Stats, trends & proof about outdoor advertising

1. I have long been a fan of outdoor advertising. Its colorful images and concise copy
satisfy my impatient nature. For me, it’s the Zen of advertising, forced by its size and
fleeting audience to make its point quickly and clearly. This is a good thing and one that
has become even more valuable over time as media noise levels ratchet up. What’s
more, outdoor has global appeal, and as the evidence shows, it’s highly effective when
well done.
…which is why I’m delighted that Jose asked me to come to your lovely country and
share what’s new and noteworthy in outdoor advertising. Even during these harsh
economic times, there is much good news to share, whether you are an advertiser or an
outdoor company.
My remarks today will focus on industry facts & figures, trends and news and will end
with highlights from OAAA’s 2010 Media Plan of the Year Awards which were presented
last week in New York.
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2. So let’s begin…
Outdoor Advertising in America is currently a $6 billion business, representing dozens of
venues and featuring a full composite of brand categories and businesses.
As you can see*, it’s BIG in more ways than one, yet smaller than it could be… frankly,
smaller than it should be. It has so much to offer and how you use it is limited only by
your imagination and pocketbook.
* [Note: live presentation includes a rotating showcase of OOH venues]
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3. But before we delve into the specifics, let’s back up for the 30,000 foot view since
without a clear sense of context, we may miss the mark and not be as effective as we
could be.
First and foremost, the market is becoming increasingly complex. New products, new
categories - both locally grown and global - are continuously vying for the consumer’s
attention, requiring a constant reassessment of media strategy.
Next, we are living through the deepest, and likely to be the longest, economic
meltdown in our lifetime. Priorities have shifted permanently and how money gets
spent and to what degree is forever changed.
In addition, our environment is in a fragile state with consumers actively preferring
products and services produced by companies who are respectful of our natural
resources.
Our world was forever changed on 9/11 with the war on terrorism altering everything
from our sense of safety to our travel habits. We’ve become indisputably a global
society and as marketers, must consider the ramifications of what we say and do.
Finally, we live in a state of sensory overload… with media surrounding us 24/7, with
breaking news coming to us in real time via mobile devices and from infinite sources.
The challenge then is how DO we break through?
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4. Ah yes… the media landscape… as cacophonous and overwhelming as a swarm of
locusts. It used to be SO SIMPLE: billboards & radio & print media… and then network
television came into play, followed by cable…
But nothing could match the onslaught of digital media and social networks which
changing how we gather news and share information. Add to this all manner of
experiential media and you begin to get the picture.
Clearly, coming up with a smart media strategy is not for the faint of heart… it takes guts
and bravado…
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5. … it takes chutzpah?
Well surely in this example I grabbed off the web that takes ‘make you look’ to a whole
new level…
Of course, these sort of OUT THERE tactics will grab eyeballs but at what cost?
At the end of the day, you need not just to get attention but also to build brand
identity…
Sexy, sure, also smart.
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6. So getting serious… what do advertisers REALLY want? What is the sweet spot that balances
WOW with sales gain and likeability.
From years working both sides of the fence and tracking trends along the way, I think there are 5
things:
First, especially today, advertisers need the facts… they need stats and information to justify
their investments – vs other media, vs other venues, against their target audience, etc. The
more substantiated information you can provide, the greater your chance of being considered.
Next, they want VALUE which is not the same thing as a low price…. Value is where price meets
performance and if you can PROVE what your well documented media has done, that will
matter far more than bargain basement rates.
Third, they need short lead times and the ability to alter changes if/ when the market changes…
refer to slide 4 if you want to know why: it’s simply the way of today’s world.
Fourth, they want to know you’re a responsible company who is socially sensitive. We live in a
world of pink causes & green causes, gay rights & animal rights and a company without heart
isn’t going to get too far in this environment.
Finally, having done all that, they need their message to be memorable… perhaps even iconic…
but at the very least, one that spurs consumer awareness & use.
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7. Ok so we’ve laid the groundwork… now let’s take a look at some U.S. stats, knowing
there are many more where this came from: www.oaaa.org
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8. I know I’m dating myself but I can remember when outdoor advertising was ONLY what
appeared in the first column (excepting of course the digital component) yet today the
breath and depth of what this industry has to offer is enormous. Were you to count up
what’s noted here, there are over 1 million units but of course, there are many more
than that…. AND the list keeps growing.
