Out-Of-Home Advertising: Understanding The WOW Factor They Add To Brands
Marketing, publicity, and advertisements are crucial to sustaining any business. They are how a brand reveals itself and connects with the world, spreads brand awareness, and build a positive & recognizable brand image. The concept of advertisements is strikingly similar to road signs and the like; advertisements direct and guide consumers towards a particular brand and offer insightful information that influences their buying decisions.
In this age of data & information, online marketing has become the most dominant method of publicity and advertisements. From online essay help services to freelancing essay writers, online marketing is being used extensively across all business sectors and industries. The biggest reasons behind its meteoric success and widespread preference over traditional advertising techniques are the cost-effectivity, all-pervasiveness, high scalability and flexible nature of digital marketing.
Yet, despite the rise of numerous potent avenues of publicity & promotion and a debilitating global lockdown that caused a sharp decline in Out-Of-Home advertisement spending by 31% in Q1 2021, traditional advertising is slowly bouncing back, with billboards and outdoor advertising displays leading from the front.
So, what are the factors that make outdoor advertising displays maintain their popularity in this digital age? Do they genuinely add a WOW factor to a brand’s image? This article analyzes and answers all these questions and more in precise detail.
Outdoor Advertising Displays: An Evergreen Marketing Tradition
A Brief History
Advertising has been an integral part of businesses since the days of yore. The earliest forms of outdoor advertising in recorded history were crafted during the ancient Egyptian civilization in hieroglyphic form.
As time progressed, merchants and businesses embraced & implemented OOH advertising more and more, and in many different ways. Printed banners, illustrated posters, and handbills became the primary marketing media of businesses with the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450 and the lithographic process in 1796.
The primitive billboards & outdoor advertising media creators most probably took inspiration from roadside signposts and the like. Merchants and innkeepers would put up painted signs or glued posters to advertise the products & services on offer. The purpose of outdoor advertisements and advertising as a whole never really changed!
With the advent of the automobile, the popularity of out-of-home publicity grew even further. Throughout the 19th and the 20th century, painted & printed posters and billboards, neon-light billboards, etc., became the beating heart of outdoor marketing. Advertising agencies sprang up by the numbers, and industry associations & bureaus were formed to lay down specific rules & regulations regarding outdoor & poster advertising.
The 1990s brought forth massive changes to the outdoor advertising industry. Technology became a crucial factor, and OOH advertisers adopted several brand-new & advanced techniques. In addition, the new millennium saw the arrival of digital billboards and rising competition from broadcasting advertisement media & the new kid on the block, online marketing.
Today, outdoor display advertisements are holding their own against stiff competition from broadcast media, numerous online marketing techniques and an ever-changing economy.
So, how and why is still outdoor marketing so popular among several businesses? What extra pizzazz do they bring to the plate?
The WOW Factor Of Outdoor Advertisement Displays
The Global Billboard and Outdoor Advertising Market 2021-2029 Industry Research Report presented a detailed analysis of the threats & opportunities the industry is likely to face in the coming decade. Through careful segmentation & comprehensive study based on region, type, major players and other key factors, the report predicts substantial growth in the global market size of Billboard & Outdoor advertising by the end of 2029.
The undying popularity of billboards and outdoor displays is entirely psychological. However, certain vital factors can be considered the most probable causes behind outdoor ad display’s unending charisma and WOW factor.
- Brands love OOH advertising because it brings them tangible results.
If online marketing allows businesses to segment their consumer base and target specific demographics, billboards and other outdoor advertisement displays enable them to SHOWCASE their message to the masses.
- Creative messages delivered via well-designed billboards can catch anyone’s eye and subconsciously impact the human mind.
- The very nature of OOH displays makes them strikingly similar to broadcast advertisements in terms of effectiveness and exposure. Well-designed and well-placed outdoor advertisement displays make themselves known to the world as perfectly as any other marketing format, traditional or otherwise.
- Public consensus regarding outdoor advertisement displays is highly positive.
People nowadays spend a significant amount of time looking at a screen (television, computers, smart devices, etc.) and are assailed so much by pop-ups & other kinds of disruptive ad types. As a result, beautifully crafted & quirky outdoor ads with innovative designs & messages draw their attention effortlessly.
