5.3 Out-of-Home Advertising
4 min read•july 31, 2024
Out-of-home advertising is a dynamic field that reaches consumers beyond their homes. From traditional billboards to digital displays, OOH offers unique ways to grab attention in public spaces. It's a versatile medium that adapts to urban environments and complements other marketing channels.
Effective OOH campaigns blend creativity with strategic placement. They use bold visuals, concise copy, and innovative techniques like to engage audiences. As part of a broader media mix, OOH extends brand and creates memorable experiences in the real world.
Forms of Out-of-Home Advertising
Traditional and Digital Formats
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Digital-billboards – Principles of Microeconomics View original
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Out of Home Advertising for Grouse Mountain | An OOH campaig… | Flickr View original
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Edmonton's first digital billboard? | Mack Male | Flickr View original
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Digital-billboards – Principles of Microeconomics View original
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Top images from around the web for Traditional and Digital Formats
Digital-billboards – Principles of Microeconomics View original
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Out of Home Advertising for Grouse Mountain | An OOH campaig… | Flickr View original
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Edmonton's first digital billboard? | Mack Male | Flickr View original
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Digital-billboards – Principles of Microeconomics View original
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Out of Home Advertising for Grouse Mountain | An OOH campaig… | Flickr View original
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- Out-of-home (OOH) advertising encompasses visual advertising media found outside the home (billboards, street furniture, transit, place-based advertising)
- Traditional billboards include static, digital, and mobile formats offering unique advantages in reach, flexibility, and impact
- Street furniture advertising utilizes structures in high-traffic pedestrian areas (bus shelters, benches, kiosks)
- appears on or inside public transportation (buses, trains, taxis, ride-sharing vehicles)
- Place-based advertising targets specific locations for contextually relevant messaging (airports, shopping malls, sports arenas, movie theaters)
- Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising uses electronic displays to deliver dynamic, targeted content updated in real-time
Innovative OOH Tactics
- Ambient and guerrilla OOH tactics involve unconventional placements and creative executions to surprise and engage audiences
- Utilize unexpected surfaces or objects (sidewalks, buildings, vehicles)
- Create interactive installations or pop-up experiences
- Augmented reality (AR) integration enhances traditional OOH formats
- Allows viewers to interact with ads using smartphones
- Creates immersive brand experiences
- Projection mapping transforms buildings or structures into dynamic advertising canvases
- Enables large-scale, attention-grabbing displays
- Often used for product launches or special events
Effectiveness of Out-of-Home Advertising
Measurement and Targeting
- OOH effectiveness measured through metrics varying by format and location (reach, frequency, , engagement)
- and audience profiling tools assess demographic and psychographic characteristics of people exposed to OOH placements
- Mobile location data and attribution models track consumer behavior and measure OOH exposure impact on store visits and purchases
- Effectiveness enhanced by considering local culture, language, and customs of target audience in different geographic locations
- Time-of-day and day-of-week planning maximizes OOH effectiveness, particularly for digital formats allowing dayparting and real-time updates
Factors Influencing Impact
- OOH advertising impact influenced by environmental factors in different contexts
- Dwell time affects exposure duration (longer at bus stops, shorter for highway billboards)
- Viewing distance impacts legibility and visual impact (closer for street-level ads, farther for large-format billboards)
- Environmental distractions compete for attention (urban clutter, weather conditions)
- Integration with mobile and online channels extends reach and measurability of OOH campaigns
- Near Field Communication (NFC) enables contactless interaction
- QR codes link physical ads to digital content
- Augmented reality (AR) creates interactive experiences
Compelling Out-of-Home Creatives
Design Principles
- Effective OOH design adheres to simplicity principle (bold visuals, concise copy, clear call-to-action)
- Color theory and contrast create visually striking advertisements standing out in cluttered environments
- High-contrast color combinations increase visibility (yellow on black, white on red)
- Color psychology influences emotional responses (blue for trust, red for excitement)
- Typography selection critical for OOH with legibility at various distances and viewing angles as primary consideration
- Sans-serif fonts often preferred for readability
- Font size and weight adjusted for viewing distance
- Adapting creative executions to different OOH formats and sizes requires understanding each medium's unique characteristics and viewing contexts
- Vertical designs for urban street furniture
- Horizontal layouts for roadside billboards
Engagement Techniques
- Humor, shock value, or interactive elements increase memorability and shareability of OOH campaigns
- Clever wordplay or visual puns
- Surprising or provocative images
- Physical interactions (touchscreens, motion sensors)
- Dynamic content capabilities of DOOH allow real-time updates, personalization, and contextual relevance
- Weather-triggered content changes
- Time-based messaging (rush hour vs. late night)
- Live data integration (sports scores, stock prices)
- Motion graphics and video content in digital OOH significantly increase attention and engagement
- Designed with brevity in mind (5-15 second loops)
- Silent storytelling techniques
- Eye-catching animations or transitions
Out-of-Home vs. Other Media Channels
Cross-Channel Integration
- Cross-channel campaign planning aligns OOH messaging and timing with other media touchpoints for cohesive brand experience
- Mobile retargeting strategies extend OOH campaign reach by serving digital ads to consumers exposed to physical placements
- Social media integration encourages user-generated content and amplification of OOH campaigns
- Hashtags for social sharing
- Photo opportunities with interactive installations
- Location-based check-ins or augmented reality filters
- Programmatic OOH buying platforms enable synchronized ad delivery across digital OOH and online channels for efficient, targeted campaigns
- Unique URLs, QR codes, or SMS short codes in OOH ads drive measurable online or mobile engagement and attribution
Leveraging OOH Data
- Incorporating OOH elements into experiential marketing activations creates immersive brand experiences
- Pop-up stores or events tied to OOH campaign themes
- Virtual or augmented reality experiences linked to physical ads
- OOH data leveraged for audience insights informs targeting and creative strategies across other channels
- Foot traffic patterns influence retail location selection
- Demographic data shapes online ad targeting
- Engagement metrics guide creative optimization across all media
- Integration of OOH with other channels creates holistic marketing approach
- Reinforces brand messaging through multiple touchpoints
- Increases overall campaign reach and frequency
- Enables multi-channel attribution and ROI analysis
Key Terms to Review (18)
Audience analytics: Audience analytics is the process of collecting and analyzing data about the behaviors, preferences, and demographics of a specific audience. This information helps marketers and advertisers understand who their audience is, what they want, and how to engage them effectively. By utilizing audience analytics, companies can tailor their marketing strategies and messages to resonate better with target demographics, ultimately driving more effective communication and higher engagement rates.
