Why Is Out of Home Advertising So Effective?
It’s no secret that today’s consumers spend a lot of time online. That’s why digital marketing has become such an obvious choice for businesses to reach their audience and grow their business. But what if we told you your online marketing efforts aren’t making nearly as much impact as they could in person.
With so much digital noise crowding the online world, your customers are craving a change in the way they discover brands. Enter out-of-home advertising.
Believe it or not, 90% of Americans out and about take notice of OOH ads. Beyond this, a massive 66% of them follow up the impression by engaging with that very brand online. This alone emphasizes the amount of impact your brand could have by tackling an offline approach.
But offline advertising is a waste of money right? Not even close! Follow along to discover why out-of-home advertising is so effective and how you can take advantage of this marketing medium.
What Is Out-of-Home Advertising?
Out-of-home or OOH advertising literally utilizes offline techniques to capture attention outside the home. In simplest terms, out-of-home advertising involves physical advertisements that don’t take place on a digital device.
While many marketers would consider this ‘traditional marketing’ the truth is, this technique is anything but. You see, over the years OOH advertising has evolved to create the most effective offline medium for marketing out there.
What started out as simple billboard ads have now opened up a plethora of creative ideas. This then keeps your customers engaged and on their toes instead of staring at a screen.
What’s even better is that by eliminating the distraction of the online world, you’ll have a much higher chance of being noticed. This improves your ability to make a lasting and positive impression.
When it comes down to it, there are a number of benefits of out-of-home advertising that your traditional digital marketing strategy just can’t offer. This is massively due to the environment in which your offline campaigns are delivered.
So why are these ads so effective for boosting your marketing campaign? Let’s take a look at the key OOH advantages.
Boosts Your Reach
The first and most obvious advantage of an out-of-home advertising campaign is that you’ll reach a much broader audience than you do with your digital ads.
Yes, social media and search engine advertising allow you to be very specific about the audience you reach. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a benefit to your business. In fact, if you are still getting to know your audience, this could actually be disastrous for your business.
Instead of only hitting the consumers you think are interested in your products and services, you’ll have the chance to break down those borders. This sets you up to attract an audience you may not have even thought of. Beyond this, when utilizing only digital marketing mediums, you’ll be limited to the users on your chosen platform.
While social media does reach a solid amount of people, there is still a high percentage of consumers who don’t have a social media profile. About 43% of the population to be exact. The same goes for tv ads, google ads, and more.
Out-of-home advertising immediately breaks down these walls to build a more rounded audience with no limiting filters.
Contextual Advertisements
What would happen if your advertisement appeared exactly when and where your customers need your product or service?
For example, imagine standing on the street in the pouring rain, trying to hail a cab but having no luck whatsoever. Just as you begin to think, “Man, I gotta get my own wheels”, a mobile billboard turns the corner with an advertisement for a used car dealership with the best prices in town.
Your problem is immediately answered with the perfect solution. Now, chances are, you’ll immediately investigate that brand based on the urgency you feel around solving your problem.
This is the power of contextual placement.
By placing your ads in the exact right location at the exact right time as per detailed research and analytics, you’ll be able to appeal to customers who are ready to buy right now. Now that’s effective marketing!
Improved Targeting
Contrary to popular belief, out-of-home advertising can actually help you reach a more targeted audience than any other medium. While this may sound contradictory to the broad audience we mentioned above, the new and improved target is far more effective.
Let’s say for example that you post an ad for a super-sale you’ve got taking place this weekend. You carefully chose your keywords and set your geographical location to include those who are relatively close to your business. While this is a great start, you have no way of guaranteeing that those customers are actually close enough to impulsively pay you a visit.
Because your out-of-home advertising is live and in-person, you have the distinct advantage of dominating the local market like never before.
This is especially helpful for brands who rely on foot traffic and in-person visits to drive their sales. At the end of the day, out-of-home advertising is like putting your local SEO strategy on steroids and eliminating the competition.
Impressive Impact
As we mentioned above, offline marketing offers an impact that digital marketing solutions simply can’t beat on their own anymore.
While ads on social media once held a lot of weight for consumers, these days ads are more of a nuisance than anything else. This is largely due to the continual stream of invasive ads that are getting in the way of scrolling through friend’s posts.
However, when consumers are offline, their need for constant entertainment has their eyes and brains scanning for something to keep them busy. As they walk down the street or sit in traffic, they begin to take note of the text, images, and attractive nature of advertisements around them. Now they are actually taking in your ads instead of simply scrolling past them.
