Despite the tremendous blow dealt by the COVID-19 pandemic, out-of-home (OOH) advertising in the UK remains a powerful and profitable avenue for marketers.
The nation’s advertisers spent £901 million on outdoor media in the last 12 months, representing an impressive year-on-year growth rate of 31.5%. It would seem that as the people of Britain start looking to get outside again, so too are advertisers taking steps to ensure they’re well-placed to capitalise!
Indeed, the opportunities for out-of-home advertising have never been more solid, with traditional print and digital out-of-home (DOOH) displays found in a range of sizes across the country.
However, for startups, small businesses, and those without the purchasing power to grab the most sought-after public spaces, there is often a question of how best to enter the market—this is where a media buying agency like The Bank can help!
The Bank’s media buying professionals are here to help with all aspects of your OOH marketing campaign. We have a wealth of experience and expertise in placing ads at prime locations throughout the country. We can help you find the right spots for your ads, as well as negotiate the best rates for the most lucrative spaces. We can help you create and design your ads, ensuring that they are effective and eye-catching.
Take a look below for our expert guide to out-of-home advertising, and don’t hesitate to give us a call to discuss the ways we can help!
Outdoor Advertising: Past vs. Future
At present, the out-of-home advertising industry is experiencing something of a renaissance. Whilst outdoor advertising itself is nothing new, the introduction and increasing ubiquity of digital signage is providing advertisers with opportunities for creativity and audience targeting that were previously unthinkable.
Although the majority of OOH inventory is still physical, in the years ahead we expect to see fewer print media advertisements; but for the time being, both alternatives have their own set of advantages and disadvantages.
OOH Advertising
Advantages
- Reach: Non-digital billboard and poster panels are found the length and breadth of the country. If you need to reach the largest target audience as quickly as possible, traditional OOH is tough to beat. What’s more, this increased reach allows for much greater refinement in your location-based marketing.
- Effecacy: The efficacy of non-digital billboard advertising is well established, with over 50% of people claiming to have been “highly engaged” by a billboard they’ve seen in the last month.
- Value: It is significantly cheaper to buy traditional out-of-home media than it is to buy digital OOH media, allowing advertisers with a reduced budget a cost-effective way to access the market.
Disadvantages
- Production: Despite offering lower media purchase fees, poster ad campaigns come with expensive print and installation fees. For companies looking to reach consumers at multiple locations, these costs can have a significant impact on your budget (not to mention the environment).
- Slow: Unlike digital screens, which can be updated with the touch of a button, the production and installation of traditional OOH campaigns is a time-consuming process.
DOOH Advertising
Advantages
- Impact: While traditional out-of-home media is undoubtedly effective in many instances, if you want your OOH ad to really grab attention, digital signage is the way to go.
- Exposure: Digital signage offers significantly less advertising space across the UK, but the qualityof this space is often markedly better. DOOH advertising is commonly found on the high street, in shopping malls, and next to busy arterial highway routes. If your budget can handle it, digital advertising at these locations can prove extremely lucrative.
- Place-Based: Digital OOH advertising is much better suited for place-based media, due to its refined ability to target ads at consumers based on their location.
- Innovation: Technological innovation is a cornerstone of the DOOH industry. Digital signage panels can interact with a consumer’s mobile device; link them to the advertiser’s online media; even utilise facial recognition and mobile data to provide ad response feedback.
- Targeting: DOOH advertising supports integration with programmatic platforms, making it possible to market to an extremely targeted audience. Programmatic DOOH advertising opens up opportunities for ultra-refined targeting of specific audience demographics, as well as the possibility for maximum audience engagement.
- Refinement: DOOH campaigns offer incredible flexibility, giving advertisers the ability to adjust the messaging of their digital campaigns on the fly. Mobile location data and consumer behaviour analysis can be utilised to display dynamic content that actively responds to your target audiences.
Disadvantages
- Reach: Where non-digital OOH benefits from nationwide coverage, advertisers wishing to take the digital OOH will have significantly fewer options when it comes to location. If you aim to reach customers at a local level, digital out-of-home may not (yet) be the right avenue to take.
- Price: At present, digital out-of-home advertising is significantly more expensive than its traditional counterpart. This is due in part to the increased production costs associated with DOOH advertising (particularly for video content), as well as the scarcity of available inventory.
At The Bank, we often advise our clients to weigh up the benefits of both traditional and digital out-of-home advertising before committing to a campaign. If you’re not sure which route is right for you, get in touch—our team of marketing experts will be more than happy to chat through your options!
Types of OOH Advertising
To those businesses who have yet to develop an OOH ads campaign, the number of outdoor advertising options can seem intimidating! We asked our OOH industry experts to come up with a guide to the formats available.
Billboards
Printed Billboards
Printed billboards come in a variety of sizes, the most common of which are 48-sheet, 72-sheet, and 96-sheet.
These billboards are large, printed posters, and are usually placed on the side of a building, or erected near a roadside.
Digital Billboards
For digital billboards, the DOOH industry has largely chosen to retain the 48-, 72-, and 96-sheet sizing standards—good news for designers, and for companies who already have out-of-home media.
Large-format digital out-of-home screens are often found in high-football retail and leisure locations, but are also commonly used for rail station and airport advertising.
Mobile Billboards
Mobile billboards are one of the more creative formats available to companies looking to enter the world of DOOH advertising.
Though still something of a novelty, advans, adbikes, and digital ad trailers can access areas which other mediums cannot, and their striking appearance makes them a fantastic option for highly creative dynamic media.
