OOH Uncut Podcast: Esther Raphael
Esther Raphael, Chief Marketing Officer, Intersection, joins host Rick Robinson, CEO, PJX Media, on OOH Uncut, the podcast featuring leaders in the Out of Home media world.
July 5, 2023
Esther Raphael Discussion on OOH Uncut Podcast with Rick Robinson
Rick Robinson: Hi everybody. This is Rick Robinson with PJX Media and today I'm with Esther Raphael. CMO of Intersection. Say, hello to everybody Esther.
Esther Raphael: Hi everyone. Thank you, Rick, for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Rick Robinson: Yeah. We're excited to have you and you know the question we've been asking everyone here in our first season - What can out of home do that no other media can do?
Esther Raphael: well, I would throw that back at you and say what can't out of home do?
Rick Robinson: Okay, okay. What do you mean by that?
Esther Raphael: I think out of home can do everything. Everything every other media platform can do. We can deliver in every other way that websites can that newspapers can, that TV can, that Radio can… the list goes on, right? But if we're going to narrow it down to what we can do that, no one else can do. I think that there's one really big answer And it's that, “Hey look Ma, I made it” moment.
My background is in publishing before I got to Intersection and out of home in general. And I remember the first time I saw my name on a masthead being like so incredibly proud. That cannot hold a candle to the feeling you have, and I will share a personal anecdot,e to having a moment in out of home. So, I have a personal podcast which we won't get into, but for Christmas and for Hanukkah, my friend, bought me a billboard as Hanukkah gift.
Rick Robinson: Name in lights, your name up high on the street for everybody to see.
Esther Raphael: That's right. And the whole day she was posting Instagram lives. Like, teasing me being like, you don't know what the surprise is. Wait til you see the surprise!... and I was like, What in the world is going on? Like sending me flowers, is there gonna be a cake? What is happening? So she has my daughter record my reaction and it was my reaction to our faces on a giant billboard in Connecticut, and just screaming at the top of my lungs.
Rick Robinson: Wow.
Esther Raphael: Now, you would think that I didn't work in the business that I didn't know how she got it or how much she paid for it. I have never felts that feeling of like Hey look my name made it like I did in that moment and obviously that's, you know, 15 minutes or…
Rick Robinson: Sure. Part of your allotted fame, right?
Esther Raphael: seven minutes in the limelight, but Part of my allotted fame, but when you think about celebrities even like the biggest celebrity, so I know many would argue with me but my favorite and the biggest celebrity is obviously going to be a Kardashian.
Rick Robinson: Obviously.
Esther Raphael: You look at What they posted today. Today's May 24th their show comes out, tomorrow May 25th. I shouldn't know that. I should be embarrassed,…
Rick Robinson: That's okay.
Esther Raphael: but I'm not a big fan today. Chris Kardashian posted on her wall. 10 pictures of every single out of home unit that they bought to promote their show that premieres tomorrow and…
Rick Robinson: Wow.
Esther Raphael: then Kim Kardashian posted in her stories with the location of every billboard. So it actually said, like the names of the streets.
Rick Robinson: It was a post-buy report.
Esther Raphael: Yeah, and like that to me is what out of home can do that no other medium can do. Like, we can fight our fight in every category, but you will never see a celebrity or anyone ,forget a celebrity, like a politician. Anyone who's going to show something that they're promoting, promote a show, a picture on instagram of their newspaper ad or their digital ad, that they bought even of something they've done on social media. What you see them show is their face on the biggest screen possible and the streets in real life and that no other media can do.
Rick Robinson: Our gravitas, right? And it's something I, you know, the message is clear that, that's how we stand out, and that's how we separate ourselves. And a lot of people think this happens because of the concurrent experience. Since everybody on the streets sees it all at once. Right. There's nowhere to hide like once you put your brand message out there in that way. You know, you better be ready to defend it, okay? Because you're making a statement to the world and God and everyone. Hey, I'm here I'm exist. This is what we stand for. Why do you think that sensation happens?
Esther Raphael: Well, I think that people associate out of home, and I'll tell you from my own personal experience with some sort of, like, level in which you have achieved success in, which you have achieved to be able to buy that platform to be able to have a presence there. So when I posted my own out of home on my instagram, my own friends, who know that I work in at a home. So should assume I got it for free even though I did it. We're going crazy. They're all dm’ing me back being like, I can't believe you made it this far. I can't believe you did this. It assumes a level of Superiority. It assumes of I am bold enough. I am big enough. I am badass enough to put it on a street and that is different than me, paying $10 to promote a picture on Instagram.
Rick Robinson: All right. Well that's nailed it right there that is that is a perfect wrap. You heard it here from Esther Raphael CMO of Intersection. Out of Home gives you that. “Hey look I made it” gives you that sense of credibility and superiority…
Esther Raphael: Yes.
Rick Robinson: but certainly speaks to your level of commitment to your brand. Hey, we're worth it. We're here. We're not going anywhere. There's a permanence there, a proof of life. Thank you Esther for your time. I really appreciate. We’ll for sure have you back? I want you to have an awesome day.
Esther Raphael: Thanks Rick.
