Arity + Clear Channel Outdoor at POSSIBLE: New data, new media for marketers

Two and a half years ago I met Jeremy Flynn, Senior Vice President for Data Products & Strategy for Clear Channel Outdoor, at an ad tech conference in San Francisco. Fast-forward to last week, where we co-hosted a masterclass at POSSIBLE 2024 in Miami, chatting about how much the marketing industry has changed within that short time span.

The consensus was that even though we as marketers are facing significant challenges at the moment, we’re also lucky to be in a time where more things than ever are possible (pun intended) thanks to developments in technology and more marketers thinking outside the box than ever before.

There are so many new types of data and media available to us, which means better, more effective methods of meeting customers where they are. And since POSSIBLE is the go-to event for forward-thinking marketers, Jeremy and I wanted to discuss those opportunities.

Here are three key highlights from our session!

#1 Data-driven marketing has become table stakes, but concerns about data signal loss are growing.

As marketers, we all know we need to use data to reach our best customers. But concerns about data signal loss are at the forefront of marketers’ minds, forcing them to modify their techniques for reaching target audiences and driving measurable outcomes. Most notably, tightened data privacy rules and regulations have changed how we approach targeting. This, along with Google phasing out cookies, has signaled a shift from third-party data to first-party data. In fact, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) reports that 95% of data and advertising decision makers at U.S. brands, agencies, and publishers expect continued legislation and signal loss in 2024 and beyond.

Data is at the heart of most advertising today, so these shifts have forced marketers to re-balance compliance while leveraging data in new and creative ways to create meaningful connections with customers.

#2 Marketers need to meet customers wherever they are.

Along with these changes, there’s also been a lot of commotion around “collapsing the funnel.” This idea stems from the fact that consumers expect, and even demand, ongoing engagement with brands. According to Edelman, instead of moving down the funnel, the majority of consumers are now researching and becoming loyal to a brand after the initial sale.

The funnel has been a fundamental piece of marketing strategies for over a century, which leaves us all wondering – how do we navigate this major shift?

More often than not, consumers aren’t thinking about “media channels” or “marketing funnels” when they’re going about their daily life. They’re thinking about what to make for dinner, how to get kids to their activities, what their weekend plans are, etc. So, our challenge is to get a relevant message in front of a customer in the environment where they are.

Instead of bucketing consumers into stages of the customer journey, we as marketers need to shift our focus to meeting customers where they are, wherever they are. And to do that, understanding where they are and how they move is more important than ever before.

#3 New types of data and media are driving marketing success.

Luckily, there are so many new types of data and media available today to help segment and target customers like never before – that didn’t even exist just five years ago.

For instance, Arity’s expertise is driving behavior data which provides a unique view into how, when, and where people drive. With these insights, car dealerships can drive qualified traffic or sales leads based on how people drive, or convenience store chains can reach consumers who drive past their locations regularly.

And this type of driving behavior data is only available today at scale because of how smartphone technology has evolved to include gyroscopes, accelerometers, and other types of sensors to collect detailed information about how people move in real-time.  Digitizing these real-world movement and visitation signals allows for more offline media to participate in effective data-driven advertising ecosystem.  Which is critical for business, since according to Forrester, 89% of retail sales still happen offline, despite the growth of e-commerce.

In terms of media, Clear Channel Outdoor specializes in out of home (OOH) advertising, which has taken off over the past few years. According to OAAA, Digital OOH (DOOH) represented 33% of total OOH spend and grew almost 10% in 2023.

CCO is over 100 years old and has evolved from an old-school billboard company to a cutting-edge digital media powerhouse. The CCO RADAR suite of data solutions helps advertisers optimize and measure the effectiveness of their out of home campaigns by leveraging driving data, unlocking the true potential of OOH for today’s modern marketer to reach the right audience and understand out-of-home’s impact.

Together, Arity’s data and Clear Channel Outdoor’s media provide valuable opportunities to marketers looking to connect with their best customers. For example, Clear Channel Outdoor is leveraging driving data to enable auto insurance carriers to segment and target the safest drivers with the right message in the optimal location.

What’s next? Enhanced Arity Marketing Solutions.

While the marketing industry is facing significant challenges, I’m extremely excited about all the opportunities at our fingertips. And I truly believe that “pivotable” marketers – i.e., those that are flexible, agile, and skilled at thinking outside the box – will thrive.

One of the reasons I love attending POSSIBLE year after year is to get the chance to connect and collaborate with those marketers. This year was especially exciting as I got to share the latest and greatest about Arity’s expanded and enhanced suite of marketing solutions.

As part of our commitment to bring marketers cutting-edge solutions to drive their business goals, Arity recently joined forces with Transparent.ly and LeadCloud to create a unified source of unique tools that help drive even greater results for data-driven marketers. Within this suite is The Arity Marketing Platform, powered by Transparent.ly and LeadCloud Integration Services.

Read our announcement to learn more!