16 Feb A Complete Guide To OOH Advertisements
What Are OOH Advertisements?
OOH advertisements or out of home advertising (OOH) is a form of advertising that can be found outside of the home. Traditionally these would include billboards, bus shelters, train stations, taxis and everything in between. If you see an advert outside of your home, then you are looking at some kind of out of home advert.
We spend over 70% of our waking life outdoors, and with the growth of digital online advertising, it can be hard to get your message noticed. Out of home advertising solves this and now with the advancement of digital OOH it make it a powerful tool for marketers.
Different Types Of OOH Advertisements
Billboard Advertising
Billboard advertising is one of the most recognisable formats within the OOH arena. They started being used in the early 19th century and they still remain to be one of the most popular forms of outdoor advertising.
Billboards come in a variety of formats and sizes. Static posters, mobile billboards and most recently digital billboards.
Retail Advertising
Another popular form of out of home, retail advertising takes place specifically in or around retail destinations, such as high streets and shopping centres. Retail advertising often promotes products thats in close proximity to the environment in which the adverts are situated.
OOH Advertisements Of Vehicles
This is an effective type of outdoor advertising due to the increased exposure it offers. Buses and Taxis who carry eye catching adverts are constantly on the move, and so the advert is able to reach people in a much wider catchment area.
Train Station Advertisements
Advertising at train stations gives you a variety of formats in order to connect with commuters. With stations in most villages, towns and cities you can build a campaign with reach and frequency. New digital formats offers creativity and can offer you more engagement than ever. If you want to stay local or have national exposure, businesses can create campaigns that fits in with their objectives.
Bus Stop Advertising
Public Transport is used by millions of people everyday, so there’s a great opportunity to target your message towards passengers who are ready and waiting. Bus Stops are a perfect place to advertise, especially in busy places such as cities, big towns, and airports.
The Benefits Of OOH Advertising
OOH Offers Brand Awareness At An Affordable Cost
Now is the right time to invest in OOH advertising as it’s more affordable for businesses than ever. the advertising format allows you to reach a large, relevant audience and build brand awareness.
When you compare the cost per impression (CPM) of OOH advertisements to online ads, radio, TV, or other advertising formats, there is no question that out of home is the most affordable option.
This form of advertising has a huge potential value for businesses when it is leveraged correctly. Just think about how many times you pass by the same outdoor ad throughout the course of the week — and think about the stronger brand recall from doing so.
The sheer amount of visibility that OOH advertisements receive makes them a great opportunity for businesses to build from a relatively low investment.
Reach A Broad Audience
When it comes to reach, there is no question that OOH advertising is the right choice. A study from Outsmart shows that Out of Home reaches 98% of the UK population at least once a week.
The decline of radio listeners and newspaper readerships, along with the widespread use of online ad blockers, means that most advertising formats will miss certain demographics. If your aim is to connect with consumers on a broad basis, then you should seriously consider OOH advertisements as part of your marketing strategy.
Design Impact
Outdoor advertising, especially billboards can make a product or service visually appealing to the consumer when the ads are designed right.
OOH adverts work well for brands when they are looking to make an impact on potential customers with strong designs or visuals. Beautiful images of your products and effective storytelling that illustrates your solution can make a massive difference when connecting with consumers.
OOH Advertisements Drive Consumer Engagement
Another benefit of out of home advertising is that it is a key driver of consumer engagement, which means that it works well in combination with digital campaigns to drive conversion.
Studies have shown that people are more likely to search for a product online if they have been previously exposed to OOH ad from that product.
OOH can also be used to signpost people to your website, a dedicated landing page, or to use a specific hashtag on social media.
Targeted Audiences
When it comes to targeting a specific audience, you would think that digital ads are the best solution. However, the truth is that OOH advertising offers greater opportunities for targeting a specific group of people — especially on a local level.
Out of home gives the option to select billboard advertising locations that will engage with your target customers. For example, a cinema is a great location to advertise a product to the youth audience. Similarly, Close to garden centres is a good area to place your OOH advertisements if you are looking to reach seniors.
