Kaitlin Despott is the Investment and Operations Director at PHD, and is based in Melbourne.
Describe your position and explain why the media industry is currently so dynamic.
I am currently working for PHD as an Investment Director across ANZ Bank. I’m responsible for annual negotiations across multiple channels, maintaining strong relationships with our media partner teams across PHD Melbourne and driving efficiency and clever thinking for ANZ.
More broadly, I ensure that our clients are informed of all developments in the media landscape, and that our expertise is demonstrated at every stage of the process, from planning through to implementation and reporting.
All of those changes are exactly why the media industry in Australia is so dynamic at the moment. We work across so many consumer touchpoints and they continuously evolve in terms of data and tech capability, formats and reporting. With VOZ and MOVE 2.0 both coming this year, we’re in for a very exciting 2025.
OOH is experiencing a surge. What do you believe is contributing to OOH's strong performance in Australia, especially compared to other traditional channels?
There are a few factors converging right now, to give out of home it’s (deserved!) spotlight in the media channel mix. There is a wider change in Australia’s geographic split, with the movement from metro to regional residencies in recent years, aided by work from home policies and economic pressures. The industry is addressing this accordingly and looking beyond just metro with the launch of MOVE 2.0. Personally, I can’t wait for a more accurate measurement of Australian society as it currently stands.
As data applications and programmatic capabilities continue to grow in Australia, out of home panels remain simple and effective ways to create large-scale impact. There is so much opportunity to treat a panel as a blank canvas to connect with audiences, and the industry is leaning into the creative possibilities just as much as the tech – just look at how the two have come together for 3D OOH.
What media trends do you believe we should be monitoring? Is there anything specific concerning OOH?
Embracing the full channel ecosystem as data, tech, and measurement evolve – linking together OOH, TV, BVOD, radio, and other channels in clever ways to elevate campaign performance and cut-through, as well as creating richer audience connections.
Ongoing investments in new formats, as well as upgrades to screen tech capabilities, will bring us more in line with the rest of the world in terms of how audiences can interact and be influenced by out-of-home placements.
What feedback are you receiving from clients about their main priorities and concerns related to the media industry?
Measurement!
Being able to look beyond just media KPIs and achieve results that positively ladder back up to business objectives and create a real impact.
Additionally, ensuring all our team members and client teams remain educated on upcoming and emerging trends. We need to ensure we stay ahead of them so we have a strong and considered point of view on exciting new opportunities as they arise.
You have played a crucial role in advancing independent OOH verification in Australia. Why do you believe this is vital for the industry?
Verification equals accountability, which is so important for every channel. Accurate and useful measurement is a huge priority for all clients and having independent verification in place ensures that when we report back to our client teams, we can be confident that our campaign ran as planned and we haven’t wasted any of our marketing dollars along the way.
What's next for the industry? Which trends do you believe will be most significant in the upcoming 12 months?
Programmatic uptake has been slowly gearing up in Australia. This will continue to grow in 2025 for all channels, not just out of home. As part of this, we will see an increase in efficiency in planning, buying and measurement across the board, in terms of both ROIs and processes. We will also be able to gain richer insights into audience behaviour, which takes us further towards true audience-led campaigns.
More broadly, the industry and our clients are becoming more mindful of the social and environmental impacts they have, as well as their responsibility to combat negative contributions to society.
We have started addressing this within the industry (look at all of the green out of home panels!), but I look forward to this evolving further in 2025, as well as being part of the positive change in whatever way I can.
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