Before digital media was introduced, traditional marketing kept the advertiser’s focus to a handful of media in the print and electronic variety, including TV, radio, newspaper, Yellow Pages, direct mail and billboards, as well as a few others.
Among these, billboards are still gaining in popularity among today’s marketers – yet with some variations from the standard board. For starters, the term has shifted to “out-of-home” advertising, which also includes buses, transit stations and street furniture as well as roadside outdoor boards. This medium is intended to reach consumers when they’re on the go, thus the phrase “out of home.”
While other traditional media sectors are working hard in the competition to reach consumers in this digital age, industry leaders say that out-of-home (OOH) advertising is leveraging technology to innovate, remain relevant and attract new advertisers.
According to a recent report from MAGNA and RAPPORT on global OOH media, out-of-home advertising has experienced consistent growth in global advertising sales in the last ten years. Perhaps not coincidentally, it’s also recognized as an advertising format that consumers can’t skip or block. Notably as well, digital giants such as Spotify, Amazon, Apple and other tech companies increased their spending in OOH advertising in 2018.
As a mass-market medium (like radio and television), outdoor advertising has traditionally been used for branding, top-of-mind-awareness and campaign support – especially since drivers only see the ad for a few seconds. Yet with an easy-to-remember phone number or website address, it can also have a call to action and generate response. Additionally, creating a hashtag can help with social media integration.
Digital enhancements make the media more attractive, which has led to better performance. The report showed that, considering all media sales (traditional and digital), the share of OOH has remained stable at 6% while the share of television decreased from 41% to 33% over the period and, with newspapers less in play, the share of print decreased from 28% to 10%.
For successful outdoor advertising, high-traffic sites logically have greater value because there are more eyes to see your ad. There’s not much use paying for a spot in a remote area that rarely sees any drivers. Remember too that your message needs to catch attention and convey a message in just a few seconds. That usually means a strong visual and a brief headline, though sometimes the design can be just text in a clean, neat presentation.
The main elements are a carefully chosen graphic or image, a strong but brief line of copy that promotes a benefit or intrigues the viewer, as well as the company logo and contact information. The font should be large, bold and easy to read, and it’s also advisable to choose contrasting colors so that the text pops out instead of blending into the design.
Overall the board should convey one idea. Keep it simple. This is not the media for a complex message. You’ve got direct mail, email and landing pages to go more in-depth with the benefits of your offer. Out-of-home advertising, whether a billboard on your community’s main thoroughfare or a bus sign on the roadway, is another strong support for your campaign strategy.