Outdoor advertising, also known as out-of-home advertising, is an effective way to promote your business. It is a cost-effective method too, where you can promote your business through static and digital billboards with the help of transit, street furniture (kiosks, bus stations, and public trash cans), shopping walls, truck advertising etc.
In simple terms, to create brand awareness, grab the attention of the target audience, and deliver the message through the medium of outdoor advertising, Nowadays, outdoor advertising can be offered via truck mobility too, and it involves using smart beacon technology, which gets an update on the real-time impression too. It is getting really popular in today’s time, and here are 10 reasons why one should invest in outdoor advertising if they are looking to boost their business.
Widespread Visibility
To reach a broader audience and make an impact, outdoor advertising is the key. Not only do they reach out to the targeted audience, but if strategically placed in high-traction areas, they garner more interest too. Billboards, transit ads, and displays are put out in areas that receive the most impressions and where they can be seen by a large audience.
It adds to the advantage of your brand. The one major advantage of this is that it increases your brand recognition by reaching out to a massive audience.
Example – Times Square, situated in New York City, is a popular area. It is one of the busiest places in the world, and several people pass by each day. Some reports suggest more than 300,000 pedestrians pass through that area, and brands like Apple, Coca-Cola and more capture the attention of millions and thus increase their brand awareness.
Non-Intrusive Advertising
Another big reason to invest in outdoor advertising is that it is non-intrusive. They do not force themselves into the routine of the audience. Example – Ads start playing on YouTube and Spotify, and they diminish the interest of the user.
On the other hand, outdoor advertising is only done in areas where the highest number of impressions can be achieved. Also, if the message is communicative, it will garner the interest of the audience too. It creates a positive and memorable experience for the audience.
Another significant advantage of this tactic is that it helps create a bond with the audience, which makes them more receptive to your message.
Example – You are reading an article on the website, ‘Top 5 Things to Look Out When Buying a New Car, and just between the article or at the bottom of it, there’s a recommendation stating, ‘Top 5 Cars to Consider If You Are a first-time Buyer’.
So this type of advertising is engaging and communicates well with the audience. The people feel connected, and they want more of such things.
Continuous Exposure
One major advantage of outdoor advertising is that it provides 24×7 visibility through day and night. The newer technologies are coming up, and we now also have digital billboards. People can look at outdoor advertising at any time of the hour, and it has access to reach potential customers in no time. It helps the customer remember things easily, and this continuous exposure makes them keep your brand on top of their minds.
Example – When travelling on highways, companies like McDonald’s and Subway have started using digital billboards to attract the attention of consumers. At night, they light up, thus providing information to the consumers that there’s a store a few kilometres away. It has two reasons, firstly, it increases the brand’s presence, and secondly, the delivery of the message is also communicated properly to the public.
Targeted Audience
One of the many reasons why outdoor advertising is cost-effective is because it allows you to select your target audience. Wherever your targeted audience is placed, the advertisement will be shown there. One can select the type of message, location, and even demographic to see how you connect with the audience. It is a very efficient and effective method.
Several luxury carmakers, like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz place their billboards near shopping districts and high-end malls to reach potential customers who can buy their products. The companies smartly target the audience that are affluent enough to buy these cars and influence them to have a high standard of living.
One of the advantages of sharing billboards and other forms of outdoor advertising near your target audience is that it increases the likelihood of a purchase of your product or service. Plus, the cost-effective method allows several companies to go for these types of ads.
Complementary to Digital Marketing
As technology is evolving, marketers, who invest their time in designing billboards and other forms of outdoor media, are moving ahead with time. Nowadays, billboards have QR codes, which take them to the landing page of what the company is selling and later onto the other pages of the website too. This increases traffic to the online portals, thus enhancing sales and resulting in a better marketing strategy.
Another thing which is seen nowadays is QR codes, hashtags, etc. The popular hashtag company uses it; they share it on the billboards, and from there too, the audience can get to know what’s going on around the brand and get interesting things to know about it.
Example – An offline retail store may include a QR code on billboards, bus transits, and more outdoor stuff, which takes the viewers to a special discount their store is providing. This helps in closing the offline and online gap between the customers.
One of the many advantages of this tactic is that it bridges the gap between the online and offline channels and enhances the customer experience.
Creativity and Artistry
For outdoor advertising, marketers can sell their products or services by following a creative path too. Outdoor advertising provides a canvas for creativity and allows advertisers to display artistic stuff visually and get the attention of the audience. Sometimes these types of ads can be so powerful that they result in several impactful campaigns too. Customers can remember the brand easily when they’re interested in the creative stuff.
