OOH Uncut Podcast: Eric Perko
Eric Perko, Founder & CEO, Apollo Partners, joins host Rick Robinson, CEO, PJX Media, on OOH Uncut, the podcast featuring thought leaders in the Out of Home media world.
October 16, 2023
The strengths of out-of-home advertising include its ability to elevate a brand's premium nature, its tangibility, effectiveness in high-profile environments, and the rapid awareness it can generate.
Challenges facing the out-of-home industry include the perception of being less targeted than digital, the need for a sizable budget, the uneven nature of markets, and the importance of believing in the value of brand for downstream performance rather than solely focusing on immediate returns.
Eric Perko Discussion on OOH Uncut Podcast with Rick Robinson
Rick Robinson: Hello everybody. Rick Robinson here from PJX Media with another episode Out of Home Uncut. Today's guest is Eric Perko someone I've known for a long time and a heck of a guy, but officially he's the Founder & CEO of Apollo Partners in San Francisco. They are a full-service independent media agency with global scope. And their secret sauce is not only do they focus on results but they focus on both brand and performance results. Eric, we're super happy to have. You say hello to everyone.
Eric Perko: Hello, thank you for having me Rick. It's so good to be here.
Rick Robinson: Absolutely Absolutely and so good to have you here. So I'm really excited to ask you this question for season two. We're asking everybody. That hey look, out of home has so many exciting things happening the increase of digital improve measurements, the market, the big epic, placements in city centers and all kinds of human intercept points. But with that being said, why is the industry seemingly a little stalled out, or stuck at 5% market share?
Eric Perko: Yeah, and I think it's a great question because there are so many things out of home does really well and I've long been a fan of it and I've been able to be part of some really great out of home executions. And I'll start by just going through a couple of things that I think it does really well, then give some perspective on some things that could be holding it…
Rick Robinson: Okay, okay.
Eric Perko: but when executed correctly it really elevates a brand's premium nature especially done in high profile environments. It's tangible in an increasingly fragmented world. There's so many areas that brands put their money and a lot of times you hear brands saying that they're not seeing it and out of Just puts all that away and you can see it. It is right in your face.
Eric Perko: Particularly in big cities, it allows brands to make a really big impact, which is not, equally felt across all other tactics. If importantly, it works, I've been part a lot of out of home campaigns and I can't think of one where there hasn't been positive feedback coming out of it, I think that that is conversed to digital only campaigns which do sometimes fall short. It's really effective at helping brands drive rapid awareness. I think it's insightful that some brands like movie studios, for example, the need to drive awareness up incredibly quickly are some of the biggest investors and out of home. It's a great frequency driver. brands around certain product areas are always trying to reach consumers in the road routine and out of home can be by definition that or You're reaching someone every morning or whatever you mean as you're going about their team and it reaches everyone, I think this is thought some from some brands to be a negative as it's untargeted. I think for the right products,
Eric Perko: And the right brands that executed, the halo of untargeted media with a certain place in your media plan, is definitely an advantage and something that you should make part of your efforts.
Rick Robinson: Right? So, that's a good rundown, mate. I mean, those are the positives, right, it elevates brands. It's tangible. You see it? Everyone sees There's this halo effect. It drives rapid awareness. it just flat out works. Now with all that being said,
Eric Perko: Yeah.
Rick Robinson: Why are we stuck or what should we do? Different
Eric Perko: Yeah, I think in terms of things holding it back, it is thought to be less targeted. I think the industry has made a lot of advances in that front but it's not as target as digital. And I think that the industry has been convinced that everything should be very complex. And sometimes, overlooks, the simple nature about a home and how it works. You…
Rick Robinson: Mm-hmm
Eric Perko: from a general perspective, it is expensive. I think brands, typically need a sizable budget to do out of home, really well, especially on a broad scale. It'd be difficult…
Rick Robinson: Mm-hmm
Eric Perko: if you're testing out at home through match, market tests and have really positive results. It can be somewhat difficult to replicate those results, nationally, and further on that point, I think out of home is not created equal in every city, markets like New York and San Francisco. Chicago are great at home markets but if you're trying to, repay those like Sacramento for example or smaller markets or markets that have strict at a home laws that can be difficult. I think that can inform the investment making maybe
Rick Robinson: Right. So that uneven nature market to market, you can't just spend 10,000 and…
Eric Perko: Yeah.
Rick Robinson: tested and build from there. you can in a digital or, search and social and…
Eric Perko: Correct.
Rick Robinson: just the legacy reputation being less targeted. I'm sorry. Go ahead.
Eric Perko: Yeah, I think that's precisely my point but I think one of the biggest things that's holding out a home back, is it really does require a brand to believe in the value of brand as a mechanism for downstream performance? there's exceptions to this, but returns an outdoor are not going to be immediate, but when done, it does make performance marketing. A lot easier, provide that momentum to lower funnel efforts. so not every brand sees things that way and I think that there's been an era of performance only minded marketers. That might not be the highest investors in outdoor. And I think that you'll start to see that stuff change as a privacy laws, get stricter and brands do realize, they probably need to have more of a brand related relationship with their consumers. That isn't just transactional and the media. See it performance.
Rick Robinson: You make such a good point. Just that fundamental core belief in the power of brand, which tends to be an instinctive almost emotional belief, once you have it. it's something that's very unshakable. And what's fascinating is some of the biggest brands in the world? Facebook Meta now, and Google and Apple. It's been hundreds of millions and out of home globally, because they know the power brand and as you noted, the movie studios and the streamers know exactly how use to create a brand, image reputation for a title overnight Especially in major markets.
Eric Perko: Right.
Rick Robinson: What would you do if you were us Should we go on a power of the brand World tour? Or what would you do different if you were in the out of home space?
Eric Perko: Yeah, I mean, I think I would continue doing a lot of things at the space has been making things easier to buy through digital, upping the level of measurement because that does come in the conversations quite a bit. And being patient. Also, I think some of these things will come around and this push to performance only and investing in some of the social platforms where there's a much more immediate return, I think some of those conversations, those will still be a time and place for those, but I think a lot of brands that get it are starting to wake up to the possibilities about door and we'll be investing more in the coming years. My prediction.
Rick Robinson: All right, everybody. You heard it here from Eric Perko, keep doing what we're doing. So the brand dream be patient and the pendulum is starting to swing our way that is thank you Really appreciate your time and thoughtfulness actually excellent quick interview. Thank you.
Eric Perko: Thank you, Rick.
