FOLLOWING the inception of the movement control order (MCO) in late March, Spectrum Outdoor has been collaborating with theSun on getting important public service announcements (PSA) out in a timely manner through Spectrum Outdoor’s numerous digital billboards.
“During the MCO, there is not supposed to be traffic. But there is still some traffic, in fact; since last week we could see viral videos of one of the highways experiencing a bad traffic jam,” said Outdoor Advertising Association of Malaysia president and Spectrum Outdoor managing director Henry Low.
“This shows that there are still people out there moving around. We thought of using our digital screens to tell people they aren’t supposed to be on the road unless it’s purely necessary. That they are supposed to stay home, stay safe and stay hygienic.”
There have been multiple messages deployed, including some generic messages that were also carried by the newspaper. The main PSA messages revolved around telling civilians to stay at home, to wash their hands, as well as giving tips on how to maintain hygiene and reminders to practise social distancing.
A local static and digital out-of-home (OOH) company, Spectrum Outdoor provides space and airtime for advertisers to advertise. Low admitted that the MCO has had an effect on the company, as it is not allowed to deploy works on static billboards.
“This has stunted movement for static billboards. But for digital, we are still able to work from home, by uploading the creative via digital from home,” he said.
The continued ability of Spectrum Outdoor to work on digital billboards from home works hand-in-glove with theSun.
“This is a very good partnership between print and out-of-home advertising. The synergy between both can complement each other,” Low points out.
“For print, it has moved towards digital and online. For out-of-home, we have moved towards digital. With the two mediums coming together, it gives value for money to advertisers.
“The out-of-home medium is basically any advertisement that is transmitted out of a home. Newspapers can’t be considered out of home, nor can television,” explained Low.
“At the end of the day we want to make use of our digital billboards to do PSAs and community services. To tell the public the importance of staying safe and staying at home.”
Spectrum Outdoor has been disseminating theSun’s headlines on all its digital screens on a daily basis.
“Sometimes the penetration online for people on the move is low, but this is to remind them of theSun’s headlines, and if they want to know more, they should go to the website.
“It’s not so much about advertising during the MCO, but to carry the message across. You are not supposed to be on the road unless absolutely necessary,” he said.
