with the audience but are scalable as well as easy to translate across mediums.

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