Lanre Ashaolu, Managing Director of Four Pulley Limited, has stated the indispensability of creativity and environment in Out-of-Home advertising, especially at a time that technology is fast shaping and reshaping the market space.

Mr. Ashaolu, who spoke on different factors affecting the industry in an exclusive chat with MARKETING EDGE, also identified environment as key in the out-of-home segment. He noted that the ability of practitioners to maximize their environment is what singles them out. The industry expert specifically stated that his platform has been able to leverage environment to stand taller in the industry.

According to him, there is what is called statusquos which are the existing out of home platforms in the industry. He noted that it becomes outright repetitive if all platforms look identical and monotonous or boring in the eyes of the audience.

“Out-of-home deals with the environment and the ability to optimize the environment, the relationship to create unconventional platforms is what stands out any brand message in the marketplace. So that is what creativity has helped us do by providing non-conventional platform in the environment for that,” he revealed.

Also touching on the disruption of digital advertising and its effect on the industry, Mr. Ashaolu stated that while it is difficult to rule out the significance of digital innovation, which is now setting the trends, he believes that OOH has consistently remained relevant because of how it has evolved and shaped the market over the years.

According to him, traditional prefaces digital because what happens in the real world is what is translated on the internet. “In the world we live in, people will like to see and feel than relying solely on digital content on their phones. OOH gives wider coverage than digital advertising.”

He added that Nigeria has about 50% of internet penetration which means that the other 50% of the population is predominantly offline.

“So how do you address the entire population through advertising channel? Traditional platforms such as out-of-home gives wider coverage compared to digital out-of-home. So it is important for people to understand that in as much as digital is exciting, OOH is on ground and will be here for a very long time.

“If you check all sectors of media and advertising, traditional space such as TV, radio, OOH are the only mediums that are still witnessing a positive growth. Others are expressing decline because of changes in consumers’ habits and touch-point. But out-of-home and digital are the only two mediums experiencing positive growth. So in terms of agility and adaptability, out-of-home is well positioned to remain relevant till the end of time,” Ashaolu pointed out.