Memeing on hoardings: Why has this social media content format found success on OOH

The outdoor ad collaboration between Zomato and Blinkit has become the first viral phenomenon of 2023. The simple and catchy copy of these two billboards did not just grab the attention of netizens but brands across categories were seen making their own versions of the trend and sharing it on social media.

While the first ad that triggered the trend was billboards placed in Gurugram, Haryana, the campaign became huge because it was massively shared across social media platforms. The campaign was executed by GroupM's OOH unit - Kinetic.

The impact created by the Zomato-Blinkit campaign got further exemplified when a Mumbai-based shoe store Citywalk located in Linking Road also hopped on to the trend with an outdoor ad.

What made Citywalk’s owner take this initiative? He tells us that as soon as they posted on Instagram, the phone started buzzing. That was the trigger for him to convert the post into an outdoor ad.

He adds that the hoarding is located in Bandra and people in the area are very well versed with social media happenings. Additionally, the matching colour scheme of Citywalk and Zomato, made the outdoor ad click with the onlookers.

With the Zomato-Blinkit outdoor ads taking the Internet by storm, it’s important to analyse whether brands have started using OOH, an expensive medium as compared to digital, to indulge in pop culture.

Mitesh Kothari, White Rivers Media’s co-founder and CCO, says that it’s up to the brands and their agencies to determine whether they should take the digital or OOH route. “All trends and mediums have their benefits and limitations that are analysed, and the most potentially impactful strategies are designed.”

It’s not the first time a brand has taken the outdoor route and done something unusual. In January 2022, credit card bill payment and rewards app CRED used broken billboards to caution people against drunk driving. Later in the year, e-commerce furniture company Pepperfry’s ‘Meme Superstars’ campaign also used outdoor ads that featured its brand ambassador and Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan.

As per Madhurima Sawale, group solutions manager at Schbang, if an idea is truly new and holds the promise of a good RoI, it’s going to find more space. “The funny thing is that even if this trend has the potential to make it to higher budget mediums, it’s more likely to be overthrown by the next trend in the making,” she observes.

The bigger the expense, the riskier the medium

Memes are usually inspired by pop culture. Not every age group is the right target audience for these meme marketing content that are born out of social media trends. Brands can target the right audience with their social media posts. But the mass reach of outdoor ads, makes it (OOH) a tricky medium.

Due to OOH ads’ mass TG, there are chances of spillage, as most people who see them, may not even understand the reference of the creative at all.

Sahil Shah, president - digital experience, DENTSU CREATIVE India mentions, “The ads’ actual TG, who understands these pop culture references, tends to consume outdoor as well as digital content. The beauty of doing this through outdoor is to use a creative that cuts through different age-groups, and not just caters to the younger generation.”

The advantages of digital medium are that it involves less investment and the user response is more scalable. Kothari of White Rivers Media says with OOH ads, brands need to be mindful of the message they are conveying through a creative that probably will be seen just for a few nanoseconds, if at all.

Beyond the cost of the medium, the risk associated in pulling off such OOH campaign, is also related to the type of content and the creative. If the ad doesn’t land well, then instead of getting more positive engagement for the brand, it may lead to repercussions. 

Schbang’s Sawale points out that since OOH is more public than social media, it creates a stronger statement for the brand and, in a way, latches on to its identity. “So, while a social media boycott can be managed on the same channel and in real-time, that scope is restricted in OOH…”

The biggest con of doing such marketing through an expensive media like OOH, as per Dentsu Creative's Shah, is that one can’t predict whether it will cut through the audience and become big or not. 

Brand categories that will indulge in OOH-meme marketing

Ad experts feel that there will be two kinds of brands that will follow suit. The so-called ‘cool brands’ that talk in the millennial/Gen Z lingo, and the second kind of brands are the ones that are just ‘wanna be cool’.

Kothari states that the Zomato-Blinkit OOH campaign has triggered a wave that captures even the digital medium of meme marketing. “Brands like Astral Pipes, Astral Adhesives, JioSaavn, Sin Denim, Buds & Berries, Zee Studios, among others, are multispectral. They all jumped on the bandwagon to successfully leverage the trending moment,” he adds.

Sawale predicts that fintech, fashion and travel categories will explore and experiment with memes on billboards. And, they may even come up with something more outrageous.