10 Reasons Retailers Should Love Out of Home Advertising
As a retailer you are constantly looking for the best ways to advertise your business, especially when you have an upcoming sale. However, many advertising media have grown increasingly expensive while audiences have become incredibly fragmented, or have completely stopped paying attention.
Out-of-home advertising (OOH), though, is one traditional advertising medium that is continually evolving to meet technological advancements and the behaviors of consumers. PQ Media reports that “the global [digital OOH] industry expanded at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7% in the 2006-11 period” and they expect digital OOH to “expand at a 21.3% CAGR in the 2011-16 period.”
Other than growth, why should retailers care about OOH advertising? There are quite a few benefits.
- People are Encouraged to Buy
Arbitron completed a study titled Out-of-Home Advertising Report, 2013 Edition, in which they asked survey participants where they made most of their purchasing decision. 69% of participants answered that they “make purchase decisions outside of their home either frequently or sometimes.” OOH influences these consumers: 29% of those surveyed had visited a store within a week of seeing a sale advertised on a billboard, while 26% immediately visited a business they saw an OOH advertisement.
- Have an App? OOH Can Help With That
Does your brand have a mobile app? Retailers such as Boxed have found that OOH advertising convinced consumers to buy from their app, and they even claim that the purchases spurred by OOH advertisements were higher than those prompted by their online advertisements.
- OOH Stands Alone
How many times have you changed the channel when a commercial comes on, or recorded a program so that you don’t have to sit through the commercials? Do you really remember any of the advertisements from the last magazine or newspaper you read? Your answers to those questions would probably be about the same for others.
However, OOH advertisements are not surrounded by print, radio, or television content. People who are bored while sitting at a stoplight or waiting for a bus or train are going to read the advertisements in order to entertain themselves.
- Digital OOH Gives You Options
You probably have market research that tells you when different demographics shop at your store. If you choose to use digital OOH advertisements, you can customize the messages shown throughout the day to match those movements throughout the day. If your mid-day customers are stay-at-home moms while your evening customers are young professionals, your messages at those times can reflect your shoppers.
Related: Billboards Digital vs Print
- Target Your Audiences By Location
Let’s say you have shoppers who come from several different sections of your service area and you know what shoppers from each section prefer, as well as where and how they travel. You can use that information to create OOH advertisements with messages tailored to each type of shopper. Those tailored messages can then be placed in the corresponding area so those who are truly interested in those messages see them.
- Still Reaches a Large Audience
Despite the fact that OOH advertising can be so streamlined to specific audiences, your messages will be seen by a large number of people. Since OOH advertisements are set up in very public locations, anyone who passes becomes a potential customer.
- Costs are Lower Than Many Alternatives
According to BillboardConnection, OOH advertising “deliver[s] a lower cost per thousand and a lower cost per rating point than any other local medium.” This means the money you do spend will be overall more effective, even if you choose not to reduce your overall advertising spend.
- Change Your Messages Quickly
Have you decided to hold a flash sale? With digital OOH advertisements, you can draw additional customers to your sale by replacing your current message with one promoting the sale. Having a digital sign at your location is especially helpful for these circumstances.
Even if you have static rather than digital signage, displays can be swapped out for new messages when necessary to promote new specials or products.
- Variety of Options
OOH advertising comes in a number of forms. In addition to choices between static and digital, you can place your messages on the sides of buses; bike racks and other pieces of urban furniture; store displays; roadside billboards and bulletins; and scoreboards for sports arenas.
- It Works 24 Hours a Day
Unlike television or radio, which can be turned off or have channels changed, or print publications, which are generally viewed once, your OOH advertisements never stop working. Whenever someone is moving in the vicinity of your advertisement, they will see it.
Increase Your Sales with OOH
By targeting specific consumers while remaining visible to all, giving you options for how to advertise your business, and allowing you a great deal of control over when marketing messages are changed, OOH advertising will help you attract many more customers to your retail locations.
