Health is becoming a major driver for a number of consumer decisions. Traditional consumption of unhealthy snacks is being replaced by the more healthy options. Targeting the consumer before the point of purchase in various touch points of the consumer journey, was and continues to be a major driver of demand. Therefore, the traditional TV usage for the FMCGs amidst this huge TV fragmented audience, is becoming more of a challenge and therefore brands need to rethink how and where to put their advertising money. Also, with the advent of digital media and increase in delivery channels, tapping the most spot-on growth opportunities has become more complicated in an already complex system.

All of these aspects pose a challenge to a number of brands and particularly FMCGs call for more accountability. A year ago, P&G – one of the biggest spenders in the FMCG Industry – re-evaluated its marketing spend and made concerted efforts to weed out spend that was ineffective. In 2017 and 2018, P&G revealed that it cut hundreds of millions of online advertising money due to bots and brand safety concerns.

OOH offers brands unique ways to focus on brand building and catching the consumer at the last point of contact if needed; all of which can be enhanced through outdoor advertising (OOH), mall advertising etc. Increasingly, there is a tendency to use very short-term online metrics as primary performance measures and this has dangerous implications for long-term success. Anyone involved in the complex world of multi-channel campaign development and evaluation needs to have a clear understanding of how short-term and long-term effects are different.

Brands need to understand that there are significant changes in the way brands are viewed today. A more detailed, tribal look of a brand that significantly changes the way brands are perceived by consumers proves beyond any reasonable doubt of the new era in branding. Whereas previously brands were birthed within the organization, today brands are extrinsically built by users who have a die-hard relationship with these brands and get meaning from them. It is therefore important to switch away from the notion of a short-term one sided brand building on media that are irrelevant like TV and online that do not really offer real benefits to the long term value of an FMCG brand.

We have seen the last few years a multiplicity of new products based on the area, region, gender etc. Creating relevant messaging in the wider context of an environment, in which OOH adverts are broadcasted, is a great way to address these different audiences. Therefore, buying more contextually driven messages to match the audience is important. In Cyprus this is becoming increasingly more crucial as brands can use various touch points around supermarkets to drive sales and even Mall Advertising – since in almost all the Mall environments there is a supermarket.

FMCGs are nowadays facing many more challenges than before ranging from changes in the way products are consumed, purchased and perceived. Using OOH media in close proximity to the point of sale is the answer to a solution for a number of FMCGs that both try to build their brand on the one hand and increase performance and sales on the other.