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9. If you remember nothing else today, make note this slide as it plainly illustrates just how
much potential outdoor advertising really has.
On the left, you’ll see how consumers spend their time.
On the right, how advertisers spend their money.
Notice anything odd?
In the case of TV or radio or the internet, the parallels are fairly well aligned given the
production values required for the respective media.
But take a look at print & outdoor…
Print, a decidedly dying media still garners 27% of media spend against a 7% consumer
time investment.
Outdoor, on the other hand, is wildly under spent in nearly inverse proportions to print:
27% of time is spent out of home but advertisers are only spending 5% of their revenue
with the medium.
I believe we are on a tipping point with outdoor poised to steadily increase its share to
levels that better reflect its consumer audience potential.
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10. Last, let’s look at the spending track over the last decade. Holding steady following a
9/11 advertising dip, outdoor began to climb to upwards of $7.3 billion before
succumbing to the financial crisis that hit in 2008. While revenues fell, they did so far
less than other media and if 2010 is an indicator, outdoor is on the rise once again.
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11. So that’s the facts… let’s look now at is trending in outdoor today…
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12. Number one on the hit list has to be digital billboards and it’s easy to see why. It’s one
of those tactics where everyone wins.
For the advertiser, production time and expense is cut; the ability to change copy,
sometimes instantly, is enabled; and for the first time ever, outdoor can be bought on
‘dayparts’: coffee ads AM, beer ads PM and so forth…
For the outdoor company, after its initial capitol investment, the real estate becomes
more valuable as a revenue generator.
And to top it off, it’s environmentally friendly, eliminating production and transport of
substrates.
What’s more, digital outdoor can help the community get important messages out
broadly and expediently, as it does now with AMBER Alert announcements or Most
Wanted postings.
In the example shown above, Cine Latino, a top rated Spanish film channel in the US
used digital outdoor to raise awareness of its offerings in order to build awareness and
increase subscribers. In addition to a full campaign of outdoor advertising, it ran 10
digital billboards, posting a changing reel of provocative copy lines to heighten interest.
Net/ net, it worked: Over the two-month testing period, total brand awareness of
CineLatino increased significantly as a result of the outdoor campaign. In particular,
brand awareness among viewers who had never watched CineLatino increased 15
percent, while awareness among non-pay TV subscribers increased an impressive 24
percent.
Visit www.oaaa.org to access the full case study.
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13. A corollary to the digital billboard is digital place based media. These venues provide a
different means of communicating with consumers, offering a more targeted approach
and enabling video which is not allowable on large format billboards.
In this case study for Delta Airlines (also featured on OAAA’s website), digital screens
were deployed to reach business travelers, making them aware of Delta’s many
international destinations, since perception in the U.S. was that Delta was primarily a
domestic carrier.
A four month campaign was created to intercept business travelers at cafes, ferry
terminals, gas stations and health clubs with digital place-based advertising.
A post campaign survey conducted in May 2009 showed:
• 15 percent increase in awareness of Delta Airlines
• 28 percent increase in awareness of Delta as an international carrier
One last note: while digital place based media looks and sounds a lot like television, it
isn’t… it’s a new type of media communication and the message needs to be created
and designed accordingly. As with any outdoor advertising, the medium IS the message
and should be developed as original content with that in mind.
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14. Sometimes tactics are engaged ‘just because’ they can be done, irrespective of
effectiveness.
This example developed by the Belgium office of Ogilvy for FORD, a kiosk in a mall ‘talks’
to prospects, controlled by a person within a booth close up who manages the
conversation.
Attention grabbing to be sure but is this enough?
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15. Another example of what’s new and trendy is a digital display which can react to people
passing by. In these displays, the model’s eyes follow you as you pass, which can either
be creepy or fun, depending upon your perspective.
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16. Hot off the press is this iphone app developed by JCDecaux and available currently only
in France.
The app can be pointed at any JCDecaux display unit and clicked to download special
offers, movie trailers and more.
While such techniques have been used on a one-off basis, Decaux is taking them to the
next level by involving its entire network.
It’s working the sweet spot between outdoor and the internet via your always in hand
mobile device.
I think they’re onto something.
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17. The last round of images shows wild ways of taking your basic billboard a step further.
