CASE STUDY

How OUTFRONT Media ‘own social’
by tapping into the power of
employee influencers

Empowering employees to become social media influencers to drive brand awareness. The result? A 69% increase in engagement in just 3 months.

OUTFRONT Logo DSMN8 Client

Client

OUTFRONT Media

Headquarters

New York, USA

Industry

Advertising Services

Company Size

2,300 employees

Summary 👇

As one of the world’s biggest outdoor media companies, OUTFRONT Media are no strangers to embracing new and innovative ways to communicate.

Just as they generate impact for clients, they were looking for ways to disseminate their own messaging. They knew simply paying for this was not the most effective option and had a different plan in mind.

After carrying out research, the OUTFRONT Media team determined that launching an employee advocacy program to activate their employees as brand influencers was the perfect solution.

Choosing the DSMN8 platform as their preferred partner helped OUTFRONT Media continue to stand head and shoulders above its peers as the number one outdoor solution.

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The People 👋

New York Stock Exchange listed, OUTFRONT Media is one of the largest outdoor media companies in the world.

Previously known as CBS Outdoor, Viacom Outdoor, Infinity Outdoor and 3M National, the organization was founded in 1938, with headquarters in New York.

Over 2,300 employees work across North America, focusing on billboard and transit advertising solutions.

The organization is passionate about providing platforms for brands to connect with their target audiences in day-to-day life.

The Challenge? 🤔

Being one of the biggest outdoor media companies in the world can bring its fair share of challenges.

How can you effectively align multiple offices and employees on a consistent basis?

How do you motivate employees to become brand ambassadors?

And how can you really leverage social media platforms without needing to increase your paid media budget?

These were some of the challenges facing OUTFRONT Media.

But the marketing team had a plan! They saw an untapped opportunity that would not only solve these problems, but also elevate the organization amongst its peers.

The challenge was clear.

How could OUTFRONT Media synchronize 30 offices to leverage social media for the benefit of the business?

Briana Draguca, Social Media Coordinator - Outfront Media

”Our C-Suite regularly receive feedback from industry peers saying - You guys own social. We see you everywhere! Which is a great validation of our employees' efforts across social and the DSMN8 platform.

Briana DragucaSocial Media Coordinator

The Solution 💪

OUTFRONT Media knew that employee advocacy could support in achieving their social media goals.

After extensive research and evaluating leading employee advocacy platforms, they selected DSMN8 as their preferred partner, due to advanced functionality versus alternative solutions.

Key Fact: Typically less than 2% of employees share employer content across their social channels without an employee advocacy program.

Three critical components contributed to the success of OUTFRONT’s program:

1. Automation and Segmentation
2. Authentic and Unique Content
3. Executive Buy-In and a Synchronized Launch

Automation and Segmentation

The automation and segmentation features built into the DSMN8 platform were a key feature for the OUTFRONT Media team.

This provided multiple benefits:

Firstly the team were able to localize the content for specific regions and teams. This made it easy for all employees to find relevant pieces to share.

Secondly, employees could opt-in for auto scheduling. With adjustable sharing frequency, the automation feature enables employees to take a hands-off approach. Their social profiles continue to stay up-to-date, sharing content at optimal times with zero effort required.

Key Fact: Automation was adopted by more than 75% of users.

DSMN8's Automation Function
DSMN8 Dynamic Display Multiple Social Media Captions Feature

Authentic and Unique Content

As a listed company, OUTFRONT Media have to keep an extra close eye on what is said and shared online.

The DSMN8 platform enables the syndication of pre-approved content to be easily disseminated across departments, offices, countries and languages.

By complementing this with clear social media guidelines, internal program owners and C-Suite endorsement, OUTFRONT Media were able to address the fear of saying the wrong thing.

To prevent duplicate content being shared by hundreds of employees, OUTFRONT leveraged DSMN8’s Dynamic Display feature.

This enables content curators to share multiple social media post captions, link titles and images for every piece of content.

Employees can easily mix-and-match these elements to create a unique post, and add their own insights for increased authenticity.

Key Fact: Adding just 5 variations of images, captions and preview titles creates 125 unique social media posts.

DSMN8 V2 Outfront Media Feed

Executive Buy-In and a Synchronized Launch

Close collaboration between the OUTFRONT Media and DSMN8 teams ensured a comprehensive and effective launch strategy for their advocacy program.

First, OUTFRONT Media’s New York HQ took the lead with a hands-on interactive session. Employees were introduced to the platform and the benefits, then set up their profiles together. This initial session included Marketing, Product, Sales, Partnerships and the C-Suite.

Senior leadership were some of the first users to embrace the program. This led to widespread adoption amongst employees and instant impact.

A further 1-hour intro and tutorial session was then recorded and distributed to the wider organization. This was supported with email follow-ups showcasing best practice and tips for greater performance.

The platform has since been extended across North America and is supported by a team of 12 admin users, who are responsible for guiding wider company adoption, documenting best practices and increasing performance.

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Key Features Used:

Groups & Teams

Get the right content to the right employees.

Dynamic Display

Multiple captions and images for every post.

Auto-Scheduling

Automated content sharing at optimal times.

The Impact 👊

OUTFRONT Media have successfully turned their employees into brand ambassadors and influencers.

Even industry peers have taken notice and commented on their increased visibility!

The company has effectively localized the sharing of content, imagery and key information. They embraced DSMN8 as a multi-purpose platform to support key business objectives.

The first 3 months of the program saw:

  • a 400% increase in employees sharing company-related content.
  • a 23% increase in people following OUTFRONT Media on LinkedIn.
  • a 69% increase in OUTFRONT Media’s social media engagement.

Employees have also noticed how their own influence has improved as a result, with content engagement and profile views increasing tenfold. They are now highly motivated advocates, spreading the word throughout the company.

The results far exceeded what the organization hoped the program would achieve. So much so that it has now been integrated into the employee onboarding program for all new joiners.

Regular company-wide updates about the program are provided, covering latest news, best practices, and results.

In addition to 78% of users being active, on average, the program generates the following results each month:

1,338

Avg. posts shared

3,208

Content clicks

1.43

Comparative cost per click
Max Siegelman, Social Media Director - Outfront Media

”The DSMN8 platform has provided the ultimate one- stop-shop for sharing content and knowledge across our teams wherever their location.

Max SiegelmanSocial Media Director

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Your employees gain access to a desktop and mobile application where they can effortlessly share your content across social media, messaging, email and SMS.

Boost your organic reach while keeping employees up to date with company news and industry trends.

Ready to see how you could turn your employees into motivated social influencers like OUTFRONT Media?

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