Get the OH! Award for a great outdoor year

Entries are open now for submissions that must have been flighted and paid for during 2010 and publicly displayed on an accredited outdoor platform. Entries close on 31 March 2011 and the awards ceremony will take place on 19 May 2011 at the Fairway Hotel & Spa, Johannesburg.

Entries, from any OOH media owner, creative agency, media agency or marketer, must fall into the following categories.

• Billboards
• Walls, murals and wraps
• Internally illuminated billboards [static]
• Digital billboards [moving]
• Airport advertising
• Street furniture
• Mobile media
• Ambient media

An overall winner across all formats will also be awarded and the awards will be recognising the best advertising campaign that has used multiple OOH media options to achieve the marketing objectives for the brand/product. The winning creative agency will be the first recipient of the OH! Awards 2010 WOW! Campaign of the Year.

Great outdoor year

According to OHMSA, the progress made during the course of the year has contributed to a shift in the perceptions of the medium and, with many new developments soon to be announced, the market share of the medium is only destined to grow and improve.

OOH media formats were among the first to welcome the world to our country during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and within FIFA regulations, its members and their clients decorated the country with building wraps, gantry's and billboards - creating a vivid display that reflected the mood of celebration.

New directions

Barbara Cooke became acting executive director with a focus to institute an effective research initiative, one that will take OOH to new and more competitive heights. With her colleagues, she has been investigating global best practice in OOH media research. The state-of-the-art research that Cooke will be overseeing is set to be reflective of the global guidelines set by the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR) - the world organisation that enables research into markets, consumers and societies. The OHMSA research will ultimately provide media planners with a proper planning tool for the medium.

In Cooke's view, the biggest challenge facing OOH has been the lack of research to prove its effectiveness. OHMSA now finds itself in the enviable position of being able to pick the best methodology from around the world and employ it in the South African context. Research from Australia, Spain and America has been reviewed, but whatever the choice, Cooke believes that the research will be a powerful tool. "It will move OOH from being seen as a 'Cinderella' medium to that of a mainstream medium; one not to be left off the schedules."

Following on from this, Cooke has been regularly meeting with the different media agencies to promote the medium. The intention is to educate planners on OOH and highlight it as a valuable element in the communication mix. The progress has been very encouraging and these meetings will be regular and ongoing.

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Website re-launch

The organisation has re-launched its website offering regular press releases, research data, legislation updates, membership details and information on the association's annual awards.

Go to www.ohmsa.co.za for entry forms for the awards and other relevant information.