These are what I’d call ‘special occasion’ billboards, to be used one off to make a splash
and get people talking…
While on that subject, don’t underestimate word of mouth as pivotal to a successful
campaign. Whether it’s via press coverage on the major media or social media pick ups
on facebook & twitter, such buzz drives awareness and sales AND what’s more, doesn’t
cost you a dime.
In this example developed by North Carolina agency BirdSong Gregory, Bloom food
markets turned heads and turned on palates by blowing hot air over a charcoal/ pepper
mix. While exact sales gains are not known, Bloom’s CEO went on record saying he was
pleased with the results.
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18. … sometimes emitting fog rather than aroma does the trick as in this example posted by
long time outdoor fan and OBIE Hall of Fame winner, TARGET stores.
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19. … upping the ante with the use of props on walls in this clever execution for Chevy’s
electric car, VOLT
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20. … and taking it a step further Nationwide Insurance used a series of larger than life
displays – on walls, billboards, stairs, etc to ‘make a splash’… again, the net gain is not
merely in the traffic passing by, but in the news pick up for the work itself.
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21. Last, here’s a teaser tactic cleverly deployed for an upcoming A&E program launch,
Mindfreak.
Create intrigue and anticipation with a teaser display before finally revealing the main
event.
Of course, these little production numbers can cost as much as a TV ad – anywhere from
$200M to $2.0mm – and are best used as part of rather than instead of a fuller outdoor
campaign.
By the way, have you noticed just how often media companies, particularly television
networks, use outdoor advertising?
Stay tuned as there is more of that to come…
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22. Of course, one trend that never goes out of style is a great idea… like a black cocktail
dress, it’s essential to a smart outdoor campaign… one that turns heads and gets results.
It needn’t be expensive either, nor should it be limited to national brands. This uber
clever mobile campaign was developed and produced by Michigan based ECP for
spiritual activist and author, John Orthberg to raise awareness for his books, his blogs
and his thinking. Creative Director Rob Jackson told the 2010 National Convention
audience that the items piled on top of the hearst were actually pieces borrowed from
agency staff basements and attics….
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23. Let’s switch to some left brain activity again to explore what initiatives are making news.
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24. Perhaps the biggest news right now is TAB’s brand new ratings system for OOH called
EYES ON. Five years in the making and winner of the Advertising Research Foundation’s
Great Minds Award (GOLD), the system provides measurement for out of home that is
far more robust than what exists for other media. Rather than measure what’s
traditionally known as ‘opportunities to see’ (OTS), EYES ON measures ‘noticing’ which
of course, is of the ad itself. NO other media can provide that sort of measure, since all
other media are content delivery devices, with advertising being an afterthought.
Probably the most important advantage EYES ON provides is the ability to place outdoor
up front in the consideration process of national advertisers, since EYES ON uses the
same currency (ratings & GRPs) as traditional media do, enabling it to be incorporated
into established planning systems. Early consideration increases likelihood of use and an
increase in out of home spending overall.
Currently, EYES ON is available only for billboards and bus shelters in America with other
forms of media planned for roll out over time. I believe discussion is underway about
bringing it to Puerto Rico as well. Visit www.tabonline.com to learn more.
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25. What EYES ON is doing for the planning process, new proof of performance systems are
doing for the buying process.
One of these systems is Intelligent Proof which provides a web based, interactive
dashboard offering both macro and micro posting details to allow quick problem
resolution and insure what you bought is indeed what you got.
To be clear, these systems are not intended as policing devices, but rather as safety nets
for both agency and outdoor company. In the good old days, an advertiser could ‘ride
the market’ to get the information they needed but today, there are too many venues
spread out over multiple cities making the monitoring of results an overwhelming task.
An independent system is your best bet. Visit www.intelligentproof.com to learn more.
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26. Another ‘just in time’ idea is a solution for what to do with all those billboard vinyls that
are put out to pasture when campaigns are done. As mentioned earlier, consumers
have heighted sensitivity about environmental issues and one company – AdVinylize – is
working with both agencies & outdoor companies to pick up, clean and repurpose the
vinyls into attractive, useful items… as noted here, each billboard can yield 25-50 items
depending on size, and these items can be offered for sale in company stores, as
giveaways to customers or trade show carryalls.
And AdVinylize has just begun offering a select group of products for sale on line directly
to consumers. Visit www.advinylize.com to grab one for youself!
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27. Finally, the outdoor industry has been quietly making investments to insure its products
are environmentally friendly.
