When it comes time to bring client brands to the marketplace, we pride ourselves on identifying the most effective and efficient media channels to achieve established marketing objectives. Today, with so many new technologies and digital marketing strategies available, we like to surprise our clients with a tactic or two that they haven’t considered (after all, it’s kind of what we’re here for). One that might not seem all that “new” is outdoor. But, most don’t realize that the outdoor media of today is most certainly not the outdoor media of years ago. In fact, outdoor advertising, or out-of-home advertising, could be one of the most undervalued platforms – an “underdog” of the advertising arena, some might say. And who doesn’t like betting on the underdog once in a while.
Outdoor was always considered to be a more traditional form of media. But, in recent years we’ve watched it find its space in the digital world and make a strong comeback. People spend a large majority of their waking hours away from home, so it’s no surprise that out-of-home is able to drive 4x more online activity per ad dollar spent than TV, radio and print. Billboards, train station ads, bus shelter signs are all catching the attention of commuters and travelers. So much so that even the biggest digital brands – Amazon, Netflix, etc. are spending offline advertising dollars to connect with consumers where they are in the physical world (Investor’s Business Daily).
As you may have read in one of our recent blogs, we here at BCG find it easy to relate almost any experience, business or personal, to one of our all-time favorite shows. Anyone remember “The One Where Underdog Gets Away” in Season One – when Joey becomes a model for posters for the city free clinic? He’s excited to “officially” be an actor/model and expresses his hope to be featured on the Lyme disease poster, but instead he winds up on a poster for Venereal disease. The ad appears on the subway, store front windows, bus shelters, even in Times Square. He can’t escape it – he gets mysteriously rejected by a girl who initially seems interested, he gets disinvited to his family’s Thanksgiving dinner because they think he’s infected and, of course, he’s ridiculed by his friends.
Fast forward nearly 24 years (yep, you read that right!) to a time when brands and marketers have the ability to merge the physical and digital worlds of consumers. No matter how you shake it, billboards are still eye-catching. Use digital out-of-home and mobile data to detect who sees that billboard as well as when and where they see it, and what you have is a comprehensive view of the consumer and a more informed campaign. Flexible options make it much easier to incorporate OOH media into your strategy, allowing for a seamless integration of outdoor and online media without breaking the bank. Entrepreneur suggests that to make billboards work today, marketers should “digitize outdoor ads with dynamic copy, interactive elements and location-specific content to infuse modern effectiveness into a classic medium.”
If you’re looking to drive more people to your website, to a physical location, or to create the next social media hit with shareable visuals, it’s time to learn how outdoor can work for you. We can help, contact us today. And, until next time… never underestimate the Underdog!
With the right strategy, brilliant ideas can be created and results can be achieved. At Barcelona Creative Group, we create the right messages and determine the most effective channels to present your brand to the marketplace.