Digital out-of-home: new forms of outdoor marketing

When people think of modern forms of advertising, they usually think directly of online advertising, social media or other digital forms of marketing. Outdoor advertising or out-of-home marketing is usually forgotten. However, digitalization is also advancing here and out-of-home no longer means billboards and advertising pillars in most cases. To see digital out-of-home marketing, you no longer have to go to Times Square in New York, but can already find more displays than printed posters in your own city. Whether at the train station, in the shopping center or on the way to work, the ads are flashing at you in many places.

Developments in the out-of-home sector

In recent years, outdoor marketing has become an increasingly strong channel in the advertising world. While other traditional forms of advertising such as the newspaper market are on the decline, ways have been found in out-of-home to keep this form of advertising current and attractive. Outdoor forms of advertising are often criticized for being difficult to measure, for having a diffuse target group and for causing too much wastage. In recent years, therefore, ways have been developed to counteract these problems and create effective out-of-home opportunities.

Trends in outdoor marketing

Individual contents

Although targeting and individualization are more difficult to implement in public spaces than online or on social media, it is still possible to create a more individual experience. Current trends show that out-of-home ads can be adapted to the weather or time of day, for example, and therefore attract significantly more attention from viewers. In addition, the content can be perfectly matched to the location of the ad. Even if targeting in the narrower sense is not possible, you can select specific locations and times of day that correspond to your own target group. For example, if you offer services for students, display locations at universities and their bus stops are particularly successful.

Omni-channel marketing

Out-of-home marketing also offers a good opportunity to expand your omni-channel strategy and achieve even greater awareness. It has been proven that a higher number of contact points with a product or brand means that it is more likely to be purchased and rated positively. A good marketing presence therefore not only leads to greater awareness, but also to greater potential sales. Outdoor marketing offers the opportunity to reach a large number of people in their everyday lives and place the brand name or a product with little effort and cost.

Interactive forms of advertising

Interactive forms of advertising are an effective way of getting more people to see the ad and even interact with it. It is possible for the viewer to connect with Bluetooth and thus control or call up content in the ad. It is also possible to use cameras and image recognition. This allows the viewer to control the content with their gestures or to be in the displayed content themselves as a photo or live recording. This means that simple forms of virtual reality can also be made possible.

Ultimately, a creative digital outdoor display helps to increase awareness and attract the attention of viewers. Through skillful storytelling and/or interactive possibilities, you can stand out from the crowd and remain in the customer's memory.