PVC substrates are slowly giving way to PE materials for use in both billboards and
posters… almost 85% of posters are now printed on PE fabrics and the major billboard
companies will be converting much of their inventory over in the next few years.
More efficient lighting solutions are enabling 4 bulbs to be replaced by 2 in many cases
and as discussed earlier, digital billboards eliminate production costs altogether, thereby
eliminating the gas transmissions occurring in transport.
And yes… even billboards can be turned into an energy saving device, as this California
energy company (PG&E) did by placing a solar panel atop one…
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28. But all this news and cool stuff wouldn’t matter much if the medium didn’t WORK and
work it does, as evidenced by the hundreds of case studies in dozens of categories that
readily available for view on OAAA’s website.
I’d like to close today with highlights of a few that were recently featured at the 2010
Media Plan of the Year event held last week in New York.
Judged by a jury of industry experts, these awards recognize the importance of a well
conceived strategic plan in maximizing outdoor’s great potential.
I’ll feature today two SILVER Awards, two GOLD Awards as well as the Best of Show for
National and Local campaigns.
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29. A SILVER Award was given to MediaVest for its campaign for Kraft’s Miracle Whip
sandwich spread.
Miracle Whip had developed a loyal user base in the 18-34 segment and wanted to
energize this group and make them vocal advocates for the product by igniting a debate
over what has more “zing”: Miracle Whip or ordinary mayonnaise.
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30. Using high-impact locations in trendy neighborhoods in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago,
Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco, the plan took advantage of digital formats in
addition to a full complement of traditional out of home venues to drive conversation in
bars and restaurants.
In the post-period of the campaign, gross revenue in the markets where the campaign
ran shifted up 11.8 percent.
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31. The campaign also created a stir among the consumer base, with comments on the
creative cropping up on social networks like Twitter.
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32. Another SILVER was given to MacDonald Media for its work on ESPN’s 2010 World Cup
promotion.
As popular as the World Cup is globally, there were some distinct challenges in getting
viewership in America. For one, soccer is not as popular a sport as other events played
in the states such as baseball, tennis and golf. Next, given that South Africa is 7 hours
head of Eastern Time, major events were airing in the US either early AM or midday,
hardly a high viewing period, particularly during the work week.
ESPN’s primary goal was to increase its audience numbers from the 2006 World Cup, but
it also wanted to establish itself as the premient source for soccer content.
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33. The creative was developed by South African artists and posted throughout major cities
in high traffic areas, using wallscapes, storescapes, bus shelters, commuter rail cards,
subway posters, and painted murals.
The campaign also included digital media formats to provide tune in details with live
scores to spur interest.
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34. In addition wherever possible, creative executions were strategically placed to appeal to
a specific demographic; for example, a poster of a Mexican player was placed next to a
grocery store in a Latino neighborhood in Chicago.
Overall TV viewership for the 2010 World Cup on ESPN was up 41 percent vs. the 2006
games and the final game set a new viewership record for soccer match aired in the US.
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35. Onto the GOLD Awards –
Coca Cola’s Powerade Zero had recently signed tennis champion Venus Williams as its
celebrity spokesperson, yet at the premier tennis event in America – the US Open – it
was not able to advertise within the stadia since Pepsi owned in-stadium pouring rights.
MediaVest came up with an ingenious method to tackle this problem: provide
transportation TO the event via custom wrapped water taxis which also provided a
sampling opportunity for the brand. Not only did this garner a LOT of attention, it was a
more expedient, and certainly a more fun way, to travel to the event, which was an
hour’s subway ride from Manhattan.
The company advertised the service in local media leading up to the event, and
televisions on board ran tennis content as well as commercial spots for Powerade Zero.
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36. All in all, the ferries shuttled 4800 fans to the event and created massive buzz on line
and in the press, stretching the budget way further than it could have gone with media
placement alone.
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37. Kirstie Alley’s Big Life was a new reality series that A&E hoped would draw more female
viewers and in turn, female-focused advertisers.
New York & Los Angeles audiences were pivotal to the show’s success, so efforts were
focused in these two metro areas with a broad spectrum of outdoor media used to
maximize awareness: bulletins, wallscapes, phone kiosks, bus wraps, bus posters, and
commuter rail interior cards.
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38. While such immersion insured consumers were aware of the show, more was needed to
engage the core audience W 25-54 so Horizon Media added some experiential
components…
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39. A two-day event in select nail salons was held the weekend before the show’s premiere.
