For most commuters, the urban landscape is a blur of gray concrete and flashing neon, a visual white noise that the brain is trained to ignore. Yet, every so often, a single billboard or transit ad manages to break that trance, forcing a driver to glance twice or a pedestrian to stop mid-stride. According to Mandie van der Merwe, Head of OOH at The Out-of-Home Company, that moment of connection isn’t the result of a secret checklist or a rigid marketing template.
In a recent discussion with Little Black Book, van der Merwe challenged the industry’s obsession with “formulas” for success in Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising. Instead, she posits that the most impactful campaigns rely on “pattern recognition”—the ability to understand the environment, the audience’s psychology, and the inherent constraints of the physical space to create something that feels inevitable rather than forced.
This philosophy arrives at a critical juncture for the advertising industry. As digital saturation reaches a breaking point and consumers deploy sophisticated tools to block online ads, the physical world has become the last remaining frontier for unskippable communication. However, the stakes are higher in the physical realm; a cluttered or confusing billboard isn’t just ignored—it becomes part of the visual pollution that consumers actively tune out.
The Psychology of the Glance Medium
At its core, OOH is what van der Merwe describes as a “glance medium.” Unlike a social media feed where a user might linger for a few seconds or a television commercial that captures a captive audience, OOH advertising typically has a window of three to five seconds to deliver its message. In that sliver of time, the human brain does not process complex narratives; it recognizes patterns.
The danger, van der Merwe suggests, is the “formulaic” approach. Many agencies attempt to apply a standard layout—a large logo in the corner, a headline in the center, and a call to action at the bottom. While this ensures all brand requirements are met, it often results in creative that is invisible. When every ad follows the same formula, they all blend into the same pattern of “advertisement,” which the brain is evolved to disregard.
To break this cycle, van der Merwe advocates for a strategy centered on three pillars: simplicity, distinctiveness, and the “unmissable” quality. This requires a subtractive process—removing everything that does not contribute to the core emotional or intellectual hook of the ad. The goal is not to tell the consumer everything about a product, but to trigger a specific thought or feeling that prompts further exploration later.
Pattern Recognition Over Rigid Templates
The distinction between a formula and a pattern is subtle but vital. A formula is a set of rules applied regardless of context. A pattern, however, is an observation of how things work in the real world. For van der Merwe, great OOH happens when a brand recognizes the pattern of the environment it inhabits.
This contextual awareness can manifest in several ways:
- Spatial Integration: Using the physical architecture of a building or the shape of a bus shelter to enhance the message.
- Psychological Timing: Placing a coffee ad at a transit hub during the 7:00 AM rush, where the “pattern” of the consumer’s need is at its peak.
- Visual Contrast: Using colors or minimalism that clash intentionally with the surrounding urban environment to create a visual “stop sign.”
By focusing on patterns, creators can move away from the “safe” options that produce mediocre results and instead lean into bold, distinctive choices that command attention. This approach shifts the creative process from asking “Does this follow the brand guidelines?” to “Does this disrupt the visual pattern of the street?”
The Evolution of Static and Digital OOH
The rise of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) has added a layer of complexity to this philosophy. While digital screens allow for movement and real-time updates, they also introduce the risk of over-stimulation. The temptation for brands is to use every available tool—animation, flashing lights, and rotating text—which often leads back to the “formula” of trying to grab attention through noise rather than design.
Van der Merwe’s insistence on simplicity remains relevant even in the digital age. A moving image that is too complex becomes a blur to a driver moving at 60 mph. The most effective DOOH campaigns apply the same “pattern” logic: using motion to draw the eye, but keeping the message singular and sharp.
| Feature | Formulaic Approach | Pattern-Based Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Creative Goal | Brand compliance & coverage | Visual disruption & resonance |
| Content Density | High (Logo, CTA, USP, Image) | Low (One strong visual/hook) |
| Context | Generic placement | Environmentally integrated |
| Success Metric | Impressions/Reach | Attention/Recall |
Why Distinctiveness Outperforms Reach
In the current advertising climate, “reach”—the number of people who potentially saw an ad—is often treated as the primary KPI. However, van der Merwe’s perspective suggests that reach is a vanity metric if the creative is not distinctive. A million people seeing a formulaic ad is less valuable than a thousand people being genuinely stopped in their tracks by a distinctive one.
This shift toward distinctiveness is particularly significant for start-ups and challenger brands. While legacy brands can rely on sheer frequency to maintain top-of-mind awareness, smaller players must use OOH to carve out a unique mental space. By avoiding the industry formula, these brands can create “unmissable” moments that punch above their weight class in terms of budget and scale.
the “no formula” approach requires a level of bravery from both the agency and the client. It requires trusting that a minimalist execution—one that might feel “too empty” in a boardroom presentation—will be the most powerful version of the message when scaled to 48 feet and placed on a highway.
As urban environments become increasingly digitized and saturated, the ability to master the “pattern” of human attention will likely separate the brands that are merely seen from the brands that are remembered. The next evolution of OOH will likely involve deeper integrations of programmatic data to refine these patterns, allowing ads to change not just based on the time of day, but on the real-time mood and flow of the city.
We invite you to share your thoughts on the most memorable OOH campaigns you’ve encountered. Do you prefer the bold and minimal, or the detailed and informative? Let us know in the comments below.
