Out-of-home advertising is any form of advertising that targets consumers outside of their homes or offices. It does not include print, broadcast or online advertising, which may be viewed outside of the home but are more typically experienced in consumers’ homes or offices. Out of home advertising seeks to reach consumers while they are on the go, such as during their commutes, while in transit, while waiting in line somewhere, and so on.
Why Out-of-Home When consumers are in their homes or offices, they are typically engaged in some type of activity. They may be eating, sleeping, reading, etcetera. Even when they are watching television, reading a magazine or using the Internet consumers are busy doing something. When traditional forms of advertising interrupt whatever it is that the consumer is engaged in, the consumer tends to feel disrupted and generally wants to get back to the content they were taken away from.
Technologies such as Digital Video Recorders allow the consumer to skip over advertising messages. Even when the consumer stays engaged while experiencing the ad, their attitude may not receptive to the message because of its intrusion. In the case of out-of-home advertising, however, consumers may be sitting on a train or bus, stuck in traffic, or waiting in line at the doctor’s office. Generally, they are in transition and their mind may not be engaged in any form of content consumption. In this case, many consumers welcome the visual “entertainment” of out-of-home advertisements such as funny billboards or other types of interesting ads to look at. Digital forms of this kind of advertising consist of digital signage, that is, LCD , LED, plasma displays or projected images that deliver advertisements.
Digital advertisements are more likely to attract and keep the attention of consimers on the go. They are more likely to be entertaining or interesting to consumers than any printed type of out-of-home-advertisement. For this and various other reasons, studies have shown that digital out-of-home advertising provides a greater ROI than non-digital forms.
Dynamic vs. Static Digital signage offers the distinct benefit of being dynamic instead of static. This means that the message can be changed more easily and frequently, videos and animations can be displayed, and the signs can adapt to the circumstances and audience. In some cases, this type of advertising can even work interactively by using cell phones to post SMS messages on the digital signs or Bluetooth technology to interact directly with what they see on the screen.
The Wave of the Future Simply put, digital signage is more interesting, more effective and more flexible than traditional out-of-home advertising. The decreasing cost of LCD and plasma screens has made digital forms of advertising more accessible and more cost-effective. New technologies such as DVR make it easier for consumers to skip over traditional forms of advertising. Out-of home advertising offers an adequate solution. Content, however, must be fresh, engaging and highly targeted to be effective. In this way, digital out-of-home advertising can be more challenging to advertisers.