Ads! They are everywhere: at the malls, online, and even in the air. In a world saturated with digital ads, outdoor marketing seems to be a dying art. But is it? The answer is “not” if you are serious about exploring the avenues of increasing growth and building a long-lasting brand. Still, this is easier said than done.
You need to be innovative and creative to capture consumers’ attention and get them to choose your brand over competitors. Often, you only have a brief moment to make a good impression and state your case. So, how do you achieve this? We’ll cover some options in this post.
Surprising Benefits of Digital Outdoor Advertising for Business
We all know that outdoor ads are a great way to raise awareness for your brand or launch a product at a specific location like a city. Still, you might wonder if there’s any significant benefit of digital outdoor advertising if you could just run a few social media ads. Well, the numbers don’t lie, and they are saying a big YES. Check these out:
- 71% of people actively look at billboards while driving, and many use the services being advertised later on.
- Digital outdoor advertising can increase brand consideration by 6%.
- 62% of people say they notice digital billboards.
- About 65% of digital billboard outdoor advertising viewers looked up the business or visited it in person.
- 68% of consumers admit that they order products or services while in their cars, while 38% can make a stop at the store during their journey.
What do these numbers tell us? Well, business owners who invest in a city-based strategy, like billboard placement, often see a greater return on investment than those who don’t, especially when they combine it with local link building.
Advertising Integration: How Outdoor Ads Can Contribute to the Success of Omnichannel Marketing
Businesses that spend money on improving their omnichannel customer experience see customer retention rates go up to 91%. But what is omnichannel marketing initially? To put it simply, it’s creating the same experience for consumers or leads across all channels, no matter how they choose to access your service. So, signing up for your service should be a uniform process, whether the buyer is on their phone or using a laptop.
So, what happens when you integrate omnichannel marketing with outdoor ads? It turns out a lot can and does happen. When approached right, outdoor ads help expand your audience and appeal to those who may have slipped through the gaps. Thus, you can reach people who prefer not to check ads online and those who do.
Outdoor ads push viewers to take action while enabling you to maintain the same brand voice across all channels. This consistency, in turn, boosts your credibility, triggers more engagement with your brand, and promotes sales both online and offline. So, advertising integration is a vital part of modern digital marketing best practices, at least for brands focusing on sustainable long-term growth.
How to Create an Outdoor Advertising Strategy That Works
Business owners spend a lot of money on improving their online ads and SEO strategies to increase conversion rates. There is nothing wrong with this; in fact, helpful resources like voymedia.com recommend SEO link-building to help you drive traffic to your site. Still, you should not rely solely on digital tactics, ignoring outdoor advertising practices. Instead, try the following:
#1. Know How to Catch Your Audience Attention
Thorough research is essential for creating an outdoor advertising campaign that will be successful. You want to know everything about your target audience to choose a suitable location. Remember that there will be lots of other brands, all jostling for clients’ attention, so you have to know what kind of message they will likely respond to.
Keep your message simple and concise so that it’s easy to understand with a quick look. So, use high-quality images, a contrasting color scheme, and fonts that are easily read from a far distance. Whatever design you go with, always ensure it is consistent with your brand voice.
#2. Traffic Is Your Friend
Outdoor marketing is one of the few practices where high road traffic looks like a good thing. Since it’s important to choose the right spots for any form of outdoor ads, you want to target areas with lots of traffic, from foot traffic to cars. Remember to ensure the target audience will see your ads. So, if your customers are people who do sports or like physical fitness activities, you may consider busy gyms, malls, and even trendy bars for placing your billboards.
#3. Work Hard on Your CTA
Having a clear, straightforward call to action at the end of your ad is important. Still, only some people want to type a number from a billboard. Scanning a QR code requires less effort and takes only a few seconds. You could use this tool to direct people to your landing page and get them to interact with you. Don’t forget to include your phone number and physical address so that people have more than one option to reach you.
#4. Mix and Match Your Tactics
There are several outdoor advertising options, and you can try or combine more than one. Instead of just placing a billboard or two in a busy city area, choose a driving billboard, putting your ad on a moving bus, train (or the subway station), at event locations, etc. Show the pictures of your billboards or posters on your social media channels or create a game by placing pictures of brand Easter eggs and giving prizes to those who spot them offline.
Find ways to offer interactive experiences to your consumers. You can insert a special message on the billboards close to your physical location, thus directing people to your store.
#5. Pay Attention to the Data
Data always tells the truth, so pay close attention to what it says. Most people think of data analytics in marketing when dealing with site audits or finding a service for automatic linking – both activities help you improve web user experience. Still, you have other important data metrics like the level of consumers’ interaction with your site and online ads, their preferences, demographics, etc.
You should use the insights from your online marketing platforms to craft a powerful outdoor ad strategy that drives results. Also, QR codes in your outdoor ads allow you to easily track if your offline campaigns are successful.
Conclusion
Of course, designing an outdoor advertising strategy that will make your brand recognizable and popular is no walk in the park. But we hope the hints here will inspire you to craft fascinating outdoor ads for your consumers.
