The Ultimate Guide to Out of Home Advertising

More than 90 percent of travelers notice out-of-home (OOH) advertising, making it an incredibly effective way for businesses to connect with potential consumers. Even though many people spent a large amount of time on the internet and consume digital advertising, out-of-home advertising is still very relevant. When developing your upcoming advertising campaigns, don’t forget to implement this tactic.

Advancements in technology aren’t just limited to digital advertising. By combining technological advancements with the benefits of traditional ads, marketers can maximize the impact of their communications.

This guide will go over everything you need to know about out-of-home advertising and how you can use it to boost the awareness of your brand. Learn how to reach consumers in a space that’s outside of their homes.

What is Out-of-Home Advertising?

Out-of-home advertising is just as it sounds – advertising that’s found outside of a customer’s home. It can include bus shelters, benches, billboards, sign walkers, sign drivers, yard signs, and so much more. If you see an ad outside of your home that’s not on your mobile device, it’s typically an out-of-home ad.

Out-of-home advertising is a massive category. Some of the biggest advertisers in the world, like HBO, McDonald’s, and Apple incorporate out-of-home advertising into their marketing campaigns.

Some more types of advertising you’ll see with out-of-home include:

• Billboards: Advertisements that are placed along roadsides, on the sides of buildings, or as a standalone structure
• Transit: Vehicle stickers and wraps that are located inside trains, busses, taxis, monorails, and other forms of transportation
• Street Furniture: Metro and train stations, bus shelters, city information kiosks, telephone booths, lamps, and street poles
• Wallscapes: Signage that’s attached or painted on the side of a building in a prominent area
• Point of Sale Displays: Floor tile stickers, posters, banners, signs, and screens that are located near the check-out counter in a retail store
• Wildpostings: Smaller posters that are placed in large quantities in an urban area, usually used to promote musical artists and other people in the entertainment field

While advertising on a blimp might be a little bit outside of your budget, there are a variety of options you can use when advertising a business.

Benefits of Out-of-Home Advertising

Like with any type of marketing, there are advertising benefits for this type of campaign.

It Can Help Build Your Brand

Consumers can scroll past digital ads on the internet and on their social media feeds. With out-of-home advertising, it’s hard for them to ignore it.

Potential consumers will see a lot of the same outdoor signage and advertising on a regular basis as they drive to work or take their kids to school. They’ll start to gain familiarity with your brand, resulting in it being at the forefront of their minds.

Additionally, if outdoor advertising is put in an area that receives a lot of traffic and is aesthetically pleasing, it’ll cement your brand even more in a consumer’s mind. When developing your advertising, you need to ensure they’re visually stimulating and placed in the right areas.

OOH Advertising is More Accepted by Consumers

The market nowadays is incredibly flooded with in-home and digital advertising. As a result, consumers become callous to that type of advertising because they’re continually bombarded with it. Unfortunately, consumers don’t always have a favorable response when being hit with ads in the digital space.

What happens is that a consumer can ignore the ad by not clicking on the link, turn the channel, or fast forward through a company’s commercial. If they view your ads as being a nuisance, they’ll attach a negative connotation to the brand. This is the opposite of what you want to achieve.

Out-of-home advertising continues to see growth, popularity, and increased acceptance. This could be for a variety of reasons. One of them may be since an in-home ad feels unwelcomed and intrusive and an out-of-home ad doesn’t have the same effect.

Out-of-Home Advertising is Completely Customizable

Some people think that with out-of-home advertising that they’re not able to customize the ad to their specific target audience. They also might think there’s not a lot of customization options. Neither of those things is true for out-of-home advertising.

You can easily customize your ads and direct them to a certain section of the population by using design, location, and verbiage. Ad placement may seem obvious, like putting an ad targeted at medical professionals by a hospital. Specific design and verbiage can help you target specific demographics as well.

For example, a billboard or other type of ad might be received more positively if they promote fun and relaxation and are colorful. On the opposite side, an advertisement around professional office buildings might have a better impact if they have a structured, clean design.

Maximize Your Marketing Budget

Out-of-home advertising is an affordable option. It can sometimes be less expensive than digital or print marketing. You’re able to create more impactful results on a tighter budget.

Out-of-home advertising is also more long-term than print or digital ads. When you purchase a media space for this type of advertising, you’re buying a length of time and location. How long your ad stays up is important in establishing your brand’s familiarity with them.

Out-of-Home Advertising Gets a Better Response

Consumers can have a lot of different types of responses to this type of advertising. This includes:

• Visiting a business’s location
• Going to a store to look for a certain product or ask about a sale
• Talking to others about the advertisement
• Visiting a company’s website that was displayed on the ad
• Viewing a television show or movie
• Recommending the company to another consumer
• Calling the phone number that was listed on the ad

Working with an advertising agency that specializes in out-of-home advertising will help you with tracking your results from your advertising campaign.

