In Episode 13 of Beyond the Billboard, hosts Charlie Riley and Greg Wise talk with Rob Biederman, founder of Asymmetric Capital Partners and former co-head of Bain Capital Ventures.
As the Chair of the OneScreen Board of Directors, Rob was originally drawn to the appeal of out-of-home advertising when he co-founded Catalant Technologies. Using strategic out-of-home (OOH) advertising, they knew the ROI of OOH was excellent as a source of sales leads, but there was a measurement gap when working directly with outdoor advertising vendors. Enter OneScreen, where Rob has been an excellent source of advice and investment.
In this podcast episode, Rob explores why out-of-home (OOH) advertising is seeing a resurgence—and why brands should be paying attention, jus tlike his experience growing Catalant with strategiclly-placed OOH ads.
If you’re a marketer looking to break through digital fatigue and build brand trust, this episode is packed with real-world insights.
Watch the full episode below.
Why OOH Advertising Is Making a Comeback
OOH advertising is re-emerging as a key channel for brands. And not just for B2C. Rob shares how B2B companies like his former firm Catalent used it to drive real results.
“What we look for at Asymmetric and certainly at Bain Capital were spaces where you have crazy repeat buy behavior. People just keep coming back and coming back, but very low customer satisfaction. And for me, the out-of-home industry as a buyer at Catalent was peak of that. You had this very fragmented industry where we knew the ROI was fantastic, but we couldn’t scale our buying in the medium because it was such a pain in the ass to buy.”
– Rob Biederman
The takeaway? The performance is there. The challenge is execution. But that’s changing fast.
OOH Gets Real Attention in the Real World
Unlike digital ads, out-of-home placements are hard to miss. People see them in cars, on subways, or during moments when they’re not glued to a screen.
“What you can’t ignore is when you’re driving a car, to have your eyes open, have to be looking. You see a billboard or you’re on the subway where typically you can’t be on your phone. There are so many interesting media and channels now for out of home that are also becoming digitized at the same time.”
– Rob Biederman
OOH grabs attention where digital can’t. It’s why marketers are revisiting this once-overlooked channel.
Billboards Build Brand Authority
Want to look like a market leader? Show up where leaders do—on major highways or in key business corridors.
“When you have billboards, it gives you real heft as a company. If you think of the companies that are advertising on the 101, they’re the most important technology companies in America hitting the most sophisticated and discerning buyers.”
– Rob Biederman
For B2B brands especially, OOH builds brand equity and legitimacy that performance marketing alone can’t deliver.
Use OOH to Reach Cold Audiences
Not everyone is searching for your product. OOH helps you reach people who aren’t actively looking but still match your ideal customer profile.
“The best way to get customers who aren’t looking for you is to interrupt them in their daily path. So you have to hit them when they’re getting on the subway, when they’re at their kid’s tee ball game, when they’re driving on the interstate.”
– Rob Biederman
And even if someone converts later through paid search, that first impression often started on a billboard.
“If you don’t get them on performance marketing, they remember your name. So you may even actually see that they convert on a pay per click situation. It was only because they saw you earlier that day while driving their car.”
– Rob Biederman
Dominate Events with OOH Saturation
Rob shares a practical OOH tactic: take over the area around your industry’s top events. It works and blocks your competitors from doing the same.
“If you’re the first kind of B2B marketer to sign up blocks at a conference, block out every piece of inventory in the neighborhood of a conference, that’s it for that conference. Somebody else can’t outbid you.”
– Rob Biederman
This kind of saturation makes your brand impossible to ignore—and ensures you’re top of mind before buyers even walk into the event.
Final Thoughts: OOH Is Not Optional. It’s a Strategic Advantage.
Out-of-home advertising isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a powerful channel that can build trust, drive awareness, and improve the performance of all your other marketing efforts.
Here’s why marketers should rethink OOH:
- It’s attention-grabbing and unavoidable.
- It builds brand trust and credibility.
- It reaches buyers before they’re actively searching.
- It complements and amplifies digital marketing.
- It works especially well around high-stakes events and locations.
🎧 Want the full story? Listen to Episode 13 of Beyond the Billboard with Rob Biederman for tactical advice and strategic thinking around modern OOH.
If you’d like to see how strategic OOH can imporve your ROI like this episode explains, let’s talk.