Activation VS OOH: Both complement each other

Shift in clients' OOH budget towards Activation

I would say OOH and activation both complement each other, one can create a campaign that co-relates out-of-home traditional media and activation.  OOH means anything that you need to do when you step out of home.  So activation is also a part of OOH. One can do activations through billboard as well, or can do an activation that complements the OOH campaign.

Comparing effectiveness

Activation is an idea that has to be activated, based on a common objective. So in out-of-home, there is one central idea and from that particular idea various mediums can be adopted, and clients want something different and new so OOH and activation together add value to the client's requirement.

Activation replacing traditional OOH

Activation is more like taking things forward and making it more acceptable and interactive.  Creating a better recall for the brand is not a threat, but helping outdoor to make it more acceptable and better. So anybody doing activation is also doing a service to the outdoor industry.