Out-of-home (OOH) advertising continues to rise in popularity as companies make use of enormous billboards to increase their exposure. Traditional radio, television, and online advertisements aren’t always enough to reach a mass audience. By including several different mediums of advertising within a campaign, companies are able to market their products and services in the most effective way, thus increasing their ROI. This marketing strategy works perfectly for companies that want to stand out among their competitors. By examining how OOH pairs with radio, television, and online advertising, it becomes evident that a combination of these marketing strategies is the best way to increase company exposure and ROI.
Radio Advertising
Radio is known to be one of the oldest forms of advertising while still being effective even in our modern age. People don’t have much else to do when they’re driving besides listening to what’s playing on the radio at the time. In a study done by Edison Research, it was found that 82% of adults who have driven or ridden in a car in the last month listened to AM/FM radio, proving how much exposure radio provides. Unfortunately, the disadvantage of only being able to hear an advertisement, often means that a vivid picture of the product or service isn’t created in the listeners mind. That’s why having OOH advertising such as billboards would be the perfect pairing with a radio ad as they are vibrant, bold, and can get the message across quickly yet extremely effectively.
Consider this, someone driving in their car is probably listening to the radio while simultaneously monitoring upcoming traffic and viewing their surroundings. Being able to listen to the same product or service on a radio ad and also see it on a huge moving truck-side billboard is the perfect way to grab the attention of consumers. The digital media company, business.com, recently found that more than two-thirds of Americans make their shopping decisions while in the car. This means that you would have the highest chance of company exposure by including both a radio ad campaign and setting up billboards such as mobile billboards so that people can hear and see your product. They will then be able to make their shopping decision on the spot before they even reach their destination.
Another advantage of radio advertising, when combined with OOH advertising, is how repetitive versus singular (yet high impact) advertisements have on their audiences, which demonstrates the combined high exposure rate. The radio usually operates on a 24/7 basis, which means that many commercials and ads are repeated over the course of several weeks or months, depending on how much time on air the ad is given. Thus, the consumer may hear about the same product or service several times. People don’t often listen to everything they hear on the radio but, if it’s repeated several times, they will most likely tune in at some point once they become interested in hearing more about the product or service. This pairs nicely with something like a mobile billboard because of its high impact and bold visuals that the viewers usually see very quickly and less frequently as they drive by, however it leads a lasting impression in their mind.
Having two portable advertising mediums working together, creates a lasting impression in the consumers’ mind as we are always on the go in our modern busy lifestyles. Both radio and billboards are trusted methods of advertising that encourage brand awareness, not to mention that the imagery on billboards and storytelling capabilities of radio ads work perfectly together to give your audience a comprehensive view of your business. Having both visual and auditory advertisements allow the approach of various marketing strategies to occur simultaneously and create the most effective return on investment.
Television Advertising
Although television advertising is considered expensive, it can have a strong impact on audiences with its visual effects and large international audience groups. Similar to a radio ad, television channels are on 24/7, which means commercials are playing all day, every day. Although television is widely used all over the world, in recent years, it has become evident that OOH rises as television falls since ad budgets move towards OOH and online space since they are cheaper and gain a wider audience.
For larger corporations with huge marketing expenditures, a mixture of television and out-of-home advertising is an effective solution to gain the attention of the widest possible national and international audience. By reaching an audience in their homes and outside of it, the product or service will remain in the consumers’ mind for longer, therefore having a greater chance of return on investment. While television ads are expensive, OOH advertising is much cheaper and still does an impressive job at making an impact. In the end, this pairing is cost efficient for the company as global audiences are reached.
One of the most popular times of the year for people to watch television is when the Super Bowl airs. Every year, millions of fans watch the game, making commercial breaks during this time extremely expensive, yet companies are willing to pay millions of dollars for a minute or less of airtime. However, in recent years, the buzz is less on the TV spots and more on the innovative billboards as companies are starting to notice how much of an impact billboards have. Billboards create a lasting impression long before the Super Bowl even airs and watching a commercial during game night of the same billboard, which you recently viewed a week earlier, makes a much stronger impact than just having seen it on television.
A drawback of television advertising is that it is often invasive for the consumer. Nobody wants their favorite show to be stopped in the middle of the best part. A television advertisement is only effective if it reaches the right target audience at the right time. With OOH advertising such as billboards, they are just there to capture your attention with their message and bold visuals without interrupting your day-to-day activities. With OOH advertising you don’t even need to purchase anything (like a TV or subscription), all you need to do is go outside and surely there will be advertisements around your city to view.
Although both television and OOH advertising have their pros and cons, it’s becoming clear that OOH advertising has more advantages overall. As people are leading busier lives, travelling more and always on the go, billboards have become the go-to way to consume mass ad campaigns. This isn’t to say that television advertising doesn’t have its own perks with its global network and large audience group. Pairing these options together could be costly but could also be worth the risk as they balance each other out and reach an especially wide audience.
Online Advertising
Online advertising is probably the most common way to advertise in our modern society as it isn’t too costly and it reaches anyone with an internet connection. Yet, even with the internet, it isn’t always enough to just have online ads, many companies around the world use a combination of online and OOH advertising as it reaches a wider audience and allows for both indoor and outdoor marketing strategies and campaigns to take place.
Most people run an ad blocker on their tech devices so that ads don’t interfere with whatever else they are doing on their device. When looking at ads online, a user can easily close or scroll past it. A huge advantage that OOH advertising has is the ability to have constant 24/7 exposure. The ad is displayed for the world to see with no interruptions and no way to block it.
The rise of smart cities will offer explosive opportunities for growth in the coming years, meaning that companies are looking to move towards the digital advertising space. Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising has become increasingly popular as it combines a mix of traditional billboards with modern technology to create an innovative approach in the advertising world. It’s basically like looking at your screen but in full HD and a hundred times bigger. Having a GIF play on digital billboards has become a new trend since animated visual effects are engaging and quickly capture the attention of an audience.
In a recent case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of outdoor ads, billboards were set up for a beverage company called ‘BAI’. It was proven that with attractive billboards, they were able to increase awareness by 19% across three markets and the people who tried their product increased by 8%. Because OOH is evolving as modern technology evolves, it is still just as relevant today as it was many years ago, unlike radio and television, which are becoming more old school in comparison to the digital space. While online ads are a quick way to grab attention, it becomes just as easy to scroll past or even block these ads. With OOH, anyone who goes outside will more than likely view your ad as it will be hard to miss with its bold graphics and enormous message, therefore making it easier for a company to create lasting brand awareness.
Pairing online and OOH advertising would be a smart choice for any company looking to generate brand awareness in a cost efficient manner while also reaching a worldwide audience. By having outdoor and indoor sources of advertising the company will more than likely be able to generate a larger return on investment (ROI). Whether in small local towns or in large cities such as Los Angeles or New York, both online and digital out of home (DOOH) advertising strategies have a huge impact on the overall community.
Final Words
After exploring various forms of advertising, including radio, television, and online paired with OOH advertising such as billboards, it becomes apparent that the increased exposure and increase in ROI make this the best marketing strategy for companies. All forms of advertising have their pros and cons, which is exactly why having a combination of different advertising strategies along with OOH campaigns creates the strongest and longest lasting impression on the consumers. Seeing an ad campaign through different mediums at different times and in different places creates the most powerful impact for both the buyer and the seller, leading to lasting brand awareness and a higher return on investment.
