A few weeks ago, our founder, Gino Sesto, had the opportunity to appear on “Audacious with Chion Wolf,” a podcast about uncommon experiences of everyday people. Gino discussed the history of billboards for an episode called “The Big Picture: What Billboards Do To Us.”
Even if Gino hadn’t appeared on it, this is the type of stuff we love — great insights into things people wonder about billboards. It began with billboard history, then detailed a marriage proposal via billboard and the technology behind billboards that let you send audio messages to passersby.
The whole episode was useful, like taking a class where the professor actually engages while they teach. And it prompted us to do some exploring for another best-of list. We found six other podcast episodes focused on out of home that deliver excellent information while also being fun. Here’s a list of podcasts to listen to on your commute or on the treadmill that will inform and entertain.
1. “Out-of-Home Advertising Now that Everyone’s Inside” (“eMarketer Podcast”)
Three advertising experts break down the return of outdoor advertising in an episode perfect for people who love statistics and numbers. Yes, this podcast came out last fall, so some of the draw is in seeing what the experts were wrong about and what proved right. They also discuss the reasons out of home advertising took less of a hit than other formats last year.
Interesting quote: “In Q2, many advertisers shifted campaigns to later in the year vs. canceling. We are positive on the news that advertisers are opting to shift campaigns later, weeks or months, rather than canceling. There is the potential for the second half of the year to see a pickup.”
2. “Michael Lee From Oatly” (“Behind the Billboard”)
You could listen to any of “Behind the Billboard’s” podcasts, really, for an excellent education. Hosts Dan Dawson (Grand Visual) and Hugh Todd explore their lifelong interest in posters, boards and other out of home advertising, creating ties between popular culture and history. Start with the April 1 episode about Oatly, a brand that’s been making waves with its bold marketing, including billboards and that odd Super Bowl ad.
Interesting quote: “One of the first things [Oatly] did was fire the marketing department and then put creatives at the center of the company, having creatives involved in a lot of the decision-making.”
3. “Outdoor Advertising Signs with Richard Rothfelder” (“Eminent Domain Podcast”)
You have probably heard of eminent domain, which allows the government to take over private land and turn it into property for public use. You may know that it can impact residential and commercial land, but did you realize it can also apply to billboards? This fascinating episode breaks down some past cases and discusses why things played out the way they did from a legal standpoint.
Interesting quote: “Prior to 2015, the Texas Department of Transportation treated billboards as personal property and only afforded billboards displaced by their highway improvement projects the right to relocate the billboard at a conforming site plus the cost of that relocation effort in doing so. Now, the billboard industry, on the other hand, argued it made no difference whether you called the billboard personal property or realty or green cheese or anything else.”
4. “Lynn Palmer: Billboard Advertising: A New and Improved Way of Reaching a Mass Audience” (“Biz Soup Podcast Radio”)
Clear Channel is one of the Big Three outdoor companies, and it’s always interesting to hear what people there have to say about the medium and the market. Obviously, a lot of what they share is calculated in their interest (this is sales, after all), but that makes it pretty informative, too. Lynn, the vice president of sales/market manager for San Diego at Clear Channel Outdoor, gives an overview of ways to use billboard advertising and strategies for getting the most from your message on this podcast episode.
Interesting quote: “All media work best when there’s a consistent message, consistency across all that [the advertiser is] doing. … If they’re already doing an ad in the newspaper or radio, we try to make sure that we’re utilizing the same messaging and keeping that consistent for them when we’re creating the messages.”
5. “Solving the Covid-Induced OOH Sales Dilemma” (“OOH Today”)
impacted outdoor advertising — and every form of advertising, really — in so many ways over the past 14 months, you could probably make a six-hour podcast and only cover the tip of the issue. But this podcast hits a few solid points in that conversation, exploring the problems faced in OOH sales brought on by the pandemic. One interesting question arising from this podcast: Are advertisers just hearing what they want to out about the economy? Or are they looking at the real big picture?
Interesting quote: “That’s what we really want to hear as advertisers. We want to hear that travel is taking off.”
6. “Future Proof: How will radio and out-of-home advertising evolve?” (“Kantar Podcast”)
Kantar is one of the best in the business when it comes to providing reliable, up-to-date information, and its podcast series focuses on navigating the changing waters of marketing. This episode focuses on OOH as well as radio, with guest Oliver Deane, Director of Commercial Outdoor & DAX (Digital Advertising Exchange) at Global, the Media and Entertainment group, discussing the fortunes of two media that in recent years had been on inequal trajectories. Radio got a boost in listenership during the pandemic, but OOH’s audience fell during lockdown. Now that things are returning to normal, that reversal appears short-lived.
Interesting quote: “What COVID is going to do is take the five-year trend that was happening in that industry and speed it up and make it happen much quicker. And I think you’ve seen that in out of home in the sense of advertisers are demanding a greater amount of flexibility from out of home and demanding a greater level of immediacy from it.”
Do you have a favorite OOH podcast? There are so many, we’d love to get other ideas. You can share them with us via social media or our chat option. And you can always contact DASH TWO about this or other blogs or work.