Kinetic: OOH second only to TV in ad awareness in Manila

While TV, the internet and, most recently, mobile continue to battle for eyeballs, will outdoor media have a chance as a big winner in the Philippines?Quite possibly. Kinetic Worldwide looked into the seven-day consumer journeys of 2,100 people in Metro Manila and found that in terms of ad awareness, outdoor ads is just second only to television.In addition, large format billboards, banners and bus exterior ads have also trumped print, which was ranked second in the pioneering out-of-home media study dubbed Kinetic Advantage.Together with sister WPP-owned research unit TNS, Kinetic analyzed their respondent’s mode of transportation in every trip they had, the routes they took and whether they paid attention to the outdoor ads along these roads for a week.Touchpoints in between Metro Manila’s 17 cities where people are most responsive to OOH were then categorized into 24 clusters called Kinetic Zones to reveal not just traffic data but a profile of commuters who pass them.The study reveals more granular data on OOH, says Rowell Santiago, Kinetic Philippines insights director, which serves as a breather for an industry who have long relied on visibility and traffic.Asked about if a research gap exists, Santiago shared with Marketing that there is “definitely” one.“We lack the information and the brands are looking for them to justify their investments in the medium. Compared to other mediums, OOH globally doesn’t have an established way of measuring effectiveness.”Ways to measure OOH vary greatly in different countries. In the United Kingdom, for instance, some researches track respondents more accurately with the use of GPS technology – more advanced compared to house interviews employed by Kinetic Advantage.“It doesn’t mean that we need sophisticated technology. What we have works for the current industry, considering the costs of setting up such systems. Our study aims to pioneer a way how other studies can be based,” says Gallen Yip, regional director for research of Kinetic Worldwide for APAC, when asked about the sophistication of the study.