What does the future hold for out of home advertising in the world of digital marketing? Our creative director, Mallie, looks into the new revolution for outdoor advertising and how its relevance still remains.
Digital fatigue, ingenuity in creative advertising, data-tailored ads: whatever you want to pinpoint as the cause, the fact is static billboards continue to be a powerful form of out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Why? They’re non-intrusive, and don’t get in the way of where you are trying to go or what you are trying to do.
Needless to say, traditional billboards aren’t going anywhere. They are an effective medium for delivering advertisements, but no matter how well-designed they are, it’s still a static piece of marketing material that remains unchanged until they are taken down and replaced with something else.
Out of Home Advertising in the Modern World
So how does the advertising and marketing industry transform OOH advertising to reflect digital marketing that consumers have become so used to? The pandemic came with lots of changes for the OOH industry. Most significantly, it accelerated the transformation and digitalisation of OOH. The effects of this were felt far and wide. With the power of the internet, sophisticated sensors, facial recognition software, and other AI smart features, OOH media got a high-tech facelift moving the consumer experience to a whole new level. Tech-driven smart advertising that tailors users content create digital billboard experiences that can react dynamically to their environment and even predict their behaviour.
For example, some billboards can display car advertisements based on the type of vehicle passing by or identify characteristics such as age, demographic, and even the type of clothing and accessories a pedestrian might be wearing. This takes the level of understanding the consumer (which has became incredibly important with the age of digital marketing) and serve ads according to these traits.
The power of out of home advertising with digital marketing
Digital also has the ability to integrate mobile in OOH campaigns via QR codes which is proving to be an easier way to build a more interactive experience between audiences and brands. Why else is this important for marketers? It can provide instant feedback for campaigns. This digital revolution means advertisers have more ways than ever before to engage and deliver their message to prospective customers and as the technology continues to evolve, we’re likely to see even more sophisticated examples. As Google starts to crack down on intrusive advertisements, consumers are likely to see advertisements become more of a complementary element to what we actually want to experience.
The future of OOH advertising clearly has to be digital, but importantly, there is still a great and powerful future in it.