Alex Ewing, the CEO of OneScreen.ai, an AI billboard advertisement firm, has now included startup ads to support their progress.
Alex Ewing, who grew up in Purcell, Oklahoma, could determine his proximity to home by observing the billboards through the window of his vehicle. Presently, he assists startups such as technical recruiter Karat and fintech Ramp in their efforts to advertise on billboards and beyond as the CEO of OneScreen.ai.
Ewing told TechCrunch that billboards are fantastic and help bring creativity back into marketing. “In a sense, they function as canvases for marketers, unlike a digital screen.”
Ewing joined OneScreen, based in Boston, one year ago. The organization is an intermediary between out-of-home (OOH) advertising slots such as billboards, subway ads, and others and software-enabled startups. OneScreen assists entrepreneurs in determining the optimal placement for their advertisements by combining demographic and historical data with the company’s target audience and the platform itself. Additionally, the organization employs anonymized location data to assist businesses in monitoring the efficacy of their campaigns.
OneScreen has received $4.7 million in funding from various investors, including Techstars, Asymmetric Capital Partners, and Impellent Ventures. Profitable at present, the organization’s revenue tripled in the previous year.
Ewing stated that billboards and other forms of OOH marketing are gaining popularity, particularly among entrepreneurs. According to Statista, out-of-home (OOH) advertising expenditures in the United States are projected to reach $9.3 billion this year and nearly $12 billion by 2029.
But why would a business-to-business organization such as Ramp wish to advertise in traditional consumer formats such as on the exteriors of municipal buses or within subway cars?
Ewing says businesses are reorienting their focus from digital marketing to OOH advertising strategies after years of prioritization. He added that regulations regarding privacy and targeted advertisements, as well as the ability of individuals to obstruct digital advertisements, have diminished the effectiveness of many online advertising strategies.
“Series A, Series B, and even publicly traded companies in B2B and B2C have stated, ‘We can no longer invest what we’ve been investing in digital because the return on investment isn’t there,'” Ewing explained. “It is becoming progressively more expensive while its efficacy continues diminishing.”
This form of advertising generates brand recognition, which may be more influential for business-to-business (B2B) enterprises than commonly perceived, even though most individuals who view the advertisement are not likely to convert into customers.
Papaya Global’s director of strategic communications, Hila Perl, disclosed to TechCrunch in February that the B2B HR startup Papaya was purchasing a $7 million Super Bowl advertisement for that specific purpose.
“It’s not a move to generate leads,” Perl explained of the organization’s advertisement purchase. “This is not to increase sales.” We all desire a direct return on investment, but we all recognize that this is a brand-building or brand-awareness initiative, not a lead-generation campaign. “I consider every endeavor a marathon, not a sprint.”
Ewing stated that although OneScreen lacks control over who views OOH advertisements, it can still assist businesses in reaching their intended demographic. B2B organizations may provide OneScreen with an inventory of their target customers. OneScreen’s technology will devise a marketing plan for the organizations that includes advertising spaces near the headquarters of the target companies or locations frequented by their employees during their commutes. It employs anonymized cell phone monitoring data to determine how individuals responded to the advertisement via metrics such as website traffic from those who bypassed the ad compared to those who did not.
One drawback is that it is more difficult to determine the return on investment (ROI) for out-of-home (OOH) advertisements by simply establishing a correlation between a user clicking on a digital ad and making an online purchase shortly. However, it is hoped that a New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus adorned with a Ramp advertisement will have a more significant impact than an unsolicited email sales proposal.
“Nothing is more compelling than physically observing a company and brand,” Ewing asserted. “Put that in front of the appropriate individuals, and it can be a potent way to generate leads or reduce the beachhead for incoming traffic.”