Travelling to work, strolling the high-street, doing the weekly shop – what do all these tasks have in common, the opportunity for out-of-home or OOH advertising. To give an insight of reach: the average time spent commuting by any mode of transport is 28 minutes in the UK and that’s 28 minutes of potential brand exposure. OOH encompasses a wide range of formats from digital to paper and can appear in many forms from large billboard posters roadside to digital screens in the local shopping centre. If you have always wondered how to access these mediums of marketing, then let us explain how you can get started with out-of-home advertising.
Who and what.
One of the key components of any marketing campaign is knowing who your target audience are. You may already have a solid view of what your consumer base should look like or you might want to “test the waters” to see who could be the best audience to target. Either way, having an idea of who you want to reach is a good starting point.
Once you know who you want to target the next step is what you want to achieve. It could be marketing a particular product to boost sales or brand awareness might be the overall goal but being clear from the outset is paramount in making sure there is clarity in your out-of-home messaging. If you do not know the goal, then how can it be communicated to consumers?
Where, when, and how
The where, when, and how of your out-of-home campaign can be agreed upon with the media-owning company. As you will have already decided upon the who and the what, this can be used to influence the where, when, and how.
Where the OOH will be displayed will be based on the location of your intended audience and where they are most active. The media owner can use audience and planning insight tools to ensure that the advertising is effective with pinpoint precision.
When the out-of-home ads will be displayed is limitless. OOH media is always on so it can always be seen, and this is one of the reasons it is so effective. The timing of when you launch the OOH campaign may be pertinent to think about and the media owner can provide insight on the best time of year to launch based on your specific requirements.
How the advertising is displayed is the fun part, and there are 5 main categories that OOH is often split into. These are billboards, street furniture, transit, place-based and retail and can range from huge displays to more subtle messaging meaning there is a format for everyone to consider.
Next Steps
If you’ve already got your who and your what worked out then you may want to start your media partner search to complete your campaign. The Clear Start programme from Clear Channel is a new programme designed to accelerate the growth of emerging brands. With the potential to reach 93% of the UK through a market-leading network while utilising audience planning tools and campaign success metrics getting started with out-of-home could not be simpler.
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