Out-of-Home: The Channel that Gives You Choices
When marketers consider which advertising channels to use for a given campaign, they look for the unique attributes of each channel that will align best with their audience and campaign goals. TV, paid social, paid search, print, email, radio . . . they all have their respective appeal for audiences. When you add out-of-home into your advertising mix, you are not adding just one more channel, you’re throwing the doors open wide.
The concept of outdoor advertising used to be synonymous with billboards. And for good reason. Roadside billboards have been a staple for decades, thanks to their special ability to put a simple message in front of innumerable passersby, around the clock, day in and day out.
Billboards are golden when it comes to building brand awareness and also for directing certain types of viewer response. (“Take the next exit,” “3 locations here in town,” etc.) But in today’s world, that’s just scratching the promotional surface.
1 + 1 = 3
It was originally Facebook’s idea – could Facebook and Instagram ads perform better if they were augmented with OOH? They wondered if 1 + 1 could actually equal 3 instead of just 2. They tried it out and reported the combination was 13% more effective than Facebook ads alone.
This sounded intriguing to our team at OneScreen.ai, so we also gave it a try. We did not increase our budget, we simply diverted some of the spend to out-of-home (billboards, to be precise) along with Facebook advertising. Our results were also impressive – 4x lift.
Turns out 1 + 1 really does = 3.
This is great news for any brand that wants to make a bigger splash-per-dollar in a way that inspires audiences to take action. For startups and emerging brands, though, the ability to do far more with limited funds is critical. So they depend on billboards to build essential early awareness quickly.
OOH goes beyond billboards. Way beyond.
While billboards are tops for branding, and they can also drive audience response, OOH has the versatility to enhance all types of advertising campaigns. Marketers can choose from a wealth of inventory options, both traditional and digital, to customize targeting according to location as well as demographic data.
The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) lists almost three dozen categories of OOH media inventory. Categories. There are numerous options within most of these categories. It might feel overwhelming at first, but the more you think about all these options, the faster your creative juices start flowing.
Within this “single” channel you can:
· Choose from static or mobile media, standard or digital formats, indoor and outdoor locations
· Choose platforms that are massive for distance viewing or smaller and more intimate placements
· Use contextually relevant messaging
· Incorporate video, audio (the hot, new OOH advertising medium)
· Make it an interactive experience with QR codes, touchscreens and more
In a nationwide survey, 84% of marketers said they expect OOH to become increasingly interactive and actionable in 2022.
OOH makes a bigger impression
Again, all this is important for all brands but especially so for startups and SMBs. Companies can create a broad-scale presence with compelling content that gets viewers thinking – and wanting to know more about your company or product.
They‘re using:
· Transit media. Wrapped buses, for example, make a massive impression like billboards, but they’re on the move, delivering your can’t-miss message to drivers, pedestrians and passengers around town.
· Street media. Eye-level traditional and digital OOH ads offer longer dwell time for closer inspection, reaching on-the-go business and shopper audiences in busy downtowns.
· Airport media. Business and leisure travel is on the rise, and airports are replete with OOH advertising opportunities from the parking lot throughout the concourses and lounges and on down to baggage claim.
With out-of-home, you can literally accompany your target audience wherever they go when they are out in the real world.
