Unleashing Growth and Embracing Partnerships in the World of OOH Advertising with Laura Brandes | Digital & Dirt Podcast

In Episode 12 of this season’s Digital and Dirt podcast, Ian welcomes Laura Brandes, VP of Growth at Rapport, for her thoughts on the evolution of OOH, the power of partnerships, and insights on leveraging OOH to win new customers. Rapport is the OOH arm of Media Brands, a subsidiary of IPG.

With a passion for treating others with respect and embracing what makes each individual unique, Laura has made significant contributions to the OOH industry. Laura embodies the values of genuine partnership, appreciation, and respect, recognizing the profound impact each has on work output and effectiveness. She understands the value of challenging conversations and the transformative power of strong partnerships in achieving exceptional results. 

Throughout her journey in the media industry, Laura's passion and dedication have propelled her to be a great leader and challenge the industry. In relocating to Boston to open Rapport's Boston office, she exemplified her desire to lead and make a lasting impact.

Within Media Brands, there are several agencies that work together under the Rapport umbrella as well as three main lead agency partners with whom Rapport collaborates. Matterkind, a programmatic specialist, also provides a dynamic service. Overall, this structure allows Rapport to provide comprehensive OOH services to its clients. 

During the podcast, Laura shared her perspective on the evolution of OOH advertising. She emphasized the importance of creativity, innovation, and verification in delivering impactful campaigns. Moreover, she highlighted the growing significance of programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) and the integration of brand safety measures to ensure the effectiveness and transparency of campaigns. Laura also shed light on Rapport's initiatives, such as Rapport Beyond, which focuses on sustainability using air-purifying vinyl.

Metrics play a crucial role in evaluating the success of an OOH campaign. Laura discusses the importance of bringing to light measurement capabilities given the impact it has on budget and money spent. Ian and Laura discuss the creative in an award-winning dynamic campaign for the NBA that featured live scores, live tweets, and more. 

Additionally, she touched on the evolution of pDOOH and the collaboration between MatterKind and Rapport to further enhance the capabilities of programmatic advertising and create a campaign like New Balance using location proximityto drive foot traffic to stores.

To learn more about Laura Brandes and Rapport, listen to the full Digital and Dirt episode available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, and other podcast platforms!