Outdoor display ads offer a welcome interruption from a monotonous highway or plain building wall. People respond to outdoor display advertisements, and studies show that more than 2/3rds of a sample population has gone on to purchase being influenced by an engaging billboard.
- Another WOW factor of billboards and outdoor advertisement displays stems from its extensive reach and appeal to a diverse audience. Brands can make themselves known to different demographics through outdoor ads, whether a digital billboard, a painted banner, a neon-it sign, or a video on an outdoor display.
OOH ads are also highly effective in extending the reach of other promotional & marketing avenues such as TV ads, mobile ads, and the like. In addition, brands can promote their online marketing endeavors on outdoor ads, boosting their overall reach & impact extensively.
- OOH offers a high return on investment that adds further to their WOW factor. Recent studies show that for every dollar spent on outdoor advertising, a brand generates $2.80 in return.
Another study reveals integrating OOH into an effective marketing campaign strengthens brand awareness and enhances the ROI of other ads. Adding OOH to the mix has increased the ROI of online advertising by a whopping 40%!
A survey by Nielsen shows that the OOH is incredibly effective in guiding consumers towards a brand’s online presence. When integrated appropriately into a marketing campaign, it has been found that:
- 46% searched online after viewing an OOH ad.
- 38% took action on Facebook, 23 % on Twitter and 255 took action on Instagram after catching a glimpse of a billboard or any other outdoor advertisement display.
- OOH offer brands and businesses multiple formats and strategies for effective publicity. Contrary to popular belief, the rules of OOH are not set in stone and are very flexible.
Numerous flexible formats such as billboards, banners, transit advertising like bus wraps, street furniture, point-of-sale displays, wild postings, digital displays, etc., are available, making OOH an extremely versatile & flexible marketing avenue for brands.
From spreading brand awareness to boosting audience engagement & targeting specific demographics, reaching millions, and directing someone to a business facility, website or a new line of products, the options are truly endless.
- Technology has amplified the versatile capabilities of OOH advertising to a vast extent.
A 3D Billboard In Japan Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
One particular technology that has changed the design & nature of billboards and outdoor advertisement displays is electronic LED displays. LEDs or light-emitting diodes are used on gigantic displays, which can be programmed to showcase different kinds of creative designs, logos, messages, etc.
LED Billboard
Well-designed outdoor LED advertisement displays boast of numerous unique features such as:
- High-Level Brightness & Highly Programmable
An outdoor LED advertising screen is eye-catching and notable; it remains visually prominent at all times, whether it’s sunshine, cloudy weather or at night. Moreover,
LED advertisement displays can be programmed to display an immense variety of creative designs, messages and attractive color profiles, which are bound to catch the attention of a passing eye.
- Damage Resistant
A properly sealed LED display screen is completely water-proof and weather-resistant. Simultaneously, LED driver circuits have integrated electronic components that shield the display system from power surges too.
- Energy-Saving
Despite possessing intricate circuitry, outdoor LED screens are power-saving technology and require minimal maintenance. Low energy consumption is an undeniable advantage for businesses as it drastically reduces power consumption & overhead costs.
Key Takeaways
Before wrapping up, let’s reiterate the most significant factors that allow outdoor advertising displays to add a certain WOW FACTOR to brands and businesses of all kinds.
- Graphics, paintings, and mesmerizing images or quirky messages increase the appeal of outdoor advertisements and their value.
All a brand needs to do is put up eye-catching imagery or slogan on a giant billboard placed strategically, and the results will be striking.
- Outdoor advertisements are one of the best media to inform the masses and get maximum exposure to your brand. Whether a painted billboard or an outdoor LED display, cleverly crafted & placed OOH ads catch the eye of one and all.
- Vibrant colors, 3D visual effects, eye-catching images and thought-provoking & quirk slogans have the potential to attract & transfix the attention of a passer-by and eventually convince them to take affirmative action.
That rounds up this article on OOH advertising. Hope it was an exciting read for everyone alike. Keep visiting this space for more write-ups like these.
Author-Bio:
Clara Smith is the marketing head of a major retail chain in the USA. In her free time, she essays the role of a part-time essay writer at AllEssayWriter.com, a leading essay help service in the States.
