Interview for The Great Outdoor Network between Glenn Carroll of Carroll Media Services and Jason Shockey of Shockey Bros. Media (November 2004)
An Essential Step in OOH Management
November 3rd, 2004 – Long before the days of “Burma-Shave” billboards and “ See Rock City” painted barns, the process of riding outdoor locations had become an important function for the outdoor buyer and seller. Even though the official title of “Out-of-Home Media Buyer” would not come until many years later, the outdoor industry has always relied on this knowledgeable individual – from local car dealerships to ad agency representatives – to ride the inventory and make decisions.
Today’s modern day OOH media buyers, even with the advent of high speed internet access, digital photography, and computerized mapping systems, still rely on “The Outdoor Ride” to properly determine which locations they should commit their client’s advertising dollars. Ask anyone that has spent a considerable amount of time performing this love/hate task and all will agree that the time was well spent in order to learn the market, secure the best locations possible, and to verify service aspects.
According to several OOH media buyers that regularly log on to The Great Outdoor Network, they are concerned more than ever with location quality, targeted demographics and proof-of performance. It was this renewed buzz about “The Outdoor Ride” that prompted us to focus an article on this important step in the overall management of the buying process. And, as our industry grows, far more emphasis needs to be placed on the importance of this step.
There are too many buyers in the outdoor industry today that have not had the training or the luxury to spend considerable time outside the office on outdoor rides. Of course, I can say this because I was that young, inexperienced outdoor buyer many years ago where planning and other necessary office functions, such as servicing our clients, kept me handcuffed to the desk far more often than I would have liked. When I did ride locations, I realized very quickly that it wasn’t only about getting into a car and riding around the market. It was also knowing what to look for.
To fully understand what is involved in the process of riding “Outdoor” – something I consider an essential step in OOH management – I sat down with Glenn Carroll, President and founder of Carroll Media Services, Inc. during Glenn’s recent visit to New York. Carroll Media Services is the only company dedicated exclusively to conducting pre-rides and post-buy audits in the OOH industry and has established their services as an integral part of the outdoor landscape.
Formed in 1993, Carroll Media Services has evaluated hundreds of thousands of OOH media displays for an impressive list of national and regional advertisers. With 17-years of outdoor buying experience and a considerable list of industry contacts, Glenn began carefully selecting a network of outdoor-experienced field representatives to do the riding that his clients required. The “Carroll Network” now has over 85 field representatives in 40 US states and Canada and prides itself on having experienced individuals that know and understand their local outdoor markets.
We asked Glenn a series of questions to instruct us on why “Riding” Outdoor is so important and to take us through some of the elements that his field staff looks for. Here’s what Glenn had to say:
GON: What do your current clients have to say about the importance of “Riding” Outdoor?
Glenn: Our clients simply “get it” when the subject of physically riding outdoor is mentioned. They believe that each unit is a communication vehicle that needs to stand on its own quality merits, regardless of what creative is being used. While most clients do not expect all head-on shots or “A” units when buying a multi-unit program, they do know if the unit has a short approach or is not situated to reach their target demos then they have diminished their potential for effectiveness.
GON: Quality locations are important, but wouldn’t you say that good “creative” plays a huge role in the success of a campaign?
Glenn: Sure. Good creative is mandatory for a great OOH campaign, but the two elements go hand-in-hand. For example, my company was performing an audit recently and we rode markets that featured Obie award winning creative, which is recognized as the best creative in the Industry. We saw a few locations in various markets that our Network would have recommended for change. The advertiser would never know this unless they physically rode the markets. Outdoor is very effective and a powerful medium, but if you put great creative on a unit with a poor approach, or situated to reach the wrong demographics, you cannot effectively promote the product or service.
GON: What are some of the things your “Outdoor Riders” look for when riding a market?
Glenn: It depends on what type of ride we’re performing. There are two primary types of rides that we offer in regards to OOH: The pre-ride and the post-buy audit.
GON: Okay. Let’s start with Pre-Rides.
Glenn: During our pre-rides, we do things a little differently in the sense that we don’t ride with the vendor. Our clients like the fact that we are independent and make the decisions without a sales person sitting next to us influencing our decisions. This allows us to remain objective while we’re rating locations. I do understand however, that most buyers don’t have a ton of experience in all of the markets or the ride evaluation process so I still recommend, whenever possible, that they ride along with an experienced representative. However, I would advise them to consider the source before taking the advice as gospel. Fortunately, the majority of our reps had solid OOH experience prior to joining Carroll Media Services. This allows us to perform our audits alone and from an objective position.
As far as what we look for, what it boils down to is recommending a good board that the advertiser will have a decent chance of the consumer reading their message and becoming interested in their product or service. Location, Location, Location, is an old real estate term that I’ve seen recently in some outdoor vendor campaigns, but I would add “with good visibility” on the end of that phrase in regard to OOH – whether it’s traditional or alternative.
For 30-sheets and bulletins, we implemented our own rating system that places a qualitative value on each unit. The system is relatively simple but extremely effective in communicating to our clients why we are recommending changes. It also insures that we are consistent throughout the Network. My advice to the Industry or to OOH departments is that if they want to establish a rating system, they should keep it simple so that everyone involved can understand it and more importantly, practice it. I have been involved in several attempts over the years to make ratings more “sophisticated”, but what I found was, the practical application in the field produced sometimes drastic differences in rating scores due to their complexity.
GON: Just how simple are we talking? Would something like “Good Read” (Y or N) work?
Glenn: It is a little more complex than that, but all ratings are readability scores and do not take into account the area or demos. We have a separate comment qualifier to make that distinction for each unit. For 30-sheets we assign a value starting with 0, which is a poor unit from a “Probability-to-See” (PTS) standpoint; and then moving toward better units, we have 4 more rating numbers assigned based on quality of approach and whether the unit is a single or multiple face. It is basically a 0-4 rating with assigned double digit values that factor in better when producing an average for a client than simply 2, 3, or 4.