While we can’t say you have their undivided attention, you’ll have significantly more interest in your physical ads than your digital ones.
Unlimited Opportunity
Is your online approach feeling a bit bland and boring? Rather than throwing out the same thing over and over again, out-of-home advertising offers a new and creative way to keep your customers on their toes.
You can use the different types of OOH advertising to engage and entertain your audience while reflecting your unique brand voice. With so much room for creativity, you can use your ads to evoke emotion and create a personal connection to your brand.
By carefully considering placement, content, and design, you can transform your advertisements to represent your company accurately and effectively.
On top of this, your unique advertising can set you apart from your competitors you’ve been battling with online. Instead of tackling the same keywords with the same offers and seeing the same results, you’ll be capturing attention in a new and exciting way that drives conversion and increases brand loyalty.
Increases Brand Safety
When your ad goes live on the internet, radio, or even television, you have little to no control over what your ad will be surrounded by. Unfortunately, this could have a negative impact on how your brand is perceived by the public.
This risk is significantly decreased when using digital out-of-home advertising. By selecting the exact location you need based on evidence-based data, you can ensure you’ll never be surrounded by unrelated content or negative messages.
Beyond this, taking your advertising offline decreases your chances of problems like privacy policy breaches, ad fraud, and ad bots. Without any personal information or data recorded, you’ll ensure your ads are always safe and stable.
Builds Brand Trust
Let’s face it, it’s pretty hard to trust what you see online these days. Companies are going further than they’ve ever gone before to invade your privacy and utilize your personal information to advertise.
These days even talking to your friends about a product seems to bring up an ad for that exact solution in your social media feed. While ads based on your search history were once convenient for users, they’ve now become pushy and even a bit creepy.
While the advertising platforms are the ones to blame for this, the impact it has on your brand is anything but positive. Instead, this annoyed feeling your customers experience is then projected onto your brand, devaluing your ad and your business as a whole.
Contextually placed OOH ads on the other hand offer a more respectable advertisement for your audience that consumers actually find helpful and trustworthy. This ultimately gives a legitimizing effect for your brand and your ads!
Cost-Effective Solution
Advertising is expensive, especially when you’re paying per click. Out-of-home advertising offers a cost-effective solution for your marketing that is far more sustainable for growth.
What’s more, is that choosing OOH for applications like event advertising offers you a last-minute advertising option to boost impact and increase visibility without the ridiculous price tag. In fact, services like sign spinners are easy to use and require almost no additional work from your team.
From upping your marketing without the headache to creating an out of business sign to boost your local liquidation, you’ll love this affordable solution for any application.
Boosts Other Marketing Mediums
Like everything in the business world, advertising is never black and white. Both online and offline advertising offer a unique set of benefits and advantages. However, when you pair them together, the results are unbelievable.
By using your out-of-home advertising strategically, you can actually boost your online engagement. This can then elevate your digital marketing campaigns and work together to encourage growth.
While the lack of digital distraction gives OOH an edge, consumers will always return to their phones, tablets, and laptops to learn more about a business. Fortunately, the impact of your out-of-home advertising is strong enough to have a lasting impression that translates to the digital world flawlessly.
What’s more, is that by using key tricks and tech such as QR codes and social media handles on your OOH ads, you can immediately translate those in-person impressions to online hits!
Measurable ROI
But offline advertising lacks the important metrics and analytics you need to track effectiveness, right? Wrong.
When it comes to measuring your ROI you don’t need the fancy charts and scales that advertising platforms provide to see results. While these tools can be helpful to guide your future approach, the information is all but invalid if your business isn’t making money from your ads.
The results of your OOH advertising campaign are just as measurable as your online efforts. However, the metrics you use to track them are far more desirable for growth.
Instead of analyzing how many people saw your ad or clicked the ‘like’ button, you can take a deeper dive into how many visitors you brought through the doors with your signage. This takes away the superficial success of an online advertisement and puts the emphasis where it matters – your sales.
Out-of-Home Advertising for Success
Now that you know what out-of-home advertising is and why this strategy is so effective, it’s time to set to work. From reaching a localized audience to boosting your other marketing efforts, this marketing method is the perfect solution for any growing business.
With results like this, you’d be foolish not to try this proven technique for your advertising needs.
Want a signed, sealed, and delivered advertising strategy without the fuss? Get in touch with us today to discover how we can take the guesswork out of your out-of-home advertising to deliver you the results you want without the extra work.
