Advertising and media industry veteran Mike Watkins joined MediaWorks as CEO Outdoor in November. We quizzed him on what the company’s doing to develop its offering in the Out of Home advertising space.
What are your primary areas of focus for the upcoming year?
MediaWorks’ main areas of focus centre on our people, culture and tangible assets. We strongly believe our people and culture are the cornerstone of our success. We understand this isn’t something we can simply set and forget, so continuous development and investment in our team is a top priority throughout the year.
Nurturing strong external relationships is crucial for us too. Whether with our media agency partners, direct clients or landlords, these relationships play a pivotal role.
We’re also very committed to enhancing our tangible assets as we strive for a quality-first proposition. This includes optimising our physical locations, digital screens and technology infrastructure to align with our commitment to excellence. Each of these elements is essential in delivering value to our stakeholders and maintaining our competitive edge in the market.
MediaWorks recently announced the appointment of Max Charnin as Head of Programmatic Outdoor and Audio. What does this new appointment mean for the business?
Max’s appointment signifies a strategic advancement for MediaWorks. With a proven track record in developing and expanding outdoor programmatic offerings, coupled with expertise in programmatic audio, he brings invaluable experience to our team.
Programmatic Out of Home [OOH] growth is doubling year on year, as advertisers recognise the value it can deliver. Max’s leadership will help us to optimise client spend through strategic planning and execution.
Our digital audio product Rova is continuing to gain a strong audience, with major developments in the pipeline. Leveraging the audience data we get from this platform to enable effective targeting of audience cohorts across customer journeys will be a key point of difference during MediaWorks’ transformation to a digital-first business, supported by linear. Integrated programmatic offerings will be a core component of Max’s role.
This strategic alignment underscores our dedication to innovation and customer-centric approaches, positioning us at the forefront of the evolving advertising landscape.
What advantage does MediaWorks gain from having assets in both OOH and radio?
MediaWorks occupies a unique position in New Zealand’s media landscape as the sole provider of both radio and outdoor assets. This dual offering presents unparalleled advantages for advertisers seeking to achieve mass reach at high velocity, blending the auditory impact of radio with the visual presence of OOH advertising.
Within MediaWorks, we embrace a ‘creative spine’ approach that prioritises both the development of innovative solutions and maximising the potential of each campaign across multiple formats, including outdoor, radio and digital channels. Our platforms synergise when leveraged together. While radio provides the brand voice, OOH offers a compelling visual, and digital channels complete the loop, ensuring a seamless and immersive brand experience.
Recent studies conducted by OOHMAA [the Out of Home Media Association of Aotearoa] in collaboration with Analytic Partners revealed that integrated campaigns utilising OOH, radio and digital channels experienced up to 70 percent stronger engagement compared to single-channel campaigns. Similarly, research conducted by Radiocentre in the UK in collaboration with Neuro-Insight found that integrated campaigns delivered up to 40 percent stronger ad memorability and an average of 19 percent greater ROI.
In today’s ever-evolving media landscape, our ability to offer advertisers a comprehensive suite of advertising platforms empowers them to effectively reach their target audience while maximising the impact of their campaigns. Marketers can leverage our platforms to achieve extensive reach with high frequency, providing a significant advantage for our customers.
How is OOH technology evolving, and which brands are embracing the capability?
OOH has consistently provided advertisers with chances to break the mould and connect directly with consumers on the move in distinctive and unforgettable ways. Although special builds have historically dominated, there’s been a significant resurgence in recent years, particularly in the realm of movies and TV shows. Using glow-in-the-dark features, cut- outs and other innovative techniques, advertisers are captivating audiences and achieving even greater impact.
As DOOH [digital Out of Home] technology continues to advance, there’s a growing demand for dynamic content that goes beyond traditional static displays, such as weather-triggered ads, interactive countdowns and real time social media feeds. The most recent development has been the integration of 3D technology into DOOH. MediaWorks was the first to launch 3DOOH in New Zealand in partnership with Wētā Workshops. Since then, it’s been used by advertisers such as Air NZ, KFC, Mazda, Warner Bros Pictures, Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) and more. Full animation allows brands to really drive creativity and engagement.
Combining social and OOH is the next wave to hit Aotearoa – already seen in the UK and the US with the likes of Maybelline and Barbie – connecting OOH with AI that utilises an OOH placement overlaid with AI to amplify across social media to extend campaign reach. MediaWorks is also uniquely positioned to implement CGI campaigns by extending activity across our radio brands and their associated social assets.
MediaWorks recently announced that it’s integrated into Calibre, the audience measurement tool you were instrumental in developing a few years ago. What does that mean for MediaWorks and the broader OOH ad industry?
The sole purpose of Calibre is to deliver a base unified measurement system across the industry. This enables agencies to ingest the core R&F [reach and frequency] data for each site to build into their planning process. Close to 85 percent of the outdoor inventory of OOHMAA members are included in Calibre, and we’re having positive conversations with the others.
Calibre can now measure audiences for a range of formats, including roadside digital, billboard, bus, commuter and even airports. How does it come up with those figures?
Calibre uses a range of technologies and data sources to measure how people move around New Zealand. The anonymous, aggregated raw data is balanced and scaled to represent the mobility patterns of the full population. Each OOH advertising site has a standardised Viewable Corridor representing the specific area within which the site is visible, ensuring we only count the audience that’s exposed to each site.
For more information, email Mike at [email protected] or visit mediaworks.co.nz.
This was first published in our March/April issue.
