We may live in a digital age, but good old fashioned outdoor advertising is still going strong. Even though you might be tempted to invest in swanky and fancy digital marketing strategies, people still respond more powerfully to simple and bold visual storytelling. It gives us a break from the screens we stare at all day, and it interacts with our physical environments in ways that are stimulating to the eye and soul – when it’s done right, that is!
Outdoor advertising is the oldest form of advertising known to man, and there’s a reason it’s still being used today. Humans are visual creatures: a well-designed outdoor marketing campaign can do more for your sales than any digital banner. That’s why it’s important to do it right! Outdoor advertising is a crucial investment to make for your business, and there are a variety of formats you can choose from. We’re here to help you appreciate what outdoor advertising can do for you, so that you can make informed choices. Without further ado, let’s crack on!
Before we get in too deep, let’s clarify exactly what outdoor advertising is. Also called Out-Of-Home advertising (OOH), it’s a form of marketing that reaches people offline, outside of their homes or workplaces. It’s there in the streets, on public transport, transforming street furniture, public venues and cityscapes, and engaging with its environment. This makes it highly effective, because it catches your target market when they’re on the move, exposing them repeatedly to your branding.
Outdoor advertising is not a one-trick pony. There are plenty of strategies to choose from, so you can select the type of advertising that best suits your market and your product. There’s something for everyone!
We’ll kick it off with a classic. Billboards are one of the most recognisable forms of OOH advertising, and they’ve been used since the 19th century. Still popular today, these large-format posters can be displayed in areas of high vehicle and pedestrian traffic, such as highways, city centres, and tourist attractions. People see billboards without even noticing them, so your branding slips into their unconscious every time they walk or drive past your billboard. On the other hand, a clever and unique billboard design actively draws attention and generates reactions that boost your brand awareness. What we’re saying is, you can’t lose with a billboard.
Billboards on the move! Use functional vehicles such as delivery trucks or your fleet of service vehicles as blank canvases for your OOH marketing. This means you’re increasing your range and reaching a broader audience.
Think billboards, but on public transport. Large-scale graphics on buses and bus stops, trains and train stations, trams and tram stops, or taxis and taxi stands reach the millions of people who commute every day. Your advertising becomes an intimate part of their lives. This means people are more likely to think of you when they need a particular product or service: they literally see you every day!
Smaller and more intimate than billboards, posters are more flexible regarding where you place them. They look great on lamp posts or crosswalks, around parks or other public spaces. People going about their lives on foot interact more deeply with these smaller and closer forms of advertising than large-scale graphics.
These are ads for specific products or services strategically placed at the point of sale, or point of purchase, where customers are already spending their money. Display stands are a great way to market discounted or seasonal products as customers make their purchase – the idea being that, since your customers are making a purchase anyway, they’re more likely to be open to the idea of adding another product, especially if there’s a deal on.