Augmented Reality: Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that overlays digital information, such as images or sounds, onto the real world, enhancing the user's perception of their environment. This interactive experience merges physical and virtual elements, allowing users to engage with digital content in real-time, thus transforming how media and communication evolve, advertising strategies are implemented, and future technology trends develop.
Billboard advertising: Billboard advertising refers to large outdoor structures designed to display advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers. These billboards are strategically placed in high-traffic areas to maximize visibility and attract the attention of a diverse audience, making them a powerful tool in out-of-home advertising campaigns.
Campaign flighting: Campaign flighting is an advertising strategy that involves alternating periods of intense media advertising and periods of no advertising at all. This approach allows advertisers to maximize impact during certain times while saving costs during off periods, making it particularly effective for products or services with seasonal demand or specific promotional events.
Cost per thousand (cpm): Cost per thousand (cpm) is a metric used in advertising that measures the cost of reaching one thousand potential viewers or impressions of an advertisement. This metric helps advertisers understand the relative cost-effectiveness of different media channels and is crucial for planning and allocating budgets efficiently. By comparing cpm across various platforms, advertisers can optimize their media investments and ensure they are reaching their target audience effectively.
Digital billboards: Digital billboards are large electronic displays used for advertising, which can showcase dynamic content like images, videos, and animations. They are strategically placed in high-traffic areas to capture the attention of passersby and offer advertisers the ability to change their messaging quickly, making them a modern evolution of traditional out-of-home advertising.
Geopath: A geopath refers to a specific location or area where advertising displays, such as billboards or digital screens, are strategically placed based on foot and vehicle traffic patterns. This concept is vital in maximizing the visibility and effectiveness of out-of-home advertising by leveraging geographic data to determine optimal placements for reaching target audiences effectively.
Geotargeting: Geotargeting is a digital marketing technique that uses location data to deliver content or advertisements to users based on their geographical location. This method allows marketers to reach specific audiences more effectively by tailoring their messages to resonate with local interests and behaviors. By utilizing geolocation technology, businesses can enhance their advertising strategies and improve user engagement, making it a crucial aspect of data-driven marketing and out-of-home advertising.
Impressions: Impressions refer to the total number of times content is displayed, regardless of whether it was clicked or engaged with. This metric is crucial as it helps gauge the reach and visibility of media strategies across various platforms and advertising channels.
Interactive displays: Interactive displays are digital screens that allow users to engage with content through touch, gestures, or other forms of input. These displays enhance user experience by facilitating interaction and providing real-time feedback, making them popular in various out-of-home advertising settings.
Location-based marketing: Location-based marketing refers to the practice of delivering targeted advertisements and promotional messages to consumers based on their geographic location. This approach leverages technologies like GPS, Wi-Fi, and beacon technology to identify where potential customers are and provide them with relevant information or offers tailored to their current surroundings.
Media buying: Media buying is the process of purchasing advertising space or time across various media platforms to effectively reach a target audience. This involves strategic planning and negotiation to ensure that ad placements maximize visibility and impact, aligning closely with broader marketing goals.
Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA): The Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) is a national trade organization that represents the interests of the out-of-home advertising industry in the United States. It plays a crucial role in setting standards, providing research, and advocating for policies that benefit its members, which include outdoor advertising companies and their suppliers. The OAAA's work helps shape the landscape of outdoor advertising, including billboards, transit ads, and digital displays.
Programmatic buying: Programmatic buying is an automated process of purchasing digital advertising space in real-time through technology platforms, allowing advertisers to target specific audiences with precision. This method leverages data analytics and algorithms to optimize ad placements across various channels, including out-of-home advertising, broadcast media, and more, making it an efficient way to allocate resources and negotiate buying strategies.
Reach: Reach refers to the total number of unique individuals or households exposed to a specific media message over a given period of time. Understanding reach is essential because it helps in evaluating how widespread a campaign is and how many potential customers have seen the message, which ties into effective planning and execution of communication strategies.
Return on investment (ROI): Return on investment (ROI) is a financial metric used to evaluate the profitability of an investment relative to its cost, often expressed as a percentage. It helps in understanding the effectiveness of various media strategies and can guide decision-making regarding resource allocation across different platforms, such as out-of-home advertising and various media types.
Traffic counts: Traffic counts refer to the measurement of the number of vehicles or pedestrians that pass a specific point over a designated period. This data is crucial in out-of-home advertising as it helps determine the effectiveness and potential reach of advertisements placed in high-traffic areas, enabling advertisers to make informed decisions on placement and budgeting.
Transit Advertising: Transit advertising refers to the promotion of products or services on public transportation vehicles and in transit stations, aiming to reach consumers in a highly visible and mobile environment. This form of advertising capitalizes on the daily commuting habits of people, providing brands with a unique opportunity to engage with a captive audience during their travels.