There is no denying the fact that the marketing industry is slowly transitioning into a mostly digital state. This has led many to believe that conventional advertising methods are or will eventually become obsolete. However, new technological advancements and continued consumer interest have both allowed out-of-home (OOH) advertising to evolve, even transforming a portion of the industry into a digital alternative.

As an affiliate publisher, understanding OOH traffic and its digital evolution can help you make better decisions. At lemonads, we partner with a huge number of publishers that specialize in out-of-home traffic, so we’re always in the loop of all new trends in the advertising industry. In this article, we will discuss OOH advertising, go over its benefits, and give you tips on building an OOH campaign.

The History of OOH Advertising

Out-of-home advertising is a term used to describe any and all promotion strategies that attempt to engage consumers out of their homes. This form of promotion is as old as the practice of marketing, but it remains a solid alternative that has merged surprisingly well with newer methods.

In its most traditional sense, OOH advertising channels can be divided into four major categories, which are street furniture, billboards, transit vehicles, and alternatives.

The alternatives category includes all forms of new OOH advertising, including digital billboards, small LCD screens, and similar options. Not only this, but mobile apps, push notifications, and similar content that’s triggered by specific locations also count as OOH channels because they target users who have arrived at a specific place.

Defining Digital Out-of-Home Advertising

In simple terms, digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising consists of any and all online or digital channels that promote content when consumers are out of home. As we mentioned before, DOOH channels include digital billboards and smaller LCD screens found across multiple locations.

And, in some cases, these spots are available for purchase through some form of programmatic advertising mechanism that calculates costs based on location, approximate foot traffic, and other variables. In this sense, the workflow and interface are the same, so publishers only need to focus on how to adjust their content based on the audience.

What Are the Advantages of Digital OOH Marketing?

Digital advertising brings a wide range of benefits when compared to conventional channels and DOOH shares many of these advantages. That said, this ad format is so unique that it also brings a handful of unique benefits that are not available through any other channels.

These include:

Unblockable Ads

As you probably know already, ad blockers are greatly impacting the performance of programmatic ads on mobile and desktop. DOOH, on the other hand, allows you to reach real consumers while they are active and engaged without worrying about ad blockers getting in the way.

At the same time, this advertising channel helps you promote the advertiser’s brand without associating it with potentially negative or irrelevant content. Plus, unless there is something that is physically in the way of the displaying screen, you’ll be sure that your ad is running.

Projected Growth

Some projections suggest that spending on DOOH ads will increase at a 10.1% annual rate, which is actually the only driver in the entire OOH vertical. The reason why DOOH ad spending will grow is that there is now more digital real estate available in terms of outdoor spots. Cities, private institutions, and federal governments are starting to realize the potential of this form of advertising, which is fueling the growth of the programmatic sector of DOOH specifically.

Create a Better User Experience

The fact that consumers have to implement ad blockers in the first place creates a negative experience. Instead, DOOH gives consumers what they want in a non-invasive way. Not only this, but the fact that the audience members are at a mall or a similar public space means that the DOOH ads have a higher chance of engaging them.

Publish Video Content At a Relatively Low Cost

Any publisher that has ever sat down to negotiate the purchase of traditional television ads knows how expensive this traditional form of marketing can be. Programmatic DOOH offers a superb alternative to help you promote targeted video content at a large scale without paying a small fortune.

How to Build a Digital OOH Marketing Strategy

As with all other forms of online marketing, DOOH campaigns require a significant amount of planning and preparation. Keep in mind that there is no form of conversion tracking that covers all bases on DOOH ads, so you may need to get creative to measure your results.

In order to build a DOOH campaign you have to:

Define Short and Long-Term Objectives

As we just mentioned, DOOH is mainly an impression-based approach rather than a performance-based channel. That said, it can still help brands achieve goals like building social media awareness or promoting a specific offer.

For publishers to build a successful campaign, they need to set short and long-term objectives before getting started. The long-term objectives are often outlined in the affiliate program. But, you should establish some short-term milestones to help keep you on track.

Identify the Audience You Want to Target

Although you don’t have the same level of control as to who sees your ad, you still have to understand your targets and attract the right audience. Determining your target audience for regular online campaigns is simple because there are dozens of tools available. However, with DOOH you need to get creative and use tools that weren’t specifically designed to understand out-of-home audiences.

These include:

Facebook Insights

Facebook collects an unimaginable amount of information about its users and makes it available via the Insights tool. Publishers can access the Facebook Ads platform, choose a basic audience, and narrow down demographic data until they find the ideal targets. You can use this information to shape your campaign, build your content, and even decide when to run your ads.

Google

Google has a massive set of tools that help you understand consumer tendencies. This includes Google Trends, the Keyword Planning Tool, and even the automatic suggestions on Google Search.

The Keyword Planning and Trends tools can help you understand search volumes in specific locations, while Google Search can offer keyword suggestions you can target in your campaigns.

Build Buyer Personas for Your Campaign

After researching the audience and understanding who you want to target, it’s time to create buyer personas for your campaign. Buyer personas are fictional characters that represent your ideal audience members. You can create as many as necessary, but make sure that each persona is significantly different while also representing a large segment of your targets.

Create Content Based on the Buyer Personas

Finally, it’s time to create your content! For DOOH, your main two alternatives are:

Videos

Videos are by far the best performing DOOH format and it will probably be for a while. It’s versatile, powerful, and allows you to convey a message clearly to your audience. That said, quality video production is not cheap and you probably won’t get away with smartphone-recorded content like in social media. So, you need to carefully think about the content you will produce, use the resources provided by the advertiser, and create quality content for this specific purpose.

Static Ads

Static image ads may not be as powerful as video content, but they are also much more affordable and they can still produce superb results. An image that’s relevant and contains moving elements can maximize the effectiveness of your campaign. Furthermore, you’ll want to:

• Have one or more clear CTAs
• Keep text at a minimum and make sure that every word counts
• Don’t be afraid to flaunt the advertiser’s branding

3 Things to Always Keep in Mind for Your DOOH Campaigns

It doesn’t matter if you go for videos, images, or a combination of the two, you’ll need to carefully plan out your DOOH campaign if you want it to be successful. As with other digital campaigns, you’ll want to test different elements, track your performance, and make adjustments that help you get better results.

All publishers and affiliate programs are unique, so you need to consider your specific requirements in order to develop a successful DOOH campaign.

However, three of the general elements that most publishers need to consider include:

Location, Location, Location

The location of the screen displaying your ad is crucial for obvious reasons, but this goes beyond the city or street. Remember, many DOOH ads are displayed in agencies, clinics, and similar environments. Therefore, you need to be as detailed and specific as your media buying platform allows you to be. If not, you run the risk of wasting valuable impressions on locations that won’t produce any results.

Local Schedule

It’s common to include an ad schedule when you create a campaign, but remember to set your campaign in coordination with the audience’s local time. By not specifying a time, you may end up with impressions that were triggered at times when your audience is not active.

Publishing Medium

Finally, evaluate exactly where the ads are being published and, if possible, ensure that your content is only displayed in places where your audience members are likely found.

Looking for More About the Best Ad Formats? lemonads Is Here to Help

Working with the most innovative ad formats is one of the best ways to get accepted for the best affiliate programs. DOOH is evolving into one of the most effective ad formats that can successfully supplement a balanced monetization mix.

If you are interested in learning more about the different ad formats you can work with, get in touch with lemonads today and we’ll be glad to help.