Is now a good time to invest in ‘out of home’ advertising?
As the vaccine rollout continues, is now a good time to invest in ‘out of home’ advertising?
So what is out of home advertising? It’s fair to say that nobody was surprised how hard the pandemic has hit certain areas of advertising. With three lockdowns to contend with, the target audience of out of home advertising went to practically zero, rendering this specific channel of advertising basically defunct. However, as more and more people take up the vaccines, and venues and retail outlets begin to operate along lines more aligned with those pre-pandemic, now could be the ideal time to take advantage of people returning to these areas and capitalise on this method of advertising.
Out of home advertising (or OOH advertising) is, as the name suggests, advertising that occurs anywhere once you step outside your front door. It covers a wide spectrum of methods, including billboards, buses, posters and street furniture. In fact, as digital advertising technology gets more sophisticated, the number of ways in which OOH advertising can reach audiences only increases alongside the levels of interactivity it can offer.
Why choose out of home advertising?
It’s a dynamic, accessible form of advertising that covers a broad range of media and can reach people in all kinds of scenarios. If we’re truly going to be looking at another roaring twenties after the threat of the pandemic subsides, then this is the way to get your brand out there and noticed whilst people are enjoying themselves. The immediacy of this method of advertising has fantastic conversion rates, with studies showing that street-level advertising can result in 65% of the public immediately searching for the advertised business and a whopping 92% of those following up with a purchase.
It feels personal
Many consumers have recently turned away from online advertising, finding the saturated market overwhelming and impersonal. In contrast, out of home advertising is a brilliant tool for building trust and this is a real driving factor in today’s consumer’s decision making. Advertising can be targeted and focussed on locations and nearby independent businesses, giving a personal, curated feel that customers really respond to, with 74% of customers saying they responded most to localised advertising.
You can make an impact
If you’re thinking about the literal scale of your advertising campaigns, nothing compares to OOH advertising. Where consumers are using adblocking software on devices, can switch the TV channel or use paid streaming for their media consumption, advertising that is integrated into their surroundings can be a huge presence and result in an immediate change in their buying habits. Your campaigns can be positioned almost right at the point of purchase and, now that people are back in physical retail situations, this will have a huge effect on their choices going forward. Here is your chance to be creative, engaging and impactful – demand people take notice of what you have to offer.
It’s clear that out of home advertising is a form of marketing that deserves taking notice of – by marketers as well as customers. As people feel safer and happier to go back into the world, make sure your products aren’t left behind by making OOH advertising part of your marketing toolset.
