
AI won’t replace market research. But it will expose weak strategy
Much of the broader conversation around AI in market research assumes conditions that do not consistently exist across many African markets, writes Soyinka Witness.
OOH ADVERTISING
By our News Team | 2022
New DOOH technology enables audiences to engage, participate and shape what is being displayed on the screens.
Innovation continues to be a key differentiator in the digital out-of-home (DOOH) media industry, with the unveiling last week of new technology that enables audiences to engage, participate and shape what is being displayed on the screens.
It has been introduced by Outfront Media, which is one of the largest OOH specialists in the US, as part of a campaign for the Childhood Domestic Violence Association.
A commuter scans a QR code on a digital billboard to change the ad’s ending. Photo credit: Outfront Media, New York
“On-the-go commuters can simply scan a QR code and select pre-set creative options to choose their own ad journey. This is the newest example of how QR codes are being incorporated into OOH campaigns to make them more interactive and successful,” the company says in a media statement issued in New York on Friday.
The campaign deals with the experiences of children growing up with domestic violence and seeks to emphasise that, with the appropriate interventions, there can be a better ending.
Ads begin with teaser statements from children
Outfront’s creative concept, called Change the Ending, begins with several teaser statements on digital billboards that appear to have been drawn and written by a child saying: “I Should Have Stopped It”, “It was my fault”, “I Lived in Fear”, “My Dreams Were Broken” and others. Each visual includes the tagline Change the Ending.
To change to the ending of their choice, commuters passing by the screens scan a QR code which then reveals the new ‘changed ending’ for them – “It Wasn’t My Job to Have Stopped It!”, “It Wasn’t My Fault”, “I Lived Happily Ever After!” and “All My Dreams Came True”.
Chad Shackelford, VP Head of Digital Creative at Outfront, says the so-called QRad technology significantly ratchets up the effectiveness of campaigns by delivering a new type of interactive engagement in DOOH.
“We believe brands can achieve deeper levels of one-to-one engagement including, but not limited to, e-commerce activations, increased lead generation, and social media awareness,” he noted.

Much of the broader conversation around AI in market research assumes conditions that do not consistently exist across many African markets, writes Soyinka Witness.

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She comes to Havas as a business leader with more than 20 years of expertise across marketing, advertising, transformation and growth.