Out of home (OOH) campaigns continue to be a highly successful form of advertising. And done right, large format print can be especially effective during the festive period.
Ding dong merrily on high! The bells have been ringing and so have the cash registers. Hordes of customers deciding where to buy gifts or bag themselves a bargain in the sales. The trouble is, how do you stand out from the thousands of other retailers competing for their custom?
Look up – the answer may just be the outdoor ad. They’re highly visible, seen by a huge chunk of the population and if located in the right spot, may turn potential customers into converted customers.
Reach ever-growing numbers
When it comes to reach, OOH is a safe bet – the numbers speak for themselves: 98% of the UK population will see an outdoor ad every week. That’s roughly 63 million pairs of eyes (for the sake of comparison, the amount of people who read MailOnline every month is 29 million).
During the run-up to and immediate days after Christmas, UK retailers can expect greater footfall than at any other time in the year, with the majority of customers still preferring to shop for presents and deals in-store. So if there’s a perfect time to invest in outdoor, it’s during November and December.
If you do create seasonal ads that chime with this busy period, be sure to include sale dates for particular offers that are scheduled to run during the festive season.
Tap into the emotions
Increasingly, digital posters are a popular choice for many retailers. And with good reason: they’re great at inducing high levels of positive emotional response in passers-by.
Getting an audience to feel something is crucial to a brand’s success and outdoor advertising can have a huge impact on brand perception, with the ability to directly drive sales.
This is particularly pertinent for Christmas or sales shoppers when boredom and stress take their toll. A careless glance at an inspirational or funny ad could well boost a weary customer’s mood as well as potentially influence their purchases.
The factors that generally drive positive emotional responses are also typical features of OOH campaigns – bright colours, people, faces and eye-catching branding. All ideal characteristics to help a brand stand out during the festive season.
Know your audience
Of course, it’s not just images that resonate with passers-by. Using clever, humorous copy on a vivid background in well-chosen locations could be just as effective. Take Spotify’s pitch-perfect outdoor campaign: it featured quips about genuine user playlists, which were in turn carefully customised to the ad’s location.
Where you choose to place your head-turning billboard, building wrap or digital poster is crucial. Think about where your stores and potential customers are: train stations, shopping malls, out-of-town retail parks. An outdoor ad could have as much impact on the side of a bus heading into town as a billboard outside a shopping centre.
With growing populations and the expansion of cities across the UK, OOH’s relevance can only increase as greater numbers of people continue to be exposed to this perennially effective advertising medium.
Cestrian has worked in the OOH media sector for more than 25 years. We know plenty about getting the best results from outdoor branding, as well as designing and producing a whole range of premium print products. Contact us to learn more about what we can do for you.
