5 Benefits of Outdoor Advertising
- Written by Tanya Mayer
Nowadays, most of us spend more time away from home than we do cooped up in our comfortable nest. The daily hustle and bustle, our jobs and other obligations have us hit the streets early in the morning, and come back late in the evening, and while we are outdoors, we might not even realize it but we come across thousands of advertisements every day. Advertising outdoors is effective for this reason: people spend a lot of time going about their business and therefore, these advertisements are in front of them every day. But there is even more to the benefits of outdoor advertising. Here are some of them:
Outdoor advertising is more than just billboards
While the words “outdoor advertising” might make you think of billboards first, there is actually so much more to it, which makes it a flexible option available for any business of any size. Think phone booths, shopping malls, benches, as well as different types of mobile advertising such as buses or taxis or even your own vehicle in a car wrap. It is more than obvious, thus, that it can fit anyone’s budget.
It has amazing reach
Outdoor advertising has a wide reach in more than one way. First of all, billboards and other signs might be the only way to reach some people who either don’t use technology that much or don’t have time to consume print media but might still be interested in your products or services. Therefore, it is advised that companies look beyond online advertising and also consider refreshing their business with print since it is evident how these traditional methods are still as effective as ever. On the other hand, the aforementioned mobile advertising methods are even more incredible in spreading the word about your business. Used mostly for non-location specific offers, one cleverly-placed ad on a city bus will be seen by everyone coming into contact with the route of the bus for a few weeks. It’s a great way to cover a large area.
It has a high impact
Beside high reach, outdoor advertising also has a high impact. While at home, people can just change channels on their TV or turn it off when commercials come on; but when a billboard is placed in front of them on the road, they don’t have the option to turn it off. People walking the streets are also aware of their surroundings, including the ads around them. Similarly, advertisements placed on public transport such as inside buses or metros will also see an incredible amount of attention, as large numbers of people will have nothing better to do while commuting than to look at the ads around them. In fact, research has shown several times that the majority of people prefer buses with ads to buses without advertisement.
It has a high ROI
While at first glance, this type of advertising might look very expensive compared to online advertising, when you take into account the numbers, it soon becomes clear that outdoor advertising is worth the investment. Outdoor advertising has an outstandingly high ROI – research says that for some industries such as the travel industry, the ROI for every dollar spent could be as high as $3.55! This is thanks to the low CPM (cost per thousand impressions) of outdoor advertising. This is why your best bet is always going for high-traffic areas when placing outdoor advertisements.
It reinforces brand awareness
Your goal should always be building your brand and making sure people can recognize it as soon as they see it. For that, you have to get your brand across to them several times through various media. This is why outdoor advertising works best in combination with other media. While it can serve well in itself thanks to immediately building brand awareness, using it to enhance brand awareness will engrave your message into your audience’s mind.
If you still don’t use outdoor advertising for your business, you are missing out on a large potential. Regardless of your budget, you can leverage some sort of outdoor advertising and reach a new level of brand awareness.