An Ode to 2020

There’s an early episode of “The Simpsons” where Bart tries to attempt a skateboard jump over Springfield Gorge – and right before he does, Homer comes to stop him. Instead, Homer accidentally leans backwards with his foot on the skateboard, and starts hurtling down the path towards the gorge. Instantly he’s flying, thinking he’s about to clear it….and then slams right into a wall, and plummets to the bottom. After being airlifted by a helicopter and slamming into the side of the gorge as he’s pulled upwards, he’s then put into an ambulance, when crashes into a tree, and he slides out the back off into the gorge again. That was 2020.

This year took so much out of us. It was unlike anything we’ve ever expected (or experienced), but the good news is that it’s over, and there are better days ahead. I know I come off sounding like the eternal optimist, but that’s just my mentality. Can’t help it. If someone who’s out of work, or who lost their business is reading this, I’d understand if they rolled their eyes, and stopped reading, but you have to look ahead, not back, and firmly believe that things are going to get better. There’s a vaccine(s). We’re hopefully just a few short months away from the end of a cold, dark winter. People are going to want to travel. People are going to want to spend. Brands will be born. Companies will hire. You just have to believe it. The articles on New York City being “dead” will be laughable to read in due time. It’s the truth.

2020 was Quan’s first full year. We had goals set, plans to expand, and once that second week of March rolled around they were all put on hold. We had to adjust those goals, table those plans, and find a way to (ugh) pivot. We were on the verge of an incredible Q2, and then everything was paused. It’s always fun to work in an industry called “Out of Home” when the entire country is being told to stay in their home. We could have waited for cities to reopen, harp over revised budget projections, and mope – but we decided to educate. OOH is such a vast medium that there were so many ways to connect with consumers during “stay at homes” it was simply about helping brands understand how to do that – and do it strategically, and effectively.

It was about understanding shifts in commuter & traffic patterns, and knowing where to reach a certain audience as cities reopened. We worked with our media partners to bring some smart, and relevant opportunistic deals to brands who wanted to continue to utilize OOH to grow. As we head into 2021, the OOH market is expected to grow by 5% (as per Magna) and with the continued evolution of DOOH, along with the ability to truly measure effectiveness of the channel, what was once solely a “brand play” for marketers is no longer just that.

Instead of focusing on “what could have been” it’s important to focus on what was. It’s cathartic. We worked with over 40+ different clients in 2020. We grew our billings pretty significantly YOY (and yes, that takes into account going from 6 months of being in business in 2019 to a full year). We worked on some absolutely incredible campaigns that included -

·     AWAY & their pet carrier that coincided with “pet scented” wild postings. 

·     Mischief @ No Fixed Address allowing us to tag along as Oura shared how much sleep was lost by America on Election Night. 

·     Monogram’s brand launch, which involved parking mobile billboards along the borders of legal/illegal states to shed light on the inconsistency of recreational cannabis usage between certain neighboring states.

·     Working in tandem with partner agency, Zambezi on their “Open Waters” initiative, which was a pro bono effort in support of the “Black Lives Matter movement.”

We were fortunate to garner some awesome press including articles in AdAge, AdWeek, Modern Retail, Street Fight and Media Post. We brought Ashley Moll onto the team, adding one of the brightest minds in OOH with a wealth of experience working on some of the biggest brands out there. We were introduced to a ton of new clients via word of mouth from other clients & friends (meaning we must be doing something right!). Some clients from our past lives also came aboard as well, which meant a tremendous amount. From April-June, while we all were still understanding & adapting to this “new normal”, we ran nine strategic, and topical campaigns for brands who still wanted to utilize OOH as a key media channel – and we saved them an average of 80% off hard media costs. As part of continuing to “educate”, we started a bi-weekly newsletter in March for clients & colleagues that kept tabs on changing traffic patterns, street level movement, audience insights and highlighted emerging trends/insights across OOH (and the advertising industry in general!). We’ll keep educating as we head into 2021, as the positive words we’ve gotten far outweigh the two or three “unsubscribe” emails we received.

We’re still growing, and we’re still young, but I can confidently say that we’re damn good. We didn’t like the typical agency model, so we created our own. We don’t stop. You call us on a Saturday with an idea for a campaign that needs to go live on Monday – it’s happening. You refer a brand to work with us, we’ll make you look very good. When things go right – we share the joy with our clients. If a campaign doesn’t produce the results a brand is looking for, or doesn’t lead to growth, we’re up at night trying to figure out “why” and what we can do different the next time. It’s about proving the efficiency that OOH brings to a brand’s media mix – and that it truly can be a viable channel for growth. 2021 will be tremendous. We’re going to move away from this incredibly difficult year, and create more “hero moments” for the brand we work with. We can’t wait to conceptualize more “first to market” activations – and show that OOH doesn’t have to be a siloed media channel as the world resets. That means crafting experiences at music festivals, sporting events, and memorable opportunities to once again connect 1:1 with a consumer.

Thank you to our media partners who constantly made us look good and work with us to keep our clients happy. You guys never get enough love. Thank you to anyone out there to anyone who referred a brand our way, or hopped on board yourself. That means more than you’ll ever know. Thank you to those who checked in on us in April & May as the pandemic was all encompassing – to make sure we were doing alright despite this being our first full year in business.

I know this ended up being a “look at us” article, but honestly, I think we deserve it. Everyone deserves a “look at us” article or post after 2020. Everyone should take some time today and tomorrow to be proud of something they did for themselves this year. It wasn’t easy by any means, and instead of worrying about next week, take a few minutes and celebrate getting through the “gorge disaster” that was 2020. This year ahead is going to be better for everyone. Stay positive. Stay optimistic.

Cheers to 2021.