Out-of-home marketing is one more channel you can (and should) add to your strategic mix, but it is not a single medium. It’s a long and diverse list of media you can blend and tailor to fit your message, your audience and your campaign goal. What’s so great about all of these OOH advertising platforms? Well, if they’re mobile they could be moving your brand’s message around town. If they’re stationary, they could become your marketing “stationery.”
Blimps and drones and airplanes trailing banners can carry your marketing aloft. Watercraft can float your ad on the river, lake and at the waterfront. Transit vehicles and taxis can transport your brand around town and entertain passengers on board with your message, even a video. Or, maybe your ad is static — a bulletin, poster, bench or digital screen poised to be noticed by people passing by on the road, sidewalk, in the mall or sitting in a bar, restaurant, doctor’s waiting room or airport lounge.
Out-of-home display options are standing by, just waiting for you to liven them up with your content!
Where can you advertise? Since “out of home” covers a lot of ground, not to mention airspace, the opportunities are really only limited by your imagination. Still, there are common traditional and digital inventory types you can consider to deliver your message to the right folks at the right time, when they’re out and around living their life. Each one has its own unique value, depending on your goals.
1. Signage:
- Bulletins (traditional billboards from enormous spectaculars to smaller “junior” versions))
- Digital billboards
- Posters
- Buildings
- Wall murals, wallscapes and painted walls
2. STREET FURNITURE:
- Bus/transit shelters
- Bus benches
- News racks/stands
- Phone and information kiosks
- Trash containers
- Street banners
- Urban panels
3. TRANSIT (vehicle interiors as well as exteriors):
- Buses
- Rail and subway trains
- Taxis and rideshares
- Airports
- Mobile murals (wrapped cars, trains, buses, ice cream trucks, delivery vans, LED trucks, etc.)
4. Place-based:
- Elevators
- Bars, restaurants and other retail establishments
- Offices, lobbies and other indoor locations
- Wild postings (also called construction advertising)
- Cinemas and other entertainment venues
- Gyms and recreational spots
- Sports arenas and stadiums
- Shopping malls
And – wait for it – your dog can finally pay for his own toys by getting a job as an AdverDoodle! This is a mobile OOH marketing option that earns four paws up when you’re hoping for plenty of social media exposure. Who could resist taking a selfie posing with your pooch and his wearable message?
Whew! So many placement and format choices
And every one of them is potentially valuable to attain your marketing goals. B2B marketers take note here: out-of-home marketing isn’t only for consumer brands, it can breathe new life into your account-based marketing strategy in ways you never imagined.
Whichever inventory types you choose, following a few best practices will ensure you connect with your designated target audience at just the right time, in just the right place.
Define a clear campaign strategy and goal(s).
What do you want to accomplish? OOH is at its best when you use it to supplement digital campaigns because it can dramatically increase reach and frequency while reinforcing your basic message and giving your audience more ways to respond.
Design with your audience in mind.
Whether your presentation is traditional or digital, OOH works when your content is simple, bold, bright and memorable. Odds are high that your audience will be moving past your ad or your ad will be moving past them. Either way, time is of the essence as they say. You’ll have only a few seconds to snare their attention, make your point and inspire them to take action. These billboard design tips hold true for many other forms of OOH as well.
CTA!
An ad without a call to action is a lame duck. Your audience may remember your brand name and perhaps a nugget of information about your company, product or service, but if you don’t give them a way to engage with you, you’ll never connect. A short URL, a QR code or an invitation to step inside your establishment just around the corner could be the start of a beautiful relationship.
Test and measure results.
OOH performance is measurable, which is great. When viewers respond to your ad, you can gather vital data to boost success rates of your OOH placements and content, plan future campaigns and ensure you’re getting maximum return on your marketing spend.
The more you know about OOH inventory options, the more strategic you can be in choosing placements and the more creative you can be in crafting content that drives results.