Boost Your Sales

Exposing your brand and products on a regular basis results in potential sales and brand familiarization. That’s why with this type of advertising, it’s important to have maximum exposure by putting your ads in places that receive a lot of traffic from your target audience.

When your target demographics are repeatedly exposed to your advertisements, they’re more likely to engage and respond. It could trigger them to think about your product or service in the future when they’re in need of it. They could also make a move to purchase what you offer even if they hadn’t thought about needing to previously.

A consumer’s change in attitude is a result of your brand and products receiving maximum exposure from your ads.

Tips for Improving Your Out-of-Home Advertising Campaign

Now that we’ve talked about some of the benefits of out-of-home advertising, let’s go over a few tips and tricks for your upcoming campaign.

Don’t Forget About Digital

You don’t have to go tech-free with this type of advertising. You can incorporate digital out-of-home advertising into your overall campaign. Digital billboards are a great option in lieu of a traditional billboard.

A digital billboard is also less expensive than a traditional billboard. This is because there are no installation and removal costs. Also, if consumers are more receptive to your brand at a certain time of day, you can choose to have your ad display during that time slot.

Since your ad is digital, you’re also able to change the content whenever you want. You can see how your target audience responds to your current ad and make adjustments as needed.

What’s great about digital billboards is that they’re always illuminated. A conventional billboard might not be. With a digital billboard, consumers are guaranteed to see your ad, no matter what time of day it is.

Research the Location of Your Advertising

No matter what your advertising goals are, you’ll need to research the location of where you put your ads. This will help you determine the limitations and size of your ad. You’ll also be able to figure out what locations are or are not worth your budget.

For example, think about if you own a local restaurant that’s in a heavy foot traffic location. Advertising your dinner specials with a unique slogan on a chalkboard sign will be more impactful than a billboard. Additionally, if you’re an auto dealership that’s offering an end-of-year sale, a billboard will be more effective than a small sign outside of your location.

When determining the locations for your ads, ask yourself a few questions:

• What type of people travel in this area?
• Is the ad visible to them?
• What do those who see the ad need or want?
• How does my product or service solve their need?

Once you’ve figured out the answers to these questions, you’ll be able to determine where your ad needs to be located for maximum impact.

Make Your Ads and Displays Eye-Catching

The same principles you’d use for digital advertising also apply to out-of-home advertising. Since you want to grab the attention of drivers and passersby, you should utilize bright colors in your advertisements.

Another way to drive consumers to take action is to include a countdown to an event or product launch. This is a great tactic for a digital billboard since it can be updated in real-time.

The messaging on your billboards and other advertising should be short and sweet. You have a short window of time to make an impression. You don’t want to include so much text that the viewer can’t understand what you want them to do.

On that same line, your advertisements should be simple. Don’t incorporate multiple messages or images on a billboard. Be direct and succinct.

Drive Action

If people share or talk about an advertisement, then you should consider your out-of-home advertising campaign a success. You should brainstorm ad ideas that will increase the likelihood of people talking.

One such campaign was CVS’s #BeautyUnaltered campaign. Digital advertising was placed in prominent locations. The billboards encouraged people to upload selfies that weren’t filtered to social media.

This type of advertising campaign got people to take action and share things on their social media account. In turn, their followers would see the posts and take action as well, even if they never saw the original advertisement.

See What Your Competition is Doing

In any type of marketing campaign, evaluating what the competition is doing is an essential component of the research phase. See what your competitors are doing. Where are their advertisements located?

When you look at their ads, see what works well in them. Then, determine how the ads can be improved. You can utilize your findings in your upcoming campaign.

While you may want to post an out-of-home advertisement close to one of your competitors advertising better quality products or a lower price, it might have unintended results. It could result in a price war, with your competitor, in turn, lowering their prices. Keep that in mind when outlining your strategy.

Set Goals You Can Measure

Your out-of-home advertising campaign should have quantifiable goals that can be clearly measured. Think about the following questions when setting your goals:

• Do I want to deliver a specific call to action?
• Am I seeking to increase brand awareness?
• Do I want to reach a new target demographic?
• Am I sharing knowledge with my viewers?
• Do we want to advertise a new product line?

One tactic that can help you set concrete goals that are achievable is by establishing SMART goals. SMART goals are defined as the following:

• Smart
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

By using this structure to set goals, you’re able to create a plan that is achievable and measurable.

Partner With Frontline Media Solutions

As you can see, out-of-home advertising is a great way to put your brand and products in front of more consumers. You’re able to create a positive, long-lasting impression with them.

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you with your advertising campaign, contact us for a proposal request.