Out of home (OOH) media is an innovative and integrated type of location-based messaging. It takes many forms including bulletins, wallscapes, vehicle wraps, posters, point-of-purchase displays, and many more. 

What is outdoor advertising in the modern world, and how can it benefit your business? Let’s take a closer look at the impressive variety of OOH options so you can take advantage of their eye-catching forms to accomplish your marketing goals.

What is Outdoor Advertising?

Outdoor advertising is another term for OOH media and describes any marketing message encountered outside the home. Although many people immediately think of large signboards and bulletins, OOH media can be anything from a colorfully wrapped city bus to a human-sized beer bottle beckoning you from the sidewalk by a brewpub.

Today’s outdoor advertising does more than just catch attention. It welcomes people into an immersive stage in the client journey by delighting them with unexpectedly enjoyable experiences.

This is especially important in the post-COVID era as people crave greater connectivity and interactivity. Nielsen reports a strong trend toward “changing how we discover” new ideas after experiencing the social isolation of pandemic lockdowns. Creative disruption in advertising is now more welcome than it used to be.

What are Some Types of Outdoor Advertising?

OOH media encompasses a wide range of formats. Here are some examples:

  1. Billboards: These are large, static displays typically found along highways or in high-traffic urban areas.
  2. Transit Advertising: This includes ads on buses, trains, subways, and other forms of public transportation.
  3. Street Furniture: Advertisements on objects like bus shelters, benches, kiosks, and telephone booths.
  4. Digital Billboards: These are electronic versions of traditional billboards, often featuring dynamic, rotating content.
  5. Point of Sale Displays: These are promotional materials or displays located at the point where a purchase is made, such as checkout counters.
  6. Vehicle Wraps: Wrapping vehicles with brand messaging, turning them into mobile advertisements.
  7. Events and Experiential Marketing: Creating branded experiences at public events or high-traffic locations.
  8. Interactive Screens and Kiosks: These allow consumers to engage with digital content in public spaces.
  9. Mobile Billboards: Large advertisements mounted on vehicles that drive through targeted areas.
  10. Interactive Installations: Engaging, often technology-driven displays that encourage interaction.

Why is OOH an Important Part of Marketing Strategy?

Outdoor advertising is an essential aspect of any omnichannel marketing strategy due to its vast reach and variety. As people go about their days, they encounter surprising OOH messages on buses, in shopping malls, at airports, in restaurants, and almost anywhere else.

Unlike a traditional sales pitch or ad, an OOH message encourages its viewers to participate in the experience. They might walk around a multi-dimensional image on the downtown square, see multiple instances of evolving branded messages along a walking path, or even encounter a fully immersive activity they never expected to see in their hometown.

OOH messaging can also reach people at all stages of the marketing funnel, from awareness to purchasing. While it’s known for being effective during early-stage discovery, don’t discount its power to connect with people further down the funnel when they’re in the consideration and evaluation stages.

What are the Benefits of OOH Advertising?

1. It’s Durable.

Many types of OOH advertisements are tangible and durable enough to remain in the environment for weeks, months, or longer. When you choose OOH advertising, your message endures.

2. It’s Memorable.

It’s also highly memorable. Almost 82% of viewers can recall an OOH advertisement they saw more than a month ago. That’s significantly higher than almost all other forms of advertising, including print ads, radio, podcasts, online ads, TV ads, and streaming ads.

3. It Drives Foot Traffic and Digital Traffic.

Do you need to direct people to your website, storefront, booth, or an upcoming show? With OOH, any business has the power to drive traffic and guide people to specific digital or physical locations.

Seize the opportunity to leave a huge impression at a business-to-business conference or make a splash at a large public festival. Do something so wow-worthy that it goes from physical to virtual on social media, bringing your brand story to life.

4. It Provides a Return on Your Marketing Investment

Not only does OOH support your entire portfolio of other marketing efforts, but it also impresses your leadership team with measurable results. The Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) reports OOH advertising is continuing a long path of growth and most recently showed a 2.2% quarter-over-quarter increase. 

Industries showing the highest rates of recent OOH advertising include legal services, hotels and resorts, universities, governments, hospitals, and banks. When you use OOH media, you’re joining the ranks of Amazon, Apple, Coca-Cola, Dunkin’, Disney, McDonald’s, T-Mobile, and Verizon—which are all top OOH spenders in 2023, according to OAAA.

Enjoy a high return on investment (ROI) for your company’s marketing dollars. A Berkshire Hathaway Businesswire study found that 96% of marketers achieve their ROI goals through OOH marketing campaigns.

How to Plan Your OOH Campaign

Ready to plan a new OOH campaign? Here are our top tips for getting started with outdoor advertising.

Set Goals

Establish your key performance indicators (KPIs) and determine how you’ll measure the success of your campaign.

Know Your Audience

Conduct research and get to know your audience intimately because OOH works best with precise targeting.

Select Locations Carefully

OOH is all about connecting with people at the right places at just the right moments, so choose your locations with care.

Be Consistent

Design impactful ads and ensure they’re always created with brand consistency in mind. This is your opportunity to build trust with your audience.

Measure and Optimize

Over time, go back to your goals and assess your successes and challenges. Refine your OOH plan and tweak it for maximum results.

Making Your OOH Media Plan

So, what is outdoor advertising? How can OOH media improve your marketing strategy? To go deeper into finding answers to these questions, turn to the outdoor advertising experts with more than 25 years in the business: EMC Outdoor. Visit our website to learn more.