In today’s world where people can’t live without their smartphones, it’s quite normal for a company to focus on online advertising, which include online banner ads and native ads. However, contrary to what the trend shows, advertisers are still trusting other media, namely outdoor advertising.
The big question is, do outdoor adverts work?
Out of home (OOH) advertising is said to be less and less effective, yet companies are still placing large banners and billboard ads. The logic behind the decision is pretty simple: Most people spend 70% of their time outside the home.
Let’s have a look at the trends, shall we? According to Outdoor Advertising Association of America (oaaa), out of home (OOH) ad revenue grew to $6.9 billion in 2013. The revenue grows at least in 5 consecutive years.
Why companies are spending so much for OOH ads?
Outdoor advertising is great for branding and raising awareness
It’s difficult to measure the effectiveness of a billboard ad. Sure, there are measurements, like Gross Ratings Points (GRP), but I don’t think OOH advertising should be measured in numbers. This leads to the issue of ROI. What’s the ROI of your outdoor advertising campaign?
Consider branding. Branding is intangible, which means it can’t be measured using any conventional methods.
Branding is about keeping your brand on top of people’s mind. Logically, this suggests that the more outdoor ad banners, the better. GRP also suggests the same.
Automotive industry is the leading outdoor ad spenders. But why? Is the auto companies’ ads are bringing in leads? Who knows, but one thing for sure, keeping your brand on top of your target market’s mind will influence their buying decisions.
Going local is the way to go
Going national with an OOH advertising campaign can only be done by big companies. But what their smaller counterparts can do?
Enter local outdoor advertising.
Local OOH advertising is a rising trend. According to oaaa, it’s the fastest growing ad medium with 17 percent growth over the past 5 years.
Businesses look for local OOH ad placements for one simple reason: Driving ‘leads’ is easier when you direct them to a local business location.
The good thing with going local is this: You don’t have to spend a fortune in creating your banner and leasing an ad space. You can use online services, like www.easybanners.com to create your banners or billboards and place yours on a strategic location.
Outdoor advertising is more effective than online advertising
If you think online advertising is cheaper or more effective, think again. Online advertising platform like Google Adwords is costly and full of uncertainty given the number of false clicks that cost you money. How about their effectiveness? Doubtful.
Consider these stats: 50 percent of mobile ad clicks are accidental; a person is served 1,700 ads per month (source.) The competition, the wasted ad spending, and the clutter makes us wonder whether online advertising is the way to go.
With outdoor advertising, the wasted ad spending can be utilized more effectively. And no, you won’t view a billboard accidentally. You view it because it catches your attention. Again, I don’t know how to calculate the ROI of online display ads vs. OOH ads, but one thing for sure, branding wise, OOH advertising wins.
Running an online business or app business? If so, outdoor advertising is a good way to drive interest toward your products or services via non-typical methods, such as outdoor banners and billboards.
To recap…
Outdoor advertising is less popular compared to other methods of advertising. However, it’s a good choice of advertising, given the perks others don’t have, especially when your focus is on branding and raising awareness.
If you are considering the methods to advertise your business, I recommend you to include outdoor advertising as one of the methods you are going to use.