Outdoor advertising, also known as out-of-home (OOH) advertising, refers to any type of advertising that reaches consumers when they are outside of their homes. This can include billboards, transit advertising, and street furniture, among other formats. Outdoor advertising provides a unique opportunity for brands to capture consumer attention as they go about their daily lives.
A Brief History of Outdoor Advertising
Outdoor advertising dates back centuries, with early examples including signs posted outside stores to promote products and events. By the 19th century, billboards and large painted advertisements known as “wallscapes” began popping up in major cities to promote circuses, tobacco, and patent medicines.
In the early 20th century, outdoor advertising grew more standardized with the development of printed and painted poster billboards. Major innovations included digital billboards, which can change advertising messages quickly, and transit advertising on the sides of buses, taxis, and subway cars.
Today, outdoor advertising generates over $8 billion in annual revenue in the United States alone and continues to evolve with new technologies and strategies.
Types of Outdoor Advertising
There are many different formats and placements used in outdoor advertising today. Common options include:
Billboards
Billboards come in different sizes such as bulletins (large, full-sized roadside billboards), 30-sheet posters, 8-sheet posters, and digital displays. These are typically placed along major highways and roads with high traffic counts.
Transit Advertising
Transit advertising appears on the outside or inside of buses, subway cars, taxis, trains, stations, terminals, and shelters. This targets commuters and offers repeated exposure.
Street Furniture
Advertising on public benches, bus stops, telephone booths, trash cans, and other urban fixtures targets pedestrians.
Malls and Airports
Airports, malls, and other public venues offer advertising opportunities from large iconic signs to smaller posters and kiosks.
Alternative Outdoor
This includes advertising at gas stations, on shopping carts, in elevators, on college campuses, and via projection and ambient techniques.
Mobile Billboards
These are billboards mounted on the sides trucks, vans, and cars that can reach targeted locations and events.
Benefits of Outdoor Advertising
Outdoor advertising offers a number of advantages that make it an important medium for brands:
Reach
Outdoor ads target consumers who are on the move and outside of their homes, allowing brands to reach larger audiences. The average American is exposed to thousands of outdoor ads per week.
Frequency
Strategic placement along frequently traveled routes and high-traffic areas allows a brand’s message to be seen multiple times by the same consumers.
Low CPM
The cost efficiency of outdoor advertising allows brands to keep their CPM (cost per thousand impressions) relatively low.
Targeting
Billboards and transit advertising can be strategically placed near relevant venues, stores, or geographic areas to target specific consumer groups.
Branding
Creative billboards in particular provide an impactful branded display that stands out from other media.
Flexibility
Digital billboards allow advertisers to display multiple messages, change creative quickly, and integrate real-time data.
Measurement
Outdoor advertising impressions and placement details can be measured using GPS, visual analysis, foot traffic counters, and other tools.
Using Outdoor Advertising Effectively
To get the most return from outdoor advertising investment, brands should follow some key best practices:
Define Campaign Goals
Start by determining your specific campaign objectives around reach, frequency, branding, or direct response. This guides overall strategy.
Target Audience and Locations
Identify who you need to reach and pinpoint appropriate high-traffic out-of-home locations and transit routes frequented by your audience.
Creative Optimization
Design bold, simple, creative ads tailored to the medium that can be easily seen and grasped by audiences on the go.
Digital Integration
Use digital billboards to extend reach, change up creative, and coordinate with online, social media, and mobile advertising.
Measurement
Track impressions, foot traffic changes, location data, and online activity generated by OOH exposure to gauge results.
Ongoing Optimization
Rotate creative, update targeting, expand into new formats and inventory as needed to improve results over the course of a campaign.
Outdoor Advertising Formats
There are a wide variety of specific outdoor advertising formats, vehicles, and placements to choose from. Popular options include:
Bulletins
- Large format roadside billboards typically measuring 14 x 48 feet. High visibility from passing traffic.
Posters
- Smaller format billboards around 5 x 11 feet displayed in commercial areas.
Transit Posters
- Standard ad space for buses, subways cars, taxis etc. ranging from queen size to full wraps.
Transit Shelters
- Lit displays and mini billboards at bus stops and train platforms.
Wallscapes
- Building-high painted or vinyl adhesive murals covering large urban walls.
Digital Billboards
- Allows multiple ads or messages to run in rotation. Can integrate live data.
Street Furniture
- Benches, kiosks, newsstands and other urban fixtures that carry ads.
