‘Experiences are the new OOH’

posted on Jan. 07, 2025 at 6:28 pm

Sweetwater MEA's Usman Saleemi shares his opinion on why experiences cut through the noise in a way that billboards can’t. He calls experiences "the hyperlocal impact, the mass-reach talk-of-the-town, and the water cooler moment" — all rolled into one.

Usman Saleemi, Partner and ECD, Sweetwater MEA, compares live experiences to out of home advertising.

Out-of-home advertising has been called a dinosaur more times than the oldest guy in your office, yet like that trustworthy elderly dude, it still stands tall. I’m not here to predict the end of billboards or public signage —they’re not going anywhere, now or ever.

But let’s face it: spending big on OOH visibility just to have a few people take action doesn’t add up for most brands. The future isn’t about simply dumping dollars into digital either, losing the powerful impact of real-world engagement and for

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the authorAnup Oommen

Anup Oommen is the Editor of Campaign Middle East at Motivate Media Group, a well-reputed moderator, and a multiple award-winning journalist with more than 15 years of experience at some of the most reputable and credible global news organisations, including Reuters, CNN, and Motivate Media Group. As the Editor of Campaign Middle East, Anup heads market-leading coverage of advertising, media, marketing, PR, events and experiential, digital, the wider creative industries, and more, through the brand’s digital, print, events, directories, podcast and video verticals. As such he’s a key stakeholder in the Campaign Global brand, the world’s leading authority for the advertising, marketing and media industries, which was first published in the UK in 1968.