Outdoor advertising refers to the advertisements we see outside our home, hence the term ‘Out-of-home’ or ‘OOH’ for short.
The most obvious examples of this form of advertising are the large digital and physical billboards that we see by roadsides or in busy places. However, there are many other examples wherever we go; on the bus stop, on the subway platform, on shop signs and even on the trees in the form of a poster at your local park. You can’t miss it!
The pandemic lead to a 28 percent decrease in revenue for the US outdoor advertising industry in 2020, however, since then it’s bounced back remarkably. In 2021 US companies spent over $6.9 billion on outdoor ads and this number is rising every year. Despite the fast rise in digital ads, physical remains king, making up almost 70% of available ad space.
What are the advantages of outdoor advertising?
• Audience Size: The amount and variety of people that are going to see your advertisement.
• View Frequency: The frequency that ads are seen by the same people. Note that in the UK, people spend an average of 28 minutes commuting to work.
• Brand Awareness: High view frequencies more often you’re more like to remember the product
• Targeting: Pinpointing your target audience. For example if you’re a active wear company putting your ad near a gym
• Immediate impact.
What are the disadvantages of outdoor advertising?
• It can be extremely expensive – especially for digital ads.
• There is no guarantee your campaign will be successful.
• Physical billboards can be vandalised.
• Customers may forget your contact details.
• It can be extremely difficult to assess effectiveness due to volatility in audience sizes and limited methods of tracking attribution. This is particularly the case when compared to digital advertising.
How much does outdoor advertising cost?
Outdoor advertising can get quite costly especially for advertisers opting for physical billboards. The main drivers of costings are location, location, location! A billboard in a rural area could cost an advertiser $1500 per month whereas a busy area of Las Vegas could cost over $10,000 per month. Along with location, physical billboard costs can vary by setup costs – vinyl, printing, installation along with any maintenance or repairs if the boards are damaged.
How to measure the impact of Outdoor Advertising.
The easiest and quickest way to measure the impact of outdoor advertisements is to take note of sales before, during and after the campaign. Another way is looking at impressions. Impressions are calculated by the amount of people that may see your advertisement. This can be calculated by using traffic statistics (for example, road traffic, or audience data for a public event).
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