The average person spends around 6 hours and 42 minutes online each day. With so much individual attention dedicated to online activity it’s a stretch to consider any other form of media advertising effectively putting a brands name out there. Yet, it is still common practice among companies like Amazon, Facebook, and AT&T to make use of OOH advertisement when they want to get the word out regarding new products and services. 

Understanding OOH Advertisement

Out-of-home advertising can simply be defined as any visual advertising media people encounter outside of their homes. This usually includes:

• ads placed on billboards,
• on the side of buses and taxis,
• on street benches or bus shelters,
• in transit areas like train stations, and
• in stadiums or cinemas.

OOH advertising is a steadily growing industry worth around 40.6 billion USD. With major brands and corporations like Apple, Amazon, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Netflix, etc. all piling in on the action, and benefitting off the various advantages the platform has to offer.

Say Goodbye To Adblock

The appeal of out of home advertising has seen a steady increase over the past decade. This growth is not surprising as popular mediums like online advertising, pose various obstacles to media buyers. For one, ad blockers installed on user’s browsers have become a norm, and even when ad blockers are not present the average online user encounters so much advertising data when browsing the web it makes getting your company’s advertisement out there a serious challenge, or in some cases nearly impossible.  

When it comes to OOH advertising however, the same challenges do not apply. There is no way of blocking a large billboard out of your view, making any company’s advertisement almost certainly visible to a large audience. Billboards, signs, and digital screens are essentially ideal for brands to get their messages out there. This is because billboards provide unique opportunities in terms of creative styling and reach.

Coupled with this, infringement upon the privacy of consumers when viewing online ads has sparked a wave of distrust in online advertising. OOH advertisement is widely regarded as a safer, friendlier alternative that is progressively being invested in by smart and trendy marketers. This is validated by a survey published in 2017 by Marketing Sherpa that displayed how the public regards out-door advertising as far more trustworthy than any digital format. 

Among all traditional media formats, OOH advertising seems to be the only one enjoying any significant growth, at about a 2% increase as of 2018.

Now, considering OOH media platforms like billboards date back to about 5000 years ago, how then is this platform becoming increasingly more valuable?

The simple answer is OOH has kept up with the rapidly changing times by incorporating digital formats, as well as vastly new, captivating formats like augmented reality.

Digital Out-Of-Home Advertising (DOOH)?

Digital out-of-home media offers advertisers fresh opportunities in regards to how they advertise. The digital OOH format provides brighter colors and graphics, moving images and video, and even saves time and advertising space. Unlike the conventional static OOH format, that is often time consuming to replace, the digital format allows for the display of multiple ads.

According to statistics, DOOH advertising is on the rise, growing at 16% yearly.

Aside from that, with the advent of radically new technological advancements like augmented reality, and holographic imagery the entire concept of how OOH advertising engages audiences is rapidly evolving. The impact of these technologies on OOH advertising has already been demonstrated by multiple companies including Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Reebok etc.

Creating impactful/captivating experiences is what often leads to success in the OOH advertising world. As more companies begin to get on board with the programmatic and dynamic content opportunities the OOH advertising platform provides, the more this industry will continue to develop and grow.