Out of Home (OOH) Advertising Examples and Ideas

If you're engaging in any kind of OOH advertising for your next advertising campaign, it's important to make sure your marketing strategy keeps OOH ad best practices in mind.

An OOH advertising campaign needs to take a lot of things into account. Who is your target audience? What kind of digital billboards are your ads going to display on? What are the ideals for text or video content?

If you're looking to get the most out of your next OOH advertising campaign, we're here to help. Here are a few best practices to help you earn attention from potential customers.

What is OOH Advertising?

Before we dive into what type of content works best for an OOH ad campaign, let's break down what OOH advertising is.

Out of home advertising, or OOH Advertising is any kind of advertising that happens in public spaces, outside of the home. The most common example of an OOH ad would be something like billboard advertising, where an OOH advertisement is placed in a high-traffic area.

Think of things like the digital advertising that happens in New York on the infamous Times Square digital billboard screens, or outdoor advertisement billboards you might see on the side of a highway driving into the city. Along with billboards, ooh ads can be found on busses, public transit, in airports and malls, inside taxis, and even displayed on street furniture. There are a ton of different options available for advertisers.

These days, a lot of OOH advertising is accomplished through digital signage. These impressive screens can display different forms of media, from static images to scrolling text, to full-on video ads, to effectively reach a consumer.

Related: How Digital Out of Home Advertising Helps Your Business Geotarget Customers

OOH Advertising Examples and Ideas

Let's explore ways advertisers can get the most out of their next OOH campaign:

Textual Content

Text-based advertising works great for OOH ads, but you do need to keep some things in mind.

When it comes to the text on your outdoor advertising sign, be brief and keep it simple. You want your sign to be read easily. The University of Michigan recommends you choose the length of your text content based on what your audience is doing when they come into contact with your sign.

For example, vehicular traffic passing a billboard ad on the side of a highway may only be able to quickly glimpse at a sign, unable to absorb a large chunk of text. In contrast, transit advertising on a subway platform or displays in a shopping mall have an audience who can spend more time absorbing the text.

You also need to keep the size of your text in mind. Consumers who view an OOH ad at a distance won't be able to see your ad if it's too small.

To find the best text size, the University of Michigan suggests you place phrases of text in a selection of different font sizes on a test screen. It’s super important to test your text ads. Get the opinion of at least a few viewers who are placed at a distance away from the screen to discover the optimum size for your design.

If you are including a slogan, graphic designer Jacob Cass says, “Work with your marketing team to brainstorm short, memorable slogans that people will take with them after they pass the billboard.”

Once you have your text, choose a font color that contrasts vividly against the background of your advertisement. Again, with outdoor ads that are often viewed quickly, it’s all about readability.

Visual Content

Visual content, whether in the form of photo images or videos, can be highly impactful.

Marketers like Jessica Gioglio note that “the human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text and 90 percent of the information transmitted to the brain is visual.” If you want a digital ooh ad to be highly impactful, striking visual content can make a huge difference. To attract attention, Jacob Cass suggests you use an “interesting picture or a familiar photo.”

If you want to explore impactful visuals, there are tons of possibilities! You can craft ads using any of the following:

• Images
• Graphics
• Simple animations
• Videos
• Infographics

Call-to-Action

When creating the actual content for your advertisement, including a solid call-to-action (CTA) can make a big difference. This is especially important if the goal of your campaign is a specific action, such as engagement with a branded account, purchasing a product, or calling a number.

Create a CTA that compels viewers to contact you, visit your website or social media accounts, or otherwise engage with your brand. This can be accomplished both with text, or with visuals.

As the CTA is an important step in getting your consumer to engage with your brand, it's important that it is eye-catching.

These are the University of Michigan’s tips to create a strong CTA:

• Use a text color that stands out against the rest of the content
• Include what your viewer needs to act: for example, contact information, if you want them to buy, or a date and place, if you’re hosting an event
• Write your CTA as a short phrase that includes a strong verb, such as “Call 000-000-0000 now for the best deal!”

In Conclusion

Creating an impactful OOH campaign to increase your brand awareness doesn't have to be complicated! A basic awareness of the text and visuals, and remembering the importance of incorporating a good CTA are key. Once you pull the elements together, you’ll have an OOH campaign that pulls in new sales and increases engagement for your organization.