T-Mobile’s Cherian Thomas on Driving Brand Love with DOOH

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Head of marketing for T-Ads, the advertising solutions division of T-Mobile, Cherian Thomas describes the evolution of his rideshare entertainment platform, Octopus, to creating brand love across all digital out of home screens. In this upbeat but informative conversation with the high-energy “Doctor Thomas,” Insider Interviews host E.B. Moss also gets the download on DOOH from DPAA CEO, Barry Frey, to offer listeners and viewers a complete picture of the state of screens today.

QUOTES AND TIMESTAMPS

00:02:23 – “By the digitization of out-of-home, we mean a modern-day digital advertising business.”
00:03:10 – “DOOH is becoming very powerful especially with its ability to target audiences, that heretofore was not available.”
00:04:20 – ” I’ve seen these crazy billboards where it almost looks like things are flying off of the screen. It’s really amazing what can happen now with digital billboards.”
00:11:49 – “While trying to market our app to consumers, we had to identify who is the ideal target audience. And then you look and you’re like, wow, that’s the Uber and Lyft rider!”
00:13:56 – “If we can delight riders in their Uber and Lyft journey, well, what’s the next phase?”

“The numbers don’t lie: actual consumer spending is four times larger in store than it is online.”

00:16:56 – “The numbers don’t lie: actual consumer spending is four times larger in store than it is online.”
00:18:52 – “Well, it turns out advertisers and brands also have similar pain points when it comes to them spending dollars and getting their brand out there or hitting performance metrics.”
Watch the full episode with Cherian Thomas, Head of Marketing for T-Ad on YouTube, too!

[00:23:42] Enthusiasm, energy and skateboarding to work.
00:24:14 – “It starts from the top. So everything we do in my world is always ‘How is that good for our customers?’ And I think that’s something really important.”
T-Mobile Chief Creative Officer, Peter DeLuca with DPAA CEO, Barry Frey at Cannes

00:25:59 – “I think Peter DeLuca is a legend. And if you think about T-Mobile’s brand, this is the best our brand has ever been. And you don’t get there overnight. You have to be consistent. You have to be honest. You have to deliver. Like we say, dream big and deliver.”
00:28:24 – “We leverage our brand to get our customers amazing deals and delight them.”
00:33:45 – “My favorite product is the T-Mobile SyncUp Kids Watch, which is kind of a smart watch, but all you can do on it are basic things. As a parent, that was a pain point that T-Mobile had solved…This is kind of in our ethos: solving pain points I think is a common theme that’s carried forward in everything that we do.”
00:35:08 – Brand purpose and trust. “One of our promises is “Nada, yada, yada.” Like, that’s our actual Metro by T-Mobile brand campaign right now, because everyone else makes a bunch of promises and the fine print is like “yada, yada, yada, yada.” If that doesn’t say we don’t have any BS here and you can trust us….”
00:37:41 – “If you have a low cost of screen and you have connectivity, why can’t there be a screen at the top of the Vail ski resort to show you information and speed times and fastest slope, the slope is closed, etc. So these are things I’m really excited about.
[00:38:30] The growth of Digital Out-of-Home.
00:38:39 – As an industry, I’m excited because the TAM — the Total Addressable Market — for Digital Out-of-Home, is much larger. And that’s always been the challenge with Digital Out-of-Home. …You’ve got a $10 billion industry, but it’s getting bigger and bigger as these macro trends continue.”
00:40:11 – “What does the E.B. stand for?!”