An Infographic Guide To Outdoor Advertisements (OOH)

Outdoor advertisements and OOH may not be where the bulk of a marketer’s budget is being spent anymore, but you shouldn’t underestimate their ability to establish your brand, launch a new product or kickstart a new campaign.

Since the focus of marketing has turned to digital, it’s no surprise that the ins and outs of outdoor advertising are not something we are all familiar with. But if you’re looking to build your brand, Out Of Home is a vital consideration, giving your brand the ability to assume a physical presence in target markets and speak to thousands of potential customers.

In order to ease you into the world of outdoor advertising, we’ve assembled this handy cheat sheet to break down the basics:

Now that you’re up to speed on the basics of OOH, it’s time to start thinking about how you can actually use this channel to really build your brand. So without further ado, here are some ways you can maximize the impact of outdoor advertisements.

Localize OOH Campaigns

Localizing your OOH campaigns can ensure that your message not only stands out from the crowd but also resonates in a more profound way with your target audience.

You can do this by referencing local culture in the country, city, or region that your ad is being displayed in or by using the surrounding landscape or neighboring buildings and structures to inform the creative that you use — for example, an ad might reference commuting or traffic if it is situated above a highway.

Embrace Digital Technology

As mentioned in the cheat sheet, OOH, and outdoor advertisements are no longer relics from the past and with continued innovations in technology have the opportunity to display messages that are dynamic and in the future, maybe even personalized. Everything from weather data to flight data can be used on the go to trigger specific messages that can increase the relevance of your advertisement to the consumers passing it by.

Grab Your Audience’s Attention

Whether you’re localizing your outdoor advertisement’s creative or using digital technology to make a dynamic ad that only triggers at certain times, one thing that is essential when it comes to OOH campaigns is that they must grab the audience’s attention.

Locations with higher footfall are always going to be the most valuable — and expensive — spots for an OOH campaign, but remember that the consumers being targeted are likely being bombarded with hundreds of other ads as they move through that space — whether it be a busy city square, a shopping mall or a train station concourse. In order to break through the noise, it really pays to be different, so investing in a creative team that can bring your brand proposition to life in an eye-catching way is essential.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of the type of OOH campaign you are looking to run, the most important step is to undertake research. The cost of getting these types of campaigns wrong doesn’t just stop at wasted marketing budget, but can actually lead to your brand suffering damage to its reputation — this is particularly important if you want to reference a particular part of a city, use local slang, or say something about the space around your ad creative — make sure you understand how this message will go down with locals!

One good trick to measure the impact of your campaigns is by using brand monitoring software. With a platform like Latana’s, you can track the effectiveness of your OOH campaigns and measure how brand awareness is changing across target areas, check whether new brand associations are being formed from your campaigns that align with your core brand principles, and eventually see how your activities are influencing purchasing behavior. With these tools, your OOH branding campaigns no longer need to be based on gut instinct but can be iterated and optimized to help grow your brand.