Out-Of-Home Advertising is Changing and Growing

Whether it is during your morning routine, while you are out to lunch, or at the gym, Out of Home (OOH) advertising is becoming more than your traditional “billboard ad” by reaching large audiences in not-so-traditional ways. A study by the Outdoor Media Association found that out of home advertising makes up 20% of people’s daily media consumption, and that people are twice as likely to act on messages they receive out of their home. So what are the types of out-of-home advertising, and how can you use them to get the best results?

Types of OOH Advertising

Basic billboards are still a major aspect of OOH, but the digital era has inspired advertisers to integrate digital signs as well as interactive displays in malls, airports, grocery stores, and on public transportation. Advertising is getting better at reaching consumers wherever they go, whether on supermarket shopping carts, in sports arenas, or in health clubs.

OOH ads can be delivered via:

• Billboard Advertising
• Direct Marketing
• Transportation Advertising
• On The Go Advertising
• Street Marketing
• ...and much more

Billboard Advertising

Billboard advertising is one of the most traditional forms of advertising. Billboards are strategically placed in high-populated areas including key highways and intersections. These large formatted advertisements offer tremendous visibility to vehicles, reaching both the driver and the passengers and offer businesses an enormous creative canvas to display their advertisement. As OOH media grows, billboard advertising remains relevant and effective when reaching customers. The quick and clear messages that billboards send continues to catch the eye of diverse groups of people.

Bus Advertising

Bus advertising provides businesses a prime audience of potential customers. Having a moving billboard offering superior eye level coverage, an advertisement placed on a bus reaches commuters, workers, and areas where traditional outdoor media is limited or unavailable. Bus advertisements are great for reaching pedestrian and vehicular traffic and continue to be a popular choice for media placement, because like billboard advertising, it offer businesses a way to reach travelers and commuters no matter where they’re going or what they are listening to.

Cinema Advertising

Cinema advertising is another of the more traditional out of home media options. It is a dynamic advertising medium reaching consumers who are uniquely attentive. Theaters may be one of the few places where people know it is taboo to look at their mobile devices, a challenge that regular TV faces frequently. So cinema advertising gives businesses a chance to show their messages to an engaged audience, on an enormous screen with outstanding quality sound. This is where cinema advertising comes in handy for businesses, having the opportunity to capture people without a distraction.

How to Get the Best Results

In the past, a billboard or outdoor ad was a simple way to generate brand awareness. The trouble is, it can be rather difficult to express a strong message on a medium that people see for only a few seconds. So, it is important to have the support of TV, direct mail, radio, and print advertising and to layer both digital and static OOH into an integrated campaign. In short, keep the product or service prevalent, but let the other forms of advertising aid the storytelling so the important messages don’t get lost.

Increasingly, with the rapid growth of mobile technology, outdoor advertising can do more to drive people to take a direct action than in years past. With OOH as part of a campaign, it gives marketers yet another funnel entry point to use to attracts consumers. According to Outfront Media, adding OOH to your media plan allows businesses to connect with their customers, increase engagement, drive sales, and increase brand awareness. Outfront Media explains how adding OOH to your media plan can increase campaigns drastically:

• Web campaigns by 68%
• Social campaigns by 212%
• Mobile apps by 316%

Some outdoor advertising can become the focal point for an entire campaign, especially if it drives interaction with users and their cell phones. Recent examples include the TNT "Push To Add Drama" stunt, showing consumers that TNT’s goal is to capture attention and give their viewers the shows and drama they want with a push of a button.