Betting on the Sizzle: The Power of Out of Home’s Photographic Narrative
- Apr 6
- 2 min read
The case for treating POP as a marketing investment
Written by: Rick Robinson, CEO of PJX Media
When we demand top-notch photography, we are betting on ourselves. We know how good we look on the street; let’s make sure we have the evidence to prove it.
Out of Home is a living canvas, a visual force that thrives in the people’s space. We sell the tangible proof of commerce, culture, and desire on the streets. If that is our value proposition, then the Proof of Performance (POP) photo is not a line-item expense to be minimized; it is a critical marketing investment.
When you think of an expense, the mindset is to control it and reduce it. Conversely, investments are meant to generate returns. When we treat premium imagery as a cost center, we hurt ourselves. We've all experienced the frustration of a campaign deck that is incomplete because the final, glorious shot of a bulletin is missing after weeks of waiting. These are paper cuts that bleed our clients’ belief in the medium. Think about it: an online fashion catalog wouldn't survive with subpar photos, yet in OOH, we often underperform on our most important visual assets.
We have the ultimate weapon—the sheer visual drama of our medium in the wild. Why wouldn't we aggressively invest in that narrative?
Underperformance in photography is our Achilles heel. We should take a cue from the scrappy upstarts and independent OOH vendors who are already leading the way. They understand that high-quality, "glam" POP is the fastest way to stand out in a crowded market. They wouldn’t commit their sacred, limited resources to premium photography if it didn't directly help them sell their inventory.
A powerful image is more than just a POP; it is the first step toward your next sale.
High-quality POP photos and "glam" shots should be standard, non-negotiable deliverables. They are not merely "proof"; they are your social media content, your sales team’s fuel, and the history books of your campaign. They are the content for the "sizzle video" that gets shown to the C-suite. They are the receipts of how we meet the moment. A lousy photo can cause a perfect location to be overlooked by media buyers; an outstanding photo can immortalize an OOH moment on a client’s wall.
The very fact that other media channels don’t provide real photos is exactly why we must.
Thanking all of our media partners in advance for adopting our updated POP guidelines and helping us increase OOH investment.
