Thursday, April 23, 2020

Outdoor Advertising Methods, Tactics, and Tips

You see hundreds of outdoor advertisements every day, and even more if you live in a city like New York or Chicago. But your recall of these ads is probably close to zero. Doing outdoor advertising the right way is imperative, or it's simply a waste.

Also known as out-of-home (OOH) advertising, outdoor advertising is a broad term that describes any type of campaign that reaches consumers when they're outside their homes. It can be further segregated into more precise segments, but it's all outdoor advertising if it's outside the home.

This is a mass-market medium, just like broadcast, radio, and television. It's best used for broad messages, branding, and support campaigns.

Types of Outdoor Advertising

Outdoor media is a staple because it reaches hundreds of thousands of people by foot, mass transit, or by car. It's usually very quick and impactful. The most common forms of outdoor media include:
  • Billboard advertising
  • Point of sale displays
  • Street furniture, such as bus shelters, kiosks, and telephone booths
  • Transit advertising and wraps, such as on taxis, buses, subways, and trains
  • Mobile billboards
  • Guerrilla advertising also referred to as ambient media

Outdoor Advertising Comes of Age

It used to be that an outdoor ad was simply a way to achieve brand awareness. It's not possible to convey a complex message on a medium that people will see for only a few seconds, or for a few minutes at most. This type of advertising was seen as support for TV, direct mail, radio, and print campaigns. It kept the product or service in front of mind while it let other forms of media do the heavy lifting.

But with the advent of mobile technology and websites, outdoor advertising can drive people to do something instantly. From QR codes to simple web addresses, or even apps like Snapchat and Instagram, outdoor media can be a way to begin a conversation with the consumer or to prompt an outdoor campaign to go viral.

Some outdoor advertising can become the focal point of an entire campaign, especially when it encompasses a stunt or drives interaction with users and their cellphones. Recent examples include the TNT "Push To Add Drama" stunt and the Pepsi Max Unbelievable bus shelter.

Costs Associated With Outdoor Advertising

Reaching hundreds of thousands of consumers isn't cheap, and as competition for billboard spaces increases, so do associated costs.

Cost calculations are based on a system called gross ratings points (GRP), the impressions that are delivered by a media schedule for the outdoor location. This is called the daily effective circulation (DEC), also known as a "showing." One rating point is equal to 1% of the market population. There are many factors involved based on traffic, visibility, location, and size.

This rating gives you a showing score of anywhere from 1% to 100%. Halfway means that at least 50% of the area's population would see one of your boards at least once a day.

You can expect to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a 50 showing for one month. The price will skyrocket in major areas like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles.