What Is Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising?
What Is Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising?
In our screen-loving world, digital marketing is all the rage. But other forms of advertising, like out-of-home (OOH), are still an important complement—and sometimes an outright replacement—to digital marketing.
Plenty of brands go all-in on a digital-first strategy, so it’s no surprise that many marketers haven’t used OOH before.
Billboards are the most well-known medium of OOH, but that’s just a sliver of what this advertising platform has to offer. In an era where smartphone users’ attention dwindles by the minute, brands can still master multichannel marketing with OOH.
OOH is the only traditional marketing category that’s growing, not shrinking. In fact, the OOH market was over $8 billion in the USA alone in 2018 and is projected to grow at least 2.5% each year.
Dive headfirst into out-of-home advertising by understanding what it is, how it works, and how you can implement OOH for your brand.
What Is OOH Marketing?
Out-of-home advertising is exactly how it sounds: any form of advertising consumers see outside their home. OOH often happens in a public place where consumers interact with your branded content.
Benches, buses, and billboards are traditional forms of OOH, but it’s so much more than that.
Since consumers are (hopefully) not checking their digital devices while driving, that’s empty space for consumers. OOH ads target consumers when they’re on the go, grabbing people’s attention when they’re looking away from their phones.
With such a broad definition, though, plenty of advertising experiences fall within the umbrella of OOH. You see these ads every day, whether you realize it or not. If an ad isn’t on your smartphone, TV, magazine, or radio, it’s likely a form of OOH.
Why OOH Ads?
Brands are investing heavily in digital ads today, as they should. But more traditional approaches, like out-of-home marketing, have a place in your strategy too. It sounds outdated, but there’s a reason why you see OOH ads for McDonald’s and Netflix movies and smartphones everywhere: they work.
Out-of-home works as a great complement to digital. In fact, studies show that 23% of people who see OOH marketing visit that brand’s website. 15% look up the brand on social media, 33% search for it on Google, and 23% talk about that brand with friends and family.
Why is OOH Advertising So Effective?
It boils down to 3 major reasons.
- 1. OOH Cuts Through The Tech Clutter
Digital ads are so commonplace that users are tuning them out. Thanks to ad blockers, advertising clutter, and sky-high digital ad prices, brands are looking for solutions.
The thing is, consumers can’t skip outdoor ads. They have no choice but to see your ads because they’re fully viewable in the real world. Plus, they’re not distracted by texts or social media notifications when they see your OOH ad.
If you still love your digital ads, run them! OOH is proven to complement digital ads. Actually consumers are 48% more likely to click on your digital ads if they see your OOH ad first.
- 2. OOH Effectively Saturates Targeted Geographies
Facebook and Google allow you to target consumers in a geographic area relatively easily—however, your message is confined to only smartphones. If you want to physically spread the word in a neighborhood or ZIP code, OOH enables you to get the job done in a larger-than-life way.
This is the “OG” geographic targeting option. Before brands had digital ads, they used OOH ads to localize their messaging. It’s a strategy that still pays dividends, even in 2020.
- 3. OOH Is Technologically Savvy
One of the best things about OOH is that it’s kept up with the times. Technological advancements have expanded OOH into an ROI-positive advertising category that proves attribution.
Like other advertising formats, OOH is now using third-party data. This anonymizes the unique device IDs of the folks passing by your OOH ad. Once it captures these unique device IDs, you can compare them to the unique device IDs of users who visit your website or store.
This allows brands to attribute customer acquisition to OOH—or at least acknowledge their influence gets customers through the door! In an era where so many brands demand ROI, this feature has become all the more relevant.
Thanks to this unique device ID collection, providers can digitally retarget users who come in contact with their format, too.
Out-of-Home Marketing Examples
OOH is a diverse and thriving form of advertising. Billboards are just a small slice of what OOH has to offer brands. Although it’s the oldest form of advertising, it’s still with us for one reason: it works.
But how does OOH look in 2020 and beyond? Check out these 4 examples of OOH advertising forms to kickstart your next campaign.
- 1. Traditional OOH Marketing
We can’t overlook the humble billboard or bench advertisement. Traditional OOH is what most people think of when they hear “out-of-home advertising.” This includes formats like:
- Posters
- Billboards
- Outdoor furniture
While a one-off OOH ad is powerful on its own, you can modernize traditional media by getting creative. You’re advertising in a physical space! That gives you room to play and experiment. For example, try telling a story. Book a series of posters on the street that add to your message as people walk by. 
- 2. Packaging
Packaging is another avenue for OOH advertising. It’s a great way to meet customers at their point of purchase. This might include advertising on:
- Store bags
- Pizza boxes
- The backs of receipts
A simple ad like, “Remember to buy ice!” or, “Try a Coke with your pizza” helps you interact with customers while they make offline purchases.
- 3. Rideshare Advertising
Car wraps are a growing part of OOH advertising. You’ve probably seen wraps before on taxis or buses. These geo-targeted ads get drivers’ attention more quickly than billboards, showing your content at eye level to drivers around the city.
Carvertise took this a step further by enabling OOH car wraps on rideshare vehicles, like Uber and Lyft. This not only gives drivers another source of income, but promotes your brand everywhere these rideshares go. It’s a clean, modern, and technologically-advanced version of transit advertising.
- 4. Experiential Marketing
Experiential marketing is making a big comeback. But did you know that it’s actually a form of out-of-home advertising? Everything from brand ambassadors to mall demos to popup stores falls under this umbrella.
Experiential marketing grabs customers’ attention in public spaces. It helps them forge a positive experience with your brand, creating memories that speak to customers far better than a passive digital ad. In fact, 70% of event attendees become regular customers. How’s that for ROI?
The Bottom Line
OOH has been with us for decades. Fortunately, it’s getting a second wind with the addition of new, innovative advertising media. Diversify your ad mix by giving OOH a try—you’ll never look back.
If you’re interested in dipping your toes into OOH, get in touch with Carvertise. Our rideshare advertising options are an easy and ROI-positive way to fuel local growth.