For bulletins, we simply use an A, B, C, F rating, with the opportunity for the rep to assign plus or minus on A-C. Again, this simple method is based solely on the quality of approach only, and each unit has substantial comments on coverage, area, stoplight approaches, right hand read, interstate, DEC, etc. This allows us to give the client the true measure of the field impression and back it up with reasons that may or may not be good – even if our recommendations defy the numeric rating. We would never recommend an “F”, but many “C” locations are recommended due to a targeted demographic, exclusive coverage, across from sporting venue, etc. Conversely, all ‘A” units are not recommended if they do meet the client’s criteria for coverage, DEC, etc. I feel it is better to separate the details of the approach and the other qualifiers in order for an appropriate decision to be made.
GON: What do you do differently on a Post-Buy audit?
Glenn: Our post-buy audit process is generally conducted at night in order to check lighting and also to report any other “problem” aspects such as blockage, flagging, and late postings. Since proof-of performance is such a hot issue these days, this service continues to be requested by all of our clients. Besides the obvious traditional and transit audits, we also audit all other forms of OOH like cinema, in-store, bar/restaurant, aerial, and any placed-based campaign or promotion. Our results are communicated electronically directly from the field within 24 hours of discovery along with photo documentation.
GON: Glenn, I don’t know many buyers that would ride locations at night. On average, what’s the percentage of lights that you found have burned out and why is this important?
Glenn: Even though I know the figures, I don’t like to comment on the percentage of problems we find, but lighting problems are certainly a substantial percentage of the problems we report on the post-buy audit. It is not just lights burning out, but a combination of factors that can cause lights not to be on. You’re right; most buyers are not out riding their client’s units at night, but for us that is part of the service included in our fees – and a necessary one. Illumination makes up approximately 25% of the space cost. If the lights are out, it represents a lot of lost exposures and wasted media dollars.
GON: It seems like you have a long list of national advertisers, agencies and buying services that use your services already. Considering why it’s so important to the overall buying process, why don’t more media directors or even the advertisers themselves insist that your services be used to monitor their outdoor advertising?
Glenn: A lot of them still send their own people out to perform the pre-rides, which is a great way to go if you have the time, budget, and resources to do it. I encourage this if it does not place a burden on your staff and budget, however I assume that for many it comes down to our fees. Keep in mind that our rates are extremely reasonable due to the fact we have representatives in most of the markets that we work in, and we are not paying a lot of air, car or hotel expenses.
I think another reason is that they simply don’t understand the real need for ride services. We need to educate them in order for them to secure additional funding from their clients. I once had an agency buyer, who spends several million in OOH for his client, tell me that they “probably need it, but Outdoor was simply not that important in relation to their overall budget.” It is hard to convince someone with this opinion that we will actually save them money both with the changes that we recommend and the service aspects that we report on. Not to mention the quality assurance aspect. We’re protecting their clients’ investment.
GON: What would you say about companies that select locations from a “pool” that were previously audited?
Glenn: I would say that this is a risky proposition due to the ongoing changes that we see from day to day. A unit that was great a few months ago can now be obstructed by a building, trees, or be a victim of road construction that now makes it average or poor.
GON: How about selecting locations from the photo sheets that the vendors provide?
Glenn: I can’t tell you how many times we pre-ride units that the approaches and quality of the physical locations are not even closely represented by the photo sheets. Of course, the photo sheet will not always confirm that you’re reaching the right demographic or that you’re located within close proximity of a targeted location either. I will say that some of the materials we receive are excellent, but nothing replaces the actual ride, whether it’s the advertiser or Carroll Media Services doing it.
GON: What do you envision for Carroll Media Services in the near future?
Glenn: By January 2005, our clients will be able to access our reports and photos anytime through a secured server. We are 95% electronic now, but in a couple of months, everything we do will be posted for our clients through our soon to be re-designed web site (www.carrollmedia.com). We are also adding more experienced outdoor field reps at a rapid pace to constantly strengthen our Network and to keep up with client demand for ride services. I think we will easily reach 100 field reps within the next few months.
GON: As I have told you on many occasions, and one of the reasons that we frequently feature your company on the Great Outdoor Network, is that we believe the Outdoor Industry greatly benefits from your services from a quality assurance standpoint. Our growth as an Industry will be proportional to the confidence that we instill in our buyers. I see “riding” Outdoor as an essential step, not an optional one, in managing well, all regional and national programs on behalf of the client. OOH buyers need to understand and be able to express the need for these rides to their clients so additional funding can be allocated to secure their clients’ investment.
In closing, what role do you see your company playing long-term in the outdoor industry?
Glenn: Long term, I see Carroll Media Services making more of a positive difference in this industry – especially in regard to what you refer to as part of that “Essential Step in OOH Management”. We now have several clients that admit that they would not buy the medium if they did not have us to do their rides. We also have informally proposed to the OAAA, a program that we created called OutdoorTrak. ä. We are still fine tuning all of the details and it will take some time to take effect, but the concept offers our random (proof-of-performance) post-buy audits to all national and regional advertisers and funded by the outdoor vendors as a sales tool. All audit results – good and bad – will be forwarded to the vendors and the advertisers as proof-of-performance. This approach is standard procedure outside of the US in some countries, and it confirms to the OOH media buyer and advertiser that the vendors are serious about providing service. Some alternative and place-based vendors are now putting us in their media kit – and paying us for the audits – as added value in order to validate their stewardship. I feel that the traditional vendors and the industry overall needs to embrace this proactive approach along with some of the other research initiatives they are considering for future growth.
