Guest Post: Out Of Home Day (Canada) – Recap

September 26, 2010 by guest author, Raji Kalra

This past week I attended OOH Day in Toronto.  It was my second time at this event, the first since 2005.   Great event, with some noticeable differences from the 2005 event.

One difference was the prominence of DOOH suppliers, compared to mainstream OOH suppliers.  Meaning everything was digital … from Ad Mirrors, Ad Pods, Cinema Advertising, 3D Holographic, Digital Display Manufacturers, and even Street Level Projection companies.  There were not a lot of (if any) static OOH operators hanging around.

I also noticed that it was a very young crowd in attendance … mainly between 25-35, in comparison to the 2005 event where many older industry figureheads would be in attendance from CBS, Pattison Outdoor, Astral and other OOH operators.

I think the shift to digital had a lot to do with the transition of age in the crowd.   The “wild west” syndrome was also very much noticeable, as alternative digital offerings such as the Ad Mirror and Ad Pod are growing and knocking on the agencies doors – even without critical mass offerings or metrics to support campaign buys.

I even learned the prestigious “Sales Person of the Year” award handed out during the event went to a representative that sells advertising campaigns in the form of projections onto the sides of buildings downtown. Someone I spoke to at the event said this was the first time this award had gone to someone outside of the major OOH companies such as CBS, Pattison, and Astral. Well done!

Overall, it was a fantastic event … and well run by the Ad Club of Toronto.  Nice to see so many digital colleagues I hadn’t seen in ages.  It’s too bad we don’t have an official DOOH Conference in Toronto anymore that agency folks can attend, and be schmoozed like this.

Perhaps OOH Day is now it?

(Raji Kalra is the Managing Director of the Toronto-based in-retail digital company The Marketplace Station.)