Have you see some of those Insta Reels where a large 3D-model of a product would be floating around in a popular public place? It seems so realistic that it's hard to miss those videos. I'd be surprised if you missed watching such videos!
Faux out-of-home or 'FOOH' as I love to call it, gradually became the new way for brands to make a product placement larger than life, and creative and entertaining in 2023.
This trend will continue and only grow bigger despite the suggested legal and ethical issues surrounding it.
Massive spikes in post engagement from FOOH content
The cosmetic giant Maybelline released a video ad last summer which showed big mascara wands swiping huge eyelashes on the Tube in London and New York. People loved the ads, and of course, the ads went viral. The interesting thing about those ads was that, as realistic as they appeared, they were CGI-based. There were no real giant eyelashes placed on top of the Tube that would swipe against a real mascara wand.
Maybelline developed the ad with the help of a CGI production company that had created similar ads for major brands like Burberry and Gucci. Brands like Nike, British Airways and Mattel also launched campaigns using these real-life like videos for social media.
According to a sample data from influencer marketing platform, Tagger, during April to August 2023, brands achieved 1,700% to 16,000% more engagement on their FOOH videos! This jump in engagement was measured in comparison to the average engagement of the previous 30 posts.
Maybelline's mascara ad was amongst the best performing FOOH content. That video got about 450% more engagement than the previous 30 posts combined!
Legal, ethical and commercial issues around FOOH content
All these impressive engagement metrics clearly indicate that people are not only liking, but rather loving what they are seeing. Even more, engagement metrics also indicate that the content is entertaining and relevant for the target audience.
Still, there is a group of people who have taken a contrarion view to the massive success of FOOH content on legal, ethical and commercial grounds. Legal experts say that FOOH content could potentially, POTENTIALLY, infringe on intellectual property and trademark laws. The most cited example is that of British fitness brand, Gymbox. Gymbox's FOOH content showed ads pasted on the rooftop of 'Transport for London' buses.
At a surface level it appears harmless to a good extent. But according legal experts it can be interpreted as an IMPLIED ASSOCIATION between Gymbox and 'Transport for London', which in reality there was no such thing. It appears that Gymbox was trying to ride off the goodwill of Transport for London. But, as mentioned earlier, it is an IMPLIED association. But, the experts also questioned when a consumer would view a Gymbox ad, would they think that Transport for London is endorsing Gymbox? Instead, they think that the consumer is more likely to think that Transport for London simply sold some ad space to Gymbox. Another legal argument that has been made is that creation of such an ad conveyed "a private legal wrong of conversion" which is another way of classifying it as theft. But, that would be considered as theft if Transfort for London sold that space for ads. If they don't, then it means that they have not suffered any loss. Finally, the legal experts said there may be a case for trademark usage in fake ads but that is also not clear cut.
The ethics debate around FOOH content has been primarily around the fact that the content is not truly real-life. It is rather a mobile video of a real-life location which has been carefully shot and giant CGI products have been blended with the actual footage. According to purists, FOOH content deceives the audience into believing that the video is real and MAY cause harm to them in some way. Such a reaction is expected for any new media format until supporting laws are introduced. But, these ads are being created primarily for social media with little or no room for harm.
Rather, the objective of using the reality-bending media is to get attention of the audience, pushing them into a brief state of disbelief, and pushing them to question whether the video is real or not. If none of these arguments make sense, then look at the Tagger data. High levels of average engagement is a clear sign that the audience find the FOOH content more entertaining than a professionally shot photo enhanced in Photoshop or a video with eye-catching graphics. Such kind of content is widely available and consistency in quality of such a content has made brands and their products largely indistinguishable.
Then there are the commercial implications of this FOOH trend. The way this real-life fake content has caught on with people, will likely impact the revenues of traditional out-of-home companies like JC Decaux, Clear Channel and TFL. And let's not forget the multi-billion dollay media buying industry that helps brands secure premium locations for activations.
If you look at it from a point of view of content development, the cost of blending CGI elements with real-world video footage is a fraction of actually building props in physical out-of-home locations. Not to mention the limitations of available space and safety.
FOOH is here to stay, and a logical step towards the metaverse
Like I said before, every new media format is viewed with suspicion and FOOH is no different. But make no mistake about the fact that it is here to stay. Simply because of its virtual, immersive, and entertaining value. It opens up endless opportunities for brands to creative organic activations to surprise, delight and engage their audience. Yes, there are associated legal and ethical issues, but that does not take away the freshness it has brought when it comes to how consumers interact with brands.
From a commercial perspective, the traditional OOH may experience revenue hits. But, in my view, it is a good opportunity for them to find ways adopt new technologies to leverage this trend or better, upend it. Think about it for a second. With social media platforms grabbing the audience attention over the years, an Insta photo frame prop was the simplest form of OOH installation allowed it to reach the digital platforms. And it is still being used by brands for promotion and employee engagement. A bit overused, in my view, but they are still relevant.
Not many people may be familiar with digital out-of-home advertising company, Ocean Outdoor, partnered with Argos to launch the world's first cross-platform Web 3.0 metaverse out-of-home package. Basically, Argos would use Ocean Outdoor's premium digital out-of-home displays as well as various 45 digital billboards in Decentraland and Somnium Space, and Ocean's 3 NFT sites. Argos used these digital properties in real, premium locations in cities, and their digital version in the metaverse to drive awareness about premium products and brands Argos is not commonly known for.
Brands have already been using social media and digital out-of-home experiences to grab people's attention. Metaverse is the long-term bet for future brand activations. And FOOH content sits quite well between the social media and digital out-of-home, and metaverse.
Many people have conveniently chosen to consider the FOOH content as a medium most relevant for consumer products like fashion, beauty, and technology. I think it's a very skewed way of looking at a format that has just taken off and it is only a matter of time when B2B marketers will find ways of using them to their advantage. For event and conference promotion, perhaps, who knows?
While adopting a new media format might seem speculative, it is crucial to understand that the audience continuously wants fresh, immersive, and entertaining content. And I believe that this is applicable to both B2C and B2B customers. Yes, FOOH IS fake to a certain extent. But there are simple ways to disclose to the audience about the synthetic aspect of the content. But the creative license it offers is very valuable for any marketer to get the attention of the target audience.
Of course, FOOH does need democratization of CGI tools and a user preference to engage with the brands. Or may be it just might create new opportunities for users who are waiting to be surprised. Brands that will find ways to win with FOOH are likely to find it easier to step into the metaverse when it reaches us.
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