Interview with Tomas Tiefenbach, CEO of Lurity.
Unaware of media trends, they say OOH is dead. But the reality is different, the OOH market is experiencing a renaissance and is growing. How do you see its development trends?
OOH is certainly not dead yet, although some outdated formats have had their time. We are seeing paper surfaces gradually being displaced by digital surfaces, which have countless new possibilities. The advantage of OOH surfaces is that they are close to the customer and to the point of sale where the customer makes purchasing decisions. This is because not every product is sellable online and equally not every customer shops exclusively online. So we see the future of OOH as mainly digital and an omnichannel approach to advertising.
What is the daily reality of digital OOH in Slovakia and the Czech Republic?
We see that customers are more willing to experiment and try new technologies as well. For example, recently, well-known personalities from the Telekom Respect campaign spoke to passers-by via our screen in Aupark Bratislava. It was one of the first campaigns where screens were used for real-time communication with passers-by. The next level will be when passers-by will be greeted by personalised avatars with A.I.
Where do you see your medium shifting in recent years? Has the client and their perspective on digital OOH changed?
The popularity of our digital media is continuously growing, clients appreciate the efficiency and also our unorthodox approach. That's why they keep coming back to us and it allows us to further expand our network. We have our own development team, which already has considerable experience in programming truly unconventional campaigns based on augmented reality (AR), computer vision through cameras and controlling screens with gestures. We are real pioneers in these areas in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
You mentioned omnichannel: what is its greatest strength?
"The goal of omnichannel is to create the same quality of experience on all platforms. So it's not just about unified communication across all platforms, but also about connecting them together." This is because by the time a customer arrives at the point of purchase, they will have gone through different channels. Our goal is to leverage the attractiveness of the locations where our screens are and integrate them into the omnichannel strategy of companies. The link to other channels can be through coupons, for example, or through various augmented reality apps.
What plans do you have for this tool in Slovakia and the Czech Republic?
In addition to growing the network, we will continuously invest in innovation to bring the most modern form of advertising to our clients and thus higher efficiency.
