In the past few years traditional advertising has had to adapt as consumers spend more time outside their homes.
Outdoor advertising, better known as Out-of-home (OOH), shares the same physical space as consumers and allows for high frequency direct communication with urban audiences. Traditional advertising has had to adapt to reach consumers while they are on the move.
OOH is not just a billboard next to the road but extends to a mix of products such as billboards, place based media and digital displays that create consumer engagement. OOH has multiple benefits such as providing unparalleled viewability and audience targeting.
One of the biggest trends in outdoor advertising is the rise of digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising. Digital billboards enable advertisers to communicate with audiences in increasingly versatile ways.
DOOH is transforming outdoor ads into automated and dynamic experiences as opposed to static messaging. The trends regarding DOOH is more touch screens and facial recognition technology which will give advertisers the opportunity to engage with audiences on a whole new level.
It also gives advertisers the opportunity to work with other channels to increase efficiency.
Due to an increased availability of analysis tools advertisers can with greater precision know who the viewers of ads are. Location data helps advertisers to make more informed choices regarding ad placements for different demographic groups. Audience targeting will become more relevant as behavioural, movement and demographic data becomes more accessible. This also allows advertisers to reach specific audiences as opposed to just targeting as many people as possible.
OOH advertising is also making use of the mobile market with research showing that consumers are more likely to click on a mobile ad after seeing the same ad on OOH first. Research has also been done on OOH as a driver of social activity which found that OOH delivered more online activity than any other offline medium.
Innovation and modernization are leading to wider multi-channel campaigns. Digital billboards are being paired with print adverts on billboards, newspapers, vehicle wraps, bus shelters, adverts above a urinal or even on coffee cups. Advertisers can create complex and holistic advertising campaigns when contrasting mediums are presented together. With all these different approaches advertisers are also getting more creative with their OOH advertising campaigns.
Digital and traditional outdoor media are continuing to go on from strength to strength with new opportunities to communicate marketing messages. In conclusion, 2019 looks to be a very interesting year for advertising professionals with many new trends to explore.
