Marketers Are Getting Interactive with OOH

Out-of-home is coming on strong with all types of marketers because it surprises and delights audiences better than any other advertising channel. So say an impressive 94% of respondents in a new nationwide marketing survey.

Marketers are especially excited about increasing interactive options – perhaps because engagement can further boost the "surprise and delight" factor, sealing the deal with consumers.

What's most exciting for OOH interactivity in 2022? Survey respondents identified:

• Augmented reality (61%)
• QR codes (54%)
• Product dispensers (46%)

Wait, what? Product dispensers? (Keep reading.)

Engagement is good for everyone

Marketers say they are turning to OOH to reach audiences who are turning away from online advertising in droves. After all, people are back out in the real world, craving fresh experiences.

You can catch their eye with clever creative and contextually-targeted OOH ad locations, but why just tell your story when you can invite them to be part of it?

Seeing your ad builds awareness. Stopping to engage strengthens recall and sense of connection.

Compared to static ads, interactive OOH ads can:

• Propel a 47% lift in viewer dwell time
• Double conversions (DOOH)
• Boost brand building by 52%

Another study revealed that:

• 88% of marketers say interactive content sets them apart from competitors
• 93% believe interactive content helps educate consumers

Engagement also serves to personalize your brand, underscore your relevance and boost loyalty.

Every interaction provides valuable feedback. At the very least, you can use the data to measure engagement, refine your OOH advertising and re-target individuals who responded. Depending on what you ask, you can gather data to improve products or directly increase sales.

Getting interactive is as unique as your brand

Big brands are having big fun with interactive OOH. And while they are leading the way (thanks to big budgets), almost any brand can adapt their ideas at scale.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are transforming traditional and digital OOH, in effect turning many types of OOH media into something that functions more like a self-service kiosk than a static ad.

For example, wildpostings are popular for certain types of OOH campaigns, but you can accelerate interest and response with shoppable construction barriers instead.

QR codes

Now that QR codes have gone mainstream and consumers know what to do with them, marketers are using them in myriad ways to invite interaction. Even on a static ad, a scannable code enables instant digital connection.

Download our free QR code marketing playbook.

Click-throughs may be your campaign goal, but there are so many additional ways to engage with ad viewers right on the spot.

Q&A

Polls are de rigueur for political campaigns, but there's something absolutely irresistible about any type of survey or Q&A. Consider the fact that 96% of people who start a BuzzFeed quiz finish the whole thing. And then consider how high your completion rate will be when you keep your OOH quiz to just one question.

Show and tell

Viewers can watch a demonstration – or a performance.

Variable messaging

Many brands are now using billboards and other OOH placements with messaging that changes according to the time of day, weather, etc.

Proximity detection technology can activate a digital OOH screen or send a related message to the nearby smartphone.

And, yes, product dispensing!

McDonald's took amped up one of their ad campaigns using interactive street side billboards to hand out free McFlurry drinks. (Pedestrians got the free cup, then took it to the nearby store for a fill-up.)

A South African coffee company used facial recognition in OOH ads at the airport to offer free coffee to yawning travelers.

Real engagement throughout the real world

There is no doubt that interactive opportunities are permeating OOH advertising campaigns. But you don't have to stop there.

Just imagine how going interactive could elevate your brand's presence at conferences or outdoor events your company sponsors. Think domination.

Interactive OOH transports your target from passive observer to active participant. That boosts their sense of belonging, and it also creates buzz-worthy experiences – those priceless sharable images and comments every marketer yearns for.