AI in OOH
Rick Robinson
CEO
rick@pjxmedia.com
March 10, 2023
Headline: AI is taking over the world!
Subhead: Language tools like chatGPT, Google Bard, Microsoft Bing, Chatsonic, Jasper and at least a dozen other variations are super cool, liberating, powerful, scary, spooky, and potentially dangerous.
Observation: We'll see...
We do know there is a direct, proportional relationship between dramatic predictions about the impact of new technology and the likelihood of completely unexpected outcomes. Short of providing a list of examples, let's all agree the future rarely plays out as originally expected. Truth is, we own a key role in shaping the outcome. We’re not helpless. We have the power to write the script, and when it comes to this new wave of AI, we literally get to ask the questions.
“Assuming the rise, refinement, and adoption of new technology like AI will create instant, dramatic OOH industry efficiencies and growth is giving too much credit to processing speed while forgetting the power of brilliant thinking and creativity to solve business (and life) problems.”
- Rick Robinson, CEO, Project X
There’s a dialogue emerging now between people and AI, and the questions we ask reveal our motivations, problems, desires, and potential deceits. We can’t trick it. Consequently, it’s not about how quickly AI can write up content, or do discovery and search, it’s about liberating our thinking. AI is neither benign nor malignant. What’s “scary” is that it’s all on us…
What does this mean for media planning and OOH Media as a whole? Will brands soon feel empowered to simply ask for a “great OOH plan that does XYZ” and stop paying for media teams? Maybe. Never underestimate it! For OOH Planners it’s much more likely for AI to apply pressure on the need to better understand brand problems. Planners will be forced to evolve away from their current standard skill kit for career success – 1. Deep tribal OOH knowledge, 2. Olympic multi-tasking abilities, 3. Hyper-consistent accuracy, 4. Old school endurance, and 5. Diplomacy under pressure as anxious clients wait for their plans (which always take too long for their liking). The resulting emergence of AI will very possibly emphasize a new required skill set founded in 1. Rigorous problem solving, 2. Inventive strategic thinking, 3. Articulate and succinct storytelling, 4. Genuine relationship building and, yes, still reinforced by 5. Deep tribal knowledge (a.k.a. expertise).
Assuming the rise, refinement, and adoption of new technology like AI will create instant, dramatic OOH industry efficiencies and growth is giving too much credit to processing speed while forgetting the power of brilliant thinking and creativity to solve business (and life) problems.
OOH Media Planning isn’t all about the outcome - “The Plan or the Deck.” It’s about the interrogation that went into it. The assumptions, road-tested experience, history of success and failure, recent trends in thinking, and the available inventory toolkit. It’s equally driven by the tone & manner of a brand, the personality of the promise, message style, audience intel (good or bad), and more. Great planning is a lot about how you challenge the inputs and assumptions. How willing you are to embrace lateral thinking, listen, learn, and ask again, ask differently, and ask yet one more time.
The future of AI in OOH will clearly be all about our detective work. That’s what trains it. That’s what makes it a tool versus a novelty. Getting the prompts to find the unexpected outcomes – beyond seeking the answers you think are right in advance – that’s what creates utility for the public. The OOH experience featured in the movie Minority Report never happened in OOH not because we can’t technically do it but because we’ve never made it valuable to people out in public space. Humans don’t respond to quickly planned campaigns supported by new technology. They respond to ideas and messages that add to their daily life and reward them for their attention. How will AI help us keep delivering relevant OOH work that serves The People’s Space? Same way we always have. The answer is in the question.