With all of the options available within the OOH advertising arena, it is simply a matter of understanding your audience and finding the right opportunity to reach them.
What Affects The Cost Of OOH Advertisements?
How much you pay for your OOH advertisements depends largely dependent on a few factors:
The size and format of your OOH advertisements.
The type of technology your OOH media ad implements
Your campaign length
The cost of printing each traditional format (excluding digital boards)
The cost of producing the graphic(s)/ design(s)
These factors and the influence they can exert will vary considerably based on which OOH ad format you choose.
When Should You Run Your Out Of Home campaign
Once you’ve established the costs and locations of your OOH adverts, the next step is to time your campaign in order to achieve the best possible levels of engagement.
This is so important if your campaign is time sensitive, as you’ll have to identify precisely when your potential customers are most likely to engage with your message.
If you’re planning a campaign around peak periods, such as Christmas or Valentines, you may consider booking relevant billboard advertising locations in advance of these periods. This way, you can engage with shoppers who are in a buying frame of mind and ready to purchase.
What Makes A Great OOH Advertisement?
Creating an OOH advertisement is different to designing a magazine or digital online ad. An out of home ad campaign must be driven by creativity so that it engages with your audience in ways that no other advertising channel can.
It can be hard attracting the eye of the consumer within the urban landscape, so smart concepts and image led designs are key.
Lets walk you through some of the fundamentals for designing a great OOH advertisement.
Firstly, Identify Your Target Audience
Before coming up with a winning ad, you have to know who you’re trying to reach. Put in the research and get an understanding of who your target audience is. What makes them tick, demographics, interests etc. This is to ensure advert will resonate with them.
Set A Goal
Your OOH advertising campaign must work alongside with your other marketing and advertising tactics.
Have a specific goal for outdoor advert. Knowing what you want to achieve will give you a better understanding of the direction of your concept. Dome of the things that you may want to achieve:
- Raise brand awareness.
- Promote an open day or event.
- Educate consumers.
- Advertise a new product or service
- Signpost potential customers who are in the immediate area to your showroom.
OOH Advertisements Should Have Brief and Compelling Copy
Print or online ads can be crammed with lots of text and small print that consumers can read at their leisure. OOH advertisements are different, you only have a short amount of time to attract and engage with the viewer. Information needs to be digested via a few simple lines.
Messaging is vital when it comes to out of home, and it can be a challenge to convey your message in no more than ten words.
Keep it simple, and use a single memorable headline, QR code, call to action, hashtag, or just a company name. Short, sharp copy will work very well and will give you the best possible chance of OOH success.
Use Killer Images Within Your OOH Advertisements
Most advertising formats have the flexibility to use complex images to make readers think. However, OOH advertising is different. OOH is a visual medium, and a simple, relevant killer image should be central within your creative.
Imagery is often more important than text within the OOH arena. Choose an image or graphic that:
- Captures the attention of the consumer.
- Is relevant and conveys your key message.
- Is memorable, entertaining, or emotionally compelling.
Use Of Bold And Contrasting Colours
Colours are really important with an outdoor advertising campaign. Background and font colours have to compliment each other. They should also have a high contrast in order to help with readability.
White space can be really effective in media print ads, but too much of it in OOH ads can dilute or distract the message.
By using contrasting colours, you can attract the attention of your audience and place emphasis on certain parts of your ad, making it easy to read at any time of day.
Tell A Story With Your OOH Ad
To cut through the urban landscape, you have to tell a story and give meaning to your message.
Design your OOH around a central story: does it solve a problem, satisfy a need, evoke an emotion, compel them to take an action?
Consider The Location Of Your Ad
Consider using the location as part of your ad and use it to incorporate a clever message.
People’s will have a greater recall when they’re connected to a physical location, so OOH advertising is ideal to create brand awareness.
For all of your out of home advertising needs, go with us at Seen Outdoor, we know the in’s and out’s of planning and launching an effective campaign. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to simplify the process.
Get in touch with us today 01202 670687 or matt@seenoutdoor.co.uk