For more information on billboads, DOOH billboards, and mobile billboards, take a look at our dedicated billboard advertising page.
Outdoor Poster Signage
Printed 6-Sheet
The 6-sheet is the industry standard for non-digital display advertising.
6-sheet posters are found in bus shelters, gas stations, grocery stores, and in a variety of other urban, rural, and suburban locations.
Digital 6-Sheet
Digital 6-sheets are becoming increasingly popular as the technology matures and more publishers look to invest in DOOH advertising.
Like their static counterparts, digital 6-sheets are frequently seen in bus shelters and transit stations.
Street Furniture
Street furniture is a broad category that includes any type of outdoor advertising that is not a billboard.
Bus Shelters
The aforementioned bus shelters are the most common form of street furniture.
Offering access to a wide target audience, bus stop ads can be extremely effective at targeting all people outside the home. DOOH ads in these locations are less widely seen, but as local authorities seek to improve their ad inventory, the number of available DOOH screens is likely to increase significantly.
Phone Box
Even though most of us carry mobile devices, the UK remains home to more than 21,000 telephone boxes. What’s more, in light of their use in emergency and domestic abuse situations, commitments have been made to protect these familiar red boxes.
As an advertiser, phone box advertising can be a low-cost, high-impact way to boost audience recognition, or generate a sales lift.
Rubbish / Cigarette Bins
Okay, as far as OOH advertising goes, rubbish bins and cigarette bins are hardly the most glamorous option!
However, bins and smoking shelters are found in high-footfall areas such as nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, and can generate significant attention for a low initial investment.
Take a look at our street furniture advertising page for more information.
Public Transportation
In the last year, a staggering £210 million was spent on out-of-home advertising across transport environments in the UK.
Not only for the aforementioned transit shelters, vehicle wraps and interior DOOH options are available for advertisers looking to enter this field.
Supersides, T-Sides, and Rear Back Panels
For bus and taxi advertisers, print-based poster panels are a prevalent form of out-of-home advertising.
With a wide range of sizes, shapes, and styles available, transit advertisers looking for a high-impact solution can find what they’re looking for with ease.
Full Sides and Vinyl Wraps
Buses, trains, and private hire vehicles can all benefit from a high-quality vinyl wrap
Done well, a vehicle wrap can be an extremely effective form of out-of-home advertising, and one which offers a great deal of flexibility to the advertiser.
DOOH Transit Options
Digital taxi tops, headrest screens, and similar digital out-of-home advertising terminals are becoming more and more common as transport authorities seek to improve the transport experience.
To reach an engaged audience outside the home, DOOH transport media can be highly effective.
Indoor Poster Signage
Though they are often used synonymously, out-of-home advertising does not exclusively refer to outdoor advertising. There are many options for advertisers to target audiences in shopping malls and other indoor locations.
Digital Window Ads
Digital window ads are found in retail window spaces.
Whilst normally owned by retailers and designed to encourage store visits, there are opportunities for advertisers to have their products featured.
Terminals
Digital signage terminals are often used to inform consumers or provide instructional information.
For advertisers, they provide an opportunity to feature their product or service in an engaging and interactive format.
POS (Point-of-Sale)
Studies have shown that DOOH advertising screens placed at the point of purchase can positively influence consumer purchasing, with 44% of consumers admitting to having purchased an advertised product instead of that which they’d initially planned.
If your company’s products are sold in-store, digital OOH advertising at POS locations could prove extremely effective at achieving advertising objectives.
Hoardings
Hoardings are traditionally found surrounding construction sites. Now, however, many businesses are using them as a form of out-of-home advertising.
Construction Site
Commonly found as a protective feature around construction and building sites, hoarding panels can often be found in areas containing little other OOH advertising.
Embraced by the advertising industry and contractors alike, hoarding adverts can be cost-effective for advertisers, and a useful revenue-generator for owners.
Football Advertising Boards
A somewhat more glamorous form of hoarding, soccer stadium safety barriers are a highly effective—f expensive—advertising option.
Perhaps the only OOH advertising form that can enter the consumer’s home, football advertising boards, can reach target audiences in a way that few other methods can.
Physical and Digital Out-of-Home Media Buying with The Bank
When it comes to developing an out-of-home advertising campaign, you want to work with a media buying agency that understands the intricacies and potential pitfalls.
At The Bank, we can help you assess the options, and build a strategy that is right for you. Take a look below for some of the benefits of working for the bank for your OOH ad campaign.
Location, Location, Location
At The Bank, we pride ourselves on offering the very best location analysis in the industry.
We’ll conduct a bespoke media analysis of your target audiences to identify where they live, work and play, and then match this with the most effective OOH sites in those areas.
We will work with you to create place-based media that is most likely to prove effective at delivering a high ROI.
Data, Data, and More Data
All of our marketers and account managers take a data-driven approach to advertising campaign management.
We draw from a huge statistical ecosystem, looking at advertising data collected over the last decade or more. We use these data sets to form a basis, and develop an action plan, while also taking a creative, innovative approach wherever possible.
Power in Numbers
With such a staggering number of independent, corporate, and authority-run advertising panels and billboards across the country, you need an agency who can liaise with owners on your behalf.
At The Bank, our marketers work with publishers including JCDecaux, Global and Clear Channel, using our buying power and industry know-how to get you the best deal.
What Are You Waiting For?
Give us a call today! We can’t wait to get to work!