Example – If you are a Nike fan, then you must remember its tagline, Just Do It. And even if you’re not, you still remember this short and simple tagline of the brand.
One of the popular examples I can think of when Nike marketers and advertisers had creative freedom is when the brand painted a motivational mural on a prominent building wall in a significant urban location.
The artwork included a striking photograph of a competitive athlete caught mid-sprint. This mural stood out because of the incorporation of 3D components. The running shoes the athlete wore protruded from the wall, giving the scene a realistic and dynamic feel. The athlete would appear to be bursting out of the wall, and below him, the Nike emblem would be visible. LED lights were also used in the painting to highlight the Nike emblem and the athlete’s shoes at night. This gave the thing a striking, futuristic touch.
One of the big advantages of creative freedom is that it creates a lasting impression in the minds of the viewers and sets your brand apart.
Local Branding
Local businesses pick up outdoor advertising as it is cost-effective and another reason is to increase local brand awareness. Nowadays, everything can be ordered online, and people have a variety of choices to choose from. This allows local businesses to connect with the audience on a much deeper level, and they show that they care about their customers. It’s an effective way to establish a strong presence in the community and connect with potential customers on a personal level.
Example – Your local neighbour bakery can use outdoor advertising in the form of billboards and street ads to promote their business. They can also include an offer of a special discount if they choose to dine in and talk to them about anything. This helps in creating a safe space for the consumers, and it allows them to gain their attention and loyalty.
Sponsorship and Event Promotion
Looking to increase your brand’s visibility? What better way to sponsor events or even promote them? When you align your brand with the popular event that will take place in a few days or weeks, the visibility of your brand increases at some point, and it reaches a certain share of customers too. It helps in improving the brand image and helps in gaining the attention of a targeted audience with the event they align themselves with.
Example: One of the most popular energy drink manufacturers, Red Bull, is often seen aligning itself with extreme sports events and using outdoor advertising to promote them. Of course, there’s an advantage to digital ads too, which you can see on your smartphones, tablets, etc., but advertising them outdoors brings a whole different level of attention too.
Time-Sensitive Campaigns
One of the other advantages of outdoor advertising, and why you should invest in it is that it is also good for time-sensitive campaigns. One can create the ads and deploy them in places where you expect high attention from the audience. For any special events, promotions, etc., it can be used and gives your brand a competitive edge as well.
Example: Retailers like Macy’s often use outdoor advertising to promote holiday sales, creating a sense of urgency among consumers and driving them to their stores during specific timeframes.
One of the many advantages of this is that time-sensitive campaigns capitalize on consumer behaviour, generating immediate responses and sales.
Quantifiable Effect
Contrary to popular belief, the effectiveness of outdoor advertising can be evaluated. With the use of contemporary technologies like traffic monitoring, GPS, and facial recognition, advertisers may collect information and calculate return on investment (ROI).
As an illustration, RADAR, a tool that analyzes mobile data, is used by Clear Channel Outdoor, a top provider of outdoor advertising, to assess the ROI for advertisers. Advertisers can learn a lot about the efficacy of their campaigns by monitoring customer engagement and foot traffic near outdoor advertisements.
Advantage: Measurable impact enables data-driven decision-making for upcoming campaigns and ensures accountability.
Conclusion
In summary, outdoor advertising is quite influential when it comes to tackling modern marketing strategies. With the help of digital media, the gap between online and offline is now diminishing. The new age of technology helps outdoor advertising reach a new level, and it is favourable for every brand, right from the small to the bigger, renowned brands.
By positioning the ad in heavily populated areas where there is a lot of traffic, businesses capture millions of impressions, thus increasing the awareness of the brand. They use catchy phrases and also take care of the current social causes and align themselves with the latest trends, which are popular, to increase their target audience. Also, outdoor advertising offers a non-intrusive experience to the audience, thus making them feel special and also giving them their space.
In addition to this, outdoor advertising is budget-friendly as well, and advertisers use demographic data to position their target audience. Seamless integration of QR codes to bridge the gap between offline and online modes is another tasteful strategy that brands use to drive high traffic on their online channels.
In conclusion, outdoor advertising remains impactful, offers a wide-spread reach with non-intrusive engagement, and offers continuous exposure in the market. There’s a lot of creative potential, including event sponsorships and local branding, associated with outdoor advertising, which benefits both the advertisers and the target audience.
