The world is changing rapidly, with new businesses being started every day, and the need to market new brands is in high demand. Even though we do live in a digital world and everything is at our fingertips, the world is still busy with its chores, which explains why many new brands sometimes are unable to reach their intended audience.
So, how do you make this possible? This is where the modern Out-of-Home (OOH) advertisements shine bright. Now, even if brands have been able to touch the hearts of their target audience, there is a possibility that they are missing out on some potential interactions due to our fast-paced society and the limitless options available to us. Therefore, OOH advertising campaigns need to resonate with most customers and stand out to grab consumer attention. In this article, we will talk about five useful tips to make your OOH advertisements stand out:
- Simplicity is the best.
Have you ever heard of the saying, “less is more”? Of course, you have! The same strategy goes for marketing your products. When there are a lot of things going on all at once, people miss out on the real purpose of the advertisements they see and tend to get bored and walk away. Therefore, simplicity should be a pivotal goal when designing your ads rather than making them complex so that with that first gaze, the idea is spread instantly to the targeted audience. Below is the perfect example: this Tim Horton’s ad shows the company’s alliance with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the NHL playoffs, with the slogan, “Cream Boston.”
- Know your audience.
Let’s be clear on this: your audience is not “everyone.” The major takeaway here is that it’s about narrowing the focus and growing the reach of the ads. So, let us research those past statistics and analyze the kind of billboard ads people have liked and generate some new ideas to recreate those advertisements according to the audience’s preferences so that it resonates with them in the most effective way.
- Be creative with your OOH placements.
People are often able to recall an ad better when they see it physically, and therefore, OOH advertisements should be made and placed in key locations in order to generate brand recognition. The location can be skillfully used to give an intelligent message as shown in the image below:
Another interesting example: Koleston naturals, a hair color brand, placed this OOH advertisement strategically so that it had a scene of the sea and horizon behind it that captured the silhouette’s hair in different variants of Koleston naturals colors through the different phases of day and night.
“Ambient advertisement created by Leo Burnett, Lebanon for Koleston, within the category: Health.”
Now that is what we call a clever idea!
- Using bold and high contrast colors.
Colours influence people! Our brain uses colours to understand various products and brands. Choosing a colour scheme for creating an attractive, colour-filled advertisement is “part aesthetic, part testing, and part science,” as stated by 99 designs by Vistaprint.
So clearly, colours are compelling and play a vital role in making marketing ad layouts. While designing an OOH billboard ad, let’s keep in mind some of the following tips:
Select a few colors- Not more than three!
Choose Bold, Bright Colors rather than pastel colors.
Choose High Contrast colors as the below image:
To summarize, the OOH advertisements should be bold, bright, high-contrast designs, with few colors (preferably 3), that will attract your target audience and help them with readability.
5. Double checking the ads.
Keeping track of the size and the design of the ad layout can help save a lot of time and efforts. Researchers say that the first 5-second look decides whether the ad has an attention-grabbing audience factor or not. Therefore, the first thing is to ensure whether the ad’s design is as impactful on the print as on the soft copy and also making sure the message is printed effectively with a clear message for the audience to engage with.
With all that said, let’s dig in a little further into Billboard placements and why is it important. The decision of where to place the billboards is always the most critical decision to make (image courtesy)
According to the New York Times, Glen Collin describes the Time Square billboards as “212-foot-high, flat black stealth bomber wings studded with tiny jewels soaring seventeen stories above the crossroads of the world”.
For that reason, one might wonder why Times Square is the most iconic place for billboards? Because of the number of tourists present at the Time Square and millions of eyes watching the gemlike billboards light up, the dazzling displays make a significant statement. To market, the product at the most likely location may be a good idea to consider. Nevertheless, business owners should also keep in mind what type of customer base the business has. For example, if they want to target local people, then it is a good idea to place the hoarding within the locality, while larger businesses should consider placing the billboard near new customers.
Another good idea is to look for the most active places with poor traffic and lengthy queues. When you are standing in lines and waiting for buses, people glance at the surroundings and the hoardings displayed at least for a few seconds. Remember that the ads should be placed in an eye-catching position. Not too high, not too far, just at a reasonable position. The person should be able to read and understand the message easily, or else this will force them to ignore the advertisement. By wisely choosing the location and designing a great billboard, you can make a big, enduring impression on the viewer.
The next idea is to design an ad that is more talkative among people. The more people socialize and talk about your ad, the more likely they share their views. Therefore, creating an ad campaign that people can participate in, discuss and is sharable will do the trick in gaining more customers.
This concludes our list of important tricks and tips for making your billboard shine.
To sum up, OOH advertising campaigns play an integral role in creating awareness for brands and their products and is an effective marketing tool to enhance potential customers’ engagement or increase any business traffic compared to internet advertising methods. It is also important to take note of the past statistics and analyze them to determine where they have gone up and down for keeping a track of what the business is doing best.
Over 60% of our lives are spent outside so it is no surprise that the outdoor billboards are highly effective as their ability to reach everyone when they walk outside. All it takes is a glance! For effective billboard ad campaigns, the nature and design of the advertisements can really make a difference, hence why the ad layouts must be smart, simple yet appealing and should be designed with lots of care and consideration with a powerful message to share. Your advertisement will have a greater chance of standing out.