Mobile Billboards
- Ads covering full truck and fleet vehicle bodies to target specific events or areas.
Skywriting
- Aerial advertising by means of timely skytyped messages.
Pros and Cons of Major Outdoor Ad Formats
Billboards
Pros:
- High visibility with 24/7 exposure.
- Extended reach to mass audience.
- Low CPM.
- Creative standout.
Cons:
- Less audience targeting.
- Creative limitations of static boards.
- High upfront production costs.
Transit Advertising
Pros:
- Target commuters and urban consumers.
- Frequency with repeat exposures.
- Flexible ad formats and placements.
Cons:
- Limited ad time as transit moves.
- Potential ad wear over time.
- Large number of ads creates clutter.
Digital Billboards
Pros:
- Change messages frequently.
- Integrate data triggers and timeliness.
- Dayparting flexibility.
- Engaging movement and brightness.
Cons:
- Higher production and space costs.
- Potential consumer irritation with brightness and motion.
- Limitations based on government regulations.
Outdoor Advertising Industry Overview
The global outdoor advertising industry continues to see steady growth in spending and adoption of new technologies and techniques. Some key trends shaping the industry include:
- Shift to digital OOH, which now accounts for over 25% of total outdoor ad spend.
- Use of programmatic buying platforms to efficiently purchase targeted OOH inventory like digital screens.
- Growth of place-based video networks in venues like gas stations and malls.
- Focus on measuring audiences, impressions, and attribution using sensors, mobile data, and computer vision.
- Emergence of beacon and near field (NFC) interactions on transit, billboards, posters, and other OOH formats.
- Expansion of outdoor ad saturation in developing markets like China and Latin America.
- Push for greater regulation around factors like driver safety, light pollution, and visual clutter caused by outdoor ads.
Major media holding companies like JCDecaux, Clear Channel Outdoor, Lamar, and Outfront Media operate most outdoor advertising structures and inventory around the world. Data and tech partners like Broadsign, Quividi, Posterscope, and Blis also help brands plan, buy, and measure outdoor more effectively.
Frequently Asked Questions about Outdoor Advertising
What makes outdoor advertising unique compared to other media formats?
Outdoor advertising is unique in its ability to reach consumers out-of-home as they commute, shop, wait, and carry out daily errands. The large formats stand out and tell brand stories creatively on the road, providing mass impact.
How is outdoor advertising measured and tracked?
Outdoor ads can be measured via circulation and traffic counts, impressions based on audience GRPs(gross rating points), drive-by tracking, pedestrian location analysis, and mobile data attribution when coordinated with digital ads.
What factors affect the costs of an outdoor advertising campaign?
Key factors impacting outdoor ad pricing include market size, inventory availability, format (bulletins, posters, digital), frequency, timing, production specifications, placement locations, and duration of the campaign.
What creative strategies help make outdoor ads more effective?
Simple, bold, visual messaging works best. Using bright colors, dynamic images, motion, and contrast helps cut through the clutter. Personalization and humor also helps outdoor creative stand out.
How long does it take to implement an outdoor advertising campaign?
A typical outdoor campaign takes 4-6 weeks from planning to live deployment. Market availability, production lead times, approvals, and installation logistics determine overall timing.
Can outdoor advertising be targeted?
Yes, outdoor can be targeted based on location, including near relevant venues and retailers, along commute routes, and in designated zones. Digital screens allow for dayparting, live data triggers, and audience messaging as well.
What are some of the newest innovations in outdoor advertising?
Recent OOH innovations include NFC/QR code interactions, augmented reality enhancements, programmatic ad buying, connected TV networks in venues, and data optimization using mobile location, image analysis, and computer vision.
Conclusion
Outdoor advertising offers brands a unique opportunity to reach consumers as they commute, shop, travel, wait, and go about their daily activities. With high impact formats like billboards, transit ads, and digital screens combined with advanced targeting and measurement capabilities, outdoor advertising continues to evolve as an integral part of the modern marketing mix.
The broad reach, frequency, and brand storytelling canvas make outdoor a compelling channel for advertisers. As technology enhances the flexibility, metrics, and precision of outdoor advertising, brands can leverage OOH as a core component of campaigns aiming to influence consumers throughout their journey. With knowledgeable planning focused on campaign objectives, optimal creative and placements, and post-analysis, marketers can realize the full power of connecting with audiences out-of-home.