Offering free manicures with a nail polish color developed specifically for the event, the
salons aired a sneak preview of the season premiere, taking advantage of their captive
audience.
The campaign also incorporated branded water bottles with a picture of Kirstie Alley on
the interior label that transformed from “fat” to “thin” as the bottle was emptied. Street
teams passed out the water bottles to female gym-goers in front of high-profile gyms in
the three days leading up to the premiere.
Did it work? The net results say it all: New York & LA respectively delivered well above
the national viewing: nearly 2 ½ times in New York and 50% greater in Los Angeles.
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40. Now onto the Best of Show for which there are two awards: one for a local effort and
another for a national one.
The local Award was given to Bernstein-Reind Advertising on MacDonald’s launch of its
Angus Burger. The agency wanted to take a broad national campaign and ‘bring it home’
to the Kansas City market by targeting consumers who were most likely to become loyal
fans of the burger: young adults with big appetites.
The campaign began with teaser bulletins that alerted consumers to “prepare for
Angus.”
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41. The reveal creative featured the Angus Third Pounder with catchy two-word headlines
and then began to engage customers via in-store advertising and social media to submit
their own headline at HonorAngus.com
Submissions were then rated by website visitors with the top 2000 qualifying for posting
(and attribution) on MacDonald’s digital billboards
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42. Over 5,000 customers submitted taglines and on the appointed day, 2,000 were
displayed with the writer’s name noted, rotating through 10 second intervals. In
addition, the winners could claim a free Angus burger as part of the deal, deepening
consumer satisfaction.
All in all, the Honor Angus website garnered 1.9 million hits with an interaction rate of
7.3 percent and an interaction time of 24 seconds, both of which are almost double the
industry standard. McDonald’s locations in Kansas City outpaced the region in sales both
during and after the campaign, and the work was featured on the cover of Nation’s
Restaurant News, the leading quick service restaurant industry publication.
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43. Finally, the winner for the 2010 National Media Plan of the Year Award was MediaVest
for KRAFT Blue Box Macaroni & Cheese.
Kraft’s goal for this campaign was to broaden product interest beyond moms with kids 6-
11 and it choose to do this with an extensive out of home campaign featuring the
nostalgic appeal of the noodle and featuring interactive tactics to engage the consumer.
In one clever tactic, storescapes and mallscapes featured facial recognition technology
as illustrated above.
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44. A bold station domination program was grounded by a huge adstep staircase, flanked by
busy escalators.
The combination of unique positioning and cheeky creative combined to generate a lot
of buzz and consumer interest. (note that the campaign finished only recently so actual
sales improvement figures are not yet available.)
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45. In a unique twist, the campaign also incorporated a prop installation called the Big
Noodle, branded with the words “You know you love it.” and positioned in areas with
high pedestrian traffic such as Chicago’s Wrigley Field, San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf
and the Santa Monica Pier to increase buzz and excitement around the campaign.
The Big Noodles quickly became a viral sensation, appearing in user photos on Facebook
and mentioned on local radio programs. With one installation appearing at Wrigley
Field, the Chicago Cubs even found themselves fielding questions about the installation
in interviews.
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46. I could go on and on and as mentioned earlier, there is a lot more where this came from
on OAAA’s website
Still, one thing seems perfectly clear:
Despite the state of the economy, the fragile environment, our political uncertainty,
outdoor is poised for takeoff.
It’s got the right stuff – value, effectiveness, versatility – to make it appealing to virtually
any category of business and what’s more, it catches attention better than anything else
out there.
Add a healthy dose of imagination and creative oomph and you’ve got it made!
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47. Want to learn more?
Here’s a few websites to visit for ideas, information and news.
And of course, if you need to reach me:
www.cimineenterprises.com
dianecimine@gmail.com
212-227-2052
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48. One last note… I’d love to see you all on the mainland next April at the OAAA/ TAB 2011
National Convention. Themed Grab Your Share, the event will feature big tent speakers,
stimulating workshops, the 2011 OBIE Awards, an expansive trade show and lots of
opportunity to connect with others in the industry.
As former OBIE Judge and Creative Director Alex Bogusky tweeted today: ‘Collaboration
is the new Competition’ …
So as they say in America: ‘Be there or be square’.
Thanks so much for your time & interest!
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