OOH marketing, or out of home marketing, is not a new concept by any means. From the very first billboards that sprouted up along highways, to the marketing placed at the start of the initial motion pictures that were both soundless and colorless, to stagnant magazine ads in a waiting room that get flicked through by a freshly-licked-thumb. There are a wide variety of out of home marketing opportunities that modern advertising and marketing professionals can take advantage of, and it seems like they are getting more and more creative each and every year.
Out of home marketing strategies are any type of advertising or marketing material that the consumers experience outside the vicinity of their own home.
If your brand is looking for a new way to connect with and engage the consumers of the brand, the creative out of home marketing options outlined and discussed below should give you some good ideas well worth brainstorming.
1. Bike Share Advertising
Bike share advertising is where this list will start. Bike share advertising is a relatively new form of advertising and marketing because bike sharing is a relatively new concept itself. Bike sharing is the idea of city-owned bikes for rent. It initially took off with rampant popularity in eastern countries and cultures, before it spread to environmentally focused cities across Europe.
Finally, after finding some success internationally, bike sharing penetrated the US marketplace as well. The concept of bike sharing is simple. There are convenient bike-racks placed around and throughout the participating city. Then, these bike racks are populated with city-owned bikes that residents and tourists can rent for their own use. After taking a ride and arriving at their destination, they can simply re-rack the bike at another shared rack.
With the commuter-driven popularity of shared bikes, marketing and advertising professionals were also quick to jump on board. Organizations could design and place their advertisement materials on and around bike-sharing-racks, and reap the benefits of improved brand exposure, awareness, and potential customer growth.
2. Mural Advertising
Mural advertising is another highly creative out of home marketing opportunity that modern organizations can utilize in order to connect and engage with their audience. Mural advertising is similar to billboard advertising in the vein that they both create a large digital display viewable to consumers all throughout the city and along the roadway it lines. Mural advertising is specifically creative because most mural advertisements are hand-painted by local artists. This is another way in which businesses can benefit from mural advertising because they can display investment into the community by commissioning a popular local artist for the art work.
It’s also worth noting that mural advertisements can be seen as iconic aspects of the city that draw tourists to the site of the mural.
While mural advertising is a really cool marketing tactic for modern brands to engage in, the price-points vary significantly. This is because most murals are hand-painted directly onto the side of the building and most buildings in cities vary dramatically in size and shape. Take this into account when considering a mural advertising campaign.
3. Digital Billboards
Digital billboards are a new-aged version of a classic staple. Digital billboards operate with the same fundamental philosophy as their stagnant ancestors: get the marketing material in front of as many eyes as humanly possible.
This is done through strategic placement that targets heavily trafficked areas. Digital billboards, though, bring a few innovations to the game. For starters, it gives the design team much more creativity when it comes to color, animation, and other advertising capability. Additionally, though, the monitors with which digital billboards are equipped can cycle through advertisements, meaning more than one brand can utilize the same billboard real estate at the same time.
4. Digital Spectacles
Digital spectacles are similar to digital billboards, only they are much fewer in number and much grander in scale. Where a digital billboard really only makes use of a massive single display monitor, a digital spectacle utilizes any number of monitors all stacked together.
Digital spectacles can be a major attraction for both local and non-local consumers, and can truly make a splash in any industry or field.
5. Utilizing Kiosk Marketing
Kiosk marketing is also becoming more and more popular with brands. Kiosk marketing is especially effective for organizations who are located in the immediate vicinity of the kiosk. This way interested consumers can simply walk by the business after interacting with the kiosk and could potentially become a customer right then and there.
A few Final Words
Knowing your target audience demographics will undoubtedly be the most helpful part in designing marketing and advertising campaigns that are effective and impactful. If you really want to stand out from the competition in your industry, look to the creative out of home marketing possibilities outlined above, and match them up with what your specific target audience would find the most interesting and engaging.
