A recent study conducted by Fallon Advertising found that the average American is exposed to 2,904 marketing messages per day. Of these, only 52 messages will get noticed, 24 will be read in detail, and a mere 4 will get a consumer response. Such findings are a bit sobering if you are counting on your ad budget to raise awareness or move product.
Outdoor can help. In an era of information overload, outdoor has the ability to stand out, break through, and instill memorability. Its sheer presence invites inspection and its ubiquity ensures brand access when the consumer is ready to act. In today's high speed and mobile society, advertisers must go to the consumer if they want results. After all…who has time for television these days?
These six simple points of separation demonstrate the unique advertising opportunities that outdoor media offers.
- Message Immersion
In the last 10 years, the outdoor industry has exploded in shape, size, and placement; allowing an advertiser to track a consumer through his or her day. This strategy of message immersion had become quite popular with many brands. Outdoor is not only particularly suited for the job, but it makes the strategy affordable. Forget the random television spot and the oft overlooked newspaper ad. Outdoor displays are located wherever consumers travel, so if they miss one message, the next one is just down the street...or in the mall...or on the subway train...or at the stadium. Outdoor can completely surround consumers with hundreds of message contacts each day. - Continuing Presence and Immediacy
Outdoor enables long-term product recognition through message continuity and placement at the point-of-sale, just moments before a buying decision. Erwin Ephron has identified the enormous advantage that outdoor offers advertisers: "There is a small window of opportunity preceding each purchase. Advertising's job is to influence which brand is purchased. Media's job is to put the message in the window. That sounds a lot like a commercial for outdoor, which is a continuing presence medium." - Locally Delivered with a National Appeal
It may be hard to imagine that a venue as large as outdoor could have an intimate side, but it does. Smart marketers find ways to make a big brand more accessible by converting generic national messages to speak to individual markets. The strength of outdoor lies in the ability to customize national campaigns into relevant local messages. - Targeting the Masses
In a twist on conventional thinking, it's possible that outdoor can be all things to all people. It has always been viewed as an efficient mass medium, but through geographic selectivity a brand message can be targeted with pinpoint accuracy. Outdoor can reach the masses and the individual equally well, or any combination in between.- Where do 'Asian-Americans who buy premium coffee' work? Outdoor can target them.
- Where do 'kids who skateboard' spend time after school? Outdoor can target them.
- Where do movie studio executives live? Outdoor can target them.
It's not simply a matter of where but how. New technology is enabling customized coverage that can change hour to hour, location to location. - More Ways to Encourage Expression
Outdoor media is a highly diverse composite of shapes and sizes, enabling an advertiser to custom design an ad program that is ideally suited for its needs. Combining traditional billboards with newer forms of outdoor media will not only improve the communication results by improving reach and frequency, but allow the best frame with the greatest target appeal to deliver a message. - Easier to Plan and Buy
Today the outdoor industry has many forms of measurement available to confirm its performance. Both qualitative and quantitative data are in growing supply, including new outdoor ratings models and automated data collection processes introduced by the Traffic Audit Bureau. The use of online technology is making the medium simpler to buy - with outdoor companies investing in sophisticated systems to help advertisers make educated decisions about outdoor opportunities in markets across the nation.
In summary, outdoor offers a means to cut through ad clutter, reinforcing messages that intercept consumers throughout the course of the day. Outdoor reaches beyond the home base with compelling brand messages when consumers are mobile and most receptive to advertising stimuli.
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