5 Facts: Out of Home Advertising in 2020

Out of Home advertising is growing in fact it's leaving some more traditional media formats behind. Effective OOH campaigns have proven to have many benefits the first being its ability to use location to create an advantage and zero-in on context. This helps to deliver a more memorable message at exactly the right time and place. A well targeted OOH advertisement can boost retail foot traffic raise brand awareness or drive prospective customers to purchase then and there.

But you don't have to just take our word for it here are 5 facts that lead us to believe that OOH can continue to sustain this growth if location analysis is prioritized as a core part of media owners & planners strategies.

Through the use of new location data streams brands and agencies are now able to deliver curated advertising content to an equally curated audience

1. OOH Advertising is currently an $8 billion industry in the U.S. a figure that's expected to double by 2023

One of the reasons behind this surge in Out-of-Home advertising is that marketers are comparing OOH – especially digital out-of-home (DOOH) – to other media formats and are realizing that when executed correctly OOH is relatively inexpensive and has greater ROI than other more traditional media formats. As a result 60% of media planners are including DOOH in their media plans according to a recent survey by the Digital Place Based Advertising Association's (DPAA) annual survey of media planners.

Interestingly the Retail industry is one of the largest contributors to advertising revenues. Data that includes location and time components is becoming increasingly pivotal in OOH. Since important KPIs for many retailers are also based on this type of data in-store visitation just to name one DOOH will be able to leverage this data retailers continuously collect and have a clear impact if it is incorporated strategically into campaign planning.

2. OOH is outperforming other traditional media formats

According to new market research by MAGNA and RAPPORT one of the reasons out-of-home is performing better than other traditional media formats is its ability to hold its audience. OOH is not suffering from the digital revolution in the same way as other formats such as editorial media. This is partially because OOH is one of the few channels that can guarantee exposure to a captive audience.

Nowadays consumers are constantly on the go and while simultaneously being more attached to mobile devices than ever (take for example a Deloitte survey which noted that 89% of smartphone users say they use their phones whilst watching tv). This directly benefits the OOH format - helping it to maintain its reach and audience.

In fact OOH is embracing digital and seeing surges in digital outdoor advertising which has increased by 35% since 2010. Currently DOOH is generating 18% of the total ad sales attributed to OOH – that's an impressive 3 times the share it had ten years ago and it is projected to overtake traditional outdoor advertising spending by this year.

It's clear that digital innovation is driving performance and attractiveness for this format. In order to sustain this continued growth Outdoor Media players must make the most of the dynamism OOH offers by using always-on data streams. These new data streams enable them to understand audiences at the same pace as well as creating hyper-contextualized and in turn more effective campaigns.

3. Mobile click-through rates increase when supported by OOH ads

To be precise CTR increases an impressive 15%! An important feature of OOH advertising is that it is an excellent media format in which to implement cross-channel strategies. Both OOH and DOOH have a large reach and in turn any potential customer that has been exposed to the ad in question can then be retargeted via their mobile phone with a follow-up ad or CTA thanks to the use of geotargeting.

Geotargeting is becoming a crucial part of many marketers' strategies as it allows them to make more precise decisions based on the spatial context of their target audiences.

Modern data streams can allow OOH advetisers to build hyper-targeted catchment areas.

4. 46% of US consumers used a search engine after seeing an OOH ad

According to the Ads Driving Online Activity Survey by Nielsen nearly 5 in 10 US adults turn to Google Bing or other Internet search engines to look up information regarding the advert they have just seen or after hearing something advertised on an OOH format. They also compare this to the percentage of people who used a search engine after seeing an online banner ad which was only 36%. Advertisers can invest more confidently with OOH knowing that they will be driving a greater degree of brand engagement.

5. The future of DOOH advertising is data-driven

The world of OOH advertising is increasingly data-driven and one of the most substantial developments in the industry is the implementation of location data for targeting and measurement. Media planners and marketers alike are putting into action more data-led planning whilst at the same time being able to demonstrate tangible outcomes.

Thanks to the advances in modern real-time data streams a new category of audience targeting is emerging in the form of "hyper-targeted" programmatic ad placement. Through the use of new location data streams brands and agencies are now able to deliver curated advertising content to an equally curated audience.

These data streams working in conjunction with the latest DOOH and MarTech solutions allow for more creativity. DOOH now has the ability to leverage geolocation data gather insights and update digital billboards and outdoor media formats in real-time — tailoring the content to factors such as weather time of day traffic conditions and even the direction that people are heading.

Learn more about how Location Intelligence can kickstart your OOH strategy! Download the Case Study!