When you think of modern forms of advertising, you usually think directly of online advertising, social media or other digital forms of marketing. Outdoor advertising or out-of-home marketing is usually forgotten. Even here, digitization continues to progress and in most cases out-of-home no longer means billboards and advertising pillars. In order to see digital out-of-home marketing, you no longer have to go to Times Square in New York, but in your own city there are usually more displays instead of printed posters. Whether at the train station, in a shopping mall or on the way to work, the ads flash at you in many places.
Development in the out-of-home sector
In recent years, outdoor marketing has become an ever stronger channel in the advertising world. While other traditional forms of advertising, such as the newspaper market, are declining more and more, out-of-home ways have been found to keep the form of advertising current and attractive. Outdoor forms of advertising are often accused of making it difficult to measure their success, that the target group is diffuse and that the loss of diversification is too high. In recent years, ways have therefore been developed to counteract these problems and create effective out-of-home options.
Trends in outdoor marketing
Custom content
Although targeting and individualization in public spaces are more difficult to implement than online or on social media, it is still possible to create a more personalized experience. Current trends show that out-of-home ads can be adapted to the weather or time of day, for example, and thus attract significantly more attention from viewers. In addition, the content can be perfectly tailored to the location of the ad. Even if targeting in the narrower sense is not possible, you can select specific locations and times of day that suit your own target group. For example, if you offer services for students, display spaces at universities and their bus stops are particularly successful.
Omni-channel marketing
Out-of-home marketing also offers a good opportunity to expand your omni-channel strategy and achieve even more recognition. It has been proven that a higher number of points of contact with a product or brand means that it is more likely to be bought and rated as positive. A good marketing presence therefore not only leads to higher awareness, but also to greater potential sales. Outdoor marketing offers the opportunity to reach a wide range of people in their everyday lives and to place the brand name or a product with little effort and cost.
Interactive forms of advertising
Interactive forms of advertising are an effective way to get more people to see and even interact with the ad. It is possible for the viewer to connect to Bluetooth and thus be able to control or access content in the display. It is also possible to use cameras and image recognition. As a result, the viewer can control the content with his gestures or is himself in the displayed content as a photo or live recording. In this way, simple forms of virtual reality can also be made possible.
Ultimately, a creative digital outdoor ad helps to increase awareness and attract attention from viewers. Through skillful storytelling and/or interactive options, you can set yourself apart from the crowd and stay in the customer's mind.