Outdoor media is everywhere, right from the moment you walk out of your front door. It’s on the highway that you drive, the bus shelter that you wait at, as well as the kiosk that you find right outside the mall, or even the giant screen that lights up the junction at night. It quite literally surrounds your daily life in a way no app or website ever can.
But exactly what is outdoor media and why do brands keep investing in the different forms of outdoor ads? Let’s break it down for you.
What Is Outdoor Media?
Outdoor media advertising is any type of paid display that casts a brand message in a public space outside the home. It is one of the oldest forms of advertising available & is the most resilient.
Also known as out-of-home advertising or OOH, it covers a very wide range of formats, be it huge roadside billboards, transit wraps, or even bench panels or digital street screens.
The Main Outdoor Advertising or OOH Advertising Formats
When understanding “what is outdoor media”, you must remember that OOH cannot be defined as a singular format. It is a family of advertising formats that span multiple environments and here is a breakdown of them.
Billboards and Large Format
This format is very classic. It often includes a large billboard placed along highways and major arterial roads. This type of format works best for bold graphic treatments and short, punchy messages that can land in under just three seconds.
Static versions hold one creative for weeks that can bring a lot of visibility. On the other hand, digital billboards rotate multiple creatives in real time. This means brands can easily update their content based on the time of the day, weather, and even the type of event.
Transit Advertising
Transit advertising is often displayed on buses, trains, autos, taxi racks, airport corridors and more. The audience over here is the transit commuter who is already moving, who is already in a receptive headspace and it exposes your brand along their entire route.
This type of format is particularly effective when you want to reach customers in very dense urban areas where millions of people commute every day via vehicles. It is a great medium if you want to increase brand awareness & brand visibility in high-traffic locations or demographics.
Street Furniture
Next is street furniture. This often refers to cost-effective advertising that is built quite literally on public infrastructure like bus shelters, bench panels, kiosk displays and urban panels. They sit at eye level and in pedestrian heavy areas to help create a face-to-face encounter with the direct audience.
Dwell time over here is very high, so you can easily reach commuters and travellers. Someone who is waiting at a bus stop, cannot scroll on your ad. Why? Because they are standing right in front of it.
Digital OOH
Digital billboards & connected digital screens can bring you dynamic capabilities, especially when it comes to outdoor formats and reaching specific audiences. Content can be easily scheduled & is highly effective. You can even click on them in real-time based on audience signals or even contextual data. QR codes on digital units can bridge the physical and the digital journey.
For example, when a passerby scans the QR code, they can go straight to the product page or offer. This is where outdoor advertising starts to feel more like digital media but within the reach and presence of the physical world.
Why Brands Use Out-of-Home Advertising for Their Campaign?
There are a few things that make out of home advertising the best choice for brands in today’s media landscape.
- These are impossible to skip. There are no ad blockers. There is no scrolling past these ads. So if someone is near your placement, they have to see it – making it an impactful choice.
- It is always on because a billboard works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week & helps increase awareness. There is no schedule or no algorithm.
- It helps build mass awareness quite quickly, so whether you are about to launch a new product or reinforce an existing brand, OOH can help build recognition at scale with their large single-virtual placement.
- Lastly, it can reach your target audience in the real world swiftly. Unlike digital ads served inside apps or even browsers, outdoor media can intercept audiences’ experiences, mid journey. The advertising displays integrated into public mind can serve better than digital ads displayed on phones.
Conclusion
So, what is outdoor media to be exact? It is a type of advertising that lives in the real world – right on billboards, bus shelters, transit networks, taxi wraps, kiosks as well as digital billboards updated in real time.
It can reach people outside their homes, without letting them have the ability to skip or close it. Most importantly, they can reach audiences at scale that no personal device can start to match.
Whether your ultimate goal is brand awareness, a product launch or keeping your name visible in the competitive market, out-of-home advertising can deliver you the best results.
At Selvel One, we have been building this type of presence for brands for years. Right from large format billboard networks to transit advertising and much more, we can offer you the best OOH solutions. Contact us today to explore what the right outdoor advertising strategy can do for your brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between OOH and DOOH?
In short, OOH tends to cover all out-of-home formats, including static print in high-traffic areas specifically. On the other hand, DOOH refers specifically to digital screen-based placements that can allow dynamic as well as real-time, measurable creative updates.
Is outdoor media very effective for small or local types of businesses?
Yes, local ads that are strategically placed like in bus shelters, benches and transit panels can offer you targeted and affordable brand exposure within your specific neighbourhood.
Can outdoor media be measured like digital media?
It can be if you opt for QR code tracking mobile retargeting, footfall studies and brand lift surveys. This can now provide meaningful attribution data for OOH campaigns.