68% of consumers claim their purchasing decisions are made while in the car or walking around on the street. Is your business or brand taking advantage of this? Unlike ads we see every single day on our phones, outdoor media is an “experience it in real life” kind of luxury for a business. This makes your ad different from the typical one seen daily on all platforms. Outdoor media can help shape your business by presenting your service in a unique fashion that in-home and digital marketing just cannot. But what is outdoor media exactly?

Let’s Define: What is Outdoor Media?

Outdoor media is any kind of advertising that directly reaches consumers specifically when they are not at home. Made to grab peoples’ attention when out and about. This form of media also goes by OOH (Out-of-Home) advertising. It is a common standard for advertising to the general public.

Forms of outdoor media include:

  • Billboard
  • Posters
  • Point of Sale Displays
  • Transit Advertising
  • Guerrilla Advertising
  • Street Furniture

outdoor billboard media

Types of Outdoor Media You See Everyday

Having a little more understanding of what outdoor media really is, let’s look a little closer at the kinds of outdoor media you see in your everyday life.

Billboards

Billboards are an extremely popular and well-recognized form of outdoor media. About 71% of consumers will encounter these kinds of ads.

Billboards are big and bold and make a grand statement. You can usually see these in big city streets and along busy highways.

Billboards are ideal for a company who wants to be more present within a community and wants people to be aware of their services.

Posters

Posters are similar to billboards in function, but they are also much smaller. This allows your ad to focus closer to a local audience.

Posters being smaller in size allows for you to print in mass bulk when targeting multiple areas with your brand. Posters are typically seen by both drivers and passersby with a focus of being placed in a central area.

Point Of Sale Displays

Point-of-Sale displays can be various advertisements aimed at consumers who may feel a bit impulsive towards the end of their shopping session while waiting in line.

The most important thing that you should remember is to have something unique and effective that suddenly draws in the attention of the buyer. These kinds of products can be: stickers, signs, posters, spinners, etc. Just think about attention grabbing.

Transit Advertising

Transit advertisements will normally be seen on buses, taxis, subway stations, and trains. These kinds of outdoor ads are targeted towards marketing to consumers, tourists, and commuters on the go.

Transit advertisements take a less or more attitude to marketing. Since your target audience is typically on the go, you’ll want to share yourself with them without overwhelming them with too much on-the-go information.

Guerrilla Advertising

Guerrilla advertising uses a “shock and awe” marketing idea in which a business uses surprise/random interactions with the public to promote their company’s service/product.

The guerrilla style of advertising typically keeps costs low and uses interactions to spread viral social media messages.

Street Furniture

Street furniture advertising can target the residents of specific neighborhoods, providing unique media opportunities to showcase local vendors. They also have an added value of being relatively inexpensive.

Street furniture sits placed at eye level which catches the eye of a lot of foot traffic.  Best opportunities for using street furniture advertising are bus/park benches, traffic lights, etc.

pros of using outdoor media

Pros of Using Outdoor Media

Cost-Friendly

It is pretty affordable when comparing it to other forms of business media. Advertising on a bench, bus, or billboard can create positive customer reactions to your business for a relatively low cost.

Immediate Impact

Outdoor media has an immediate impact. Say a customer is looking for a product like what you have to offer, if that person sees your ad, it will become immediately impactful for you and the customer.

Greater Chance For Impulse Buying

Much like having food by the check-out of a store, it fuels a need for instant gratification and impulse buying.

Outdoor media triggers a potential consumer to buy what you are offering simply because they need it.

Cons of Using Outdoor Media

Success Not Guaranteed

You can place your ad out in a highly populated area of town and still gain no new customers. Putting up some outdoor media doesn’t automatically make your service or product appealing.

Potential Consumers May Not Remember Your Info

TV and radio advertisements have the fortunate benefit of being able to repeat themselves throughout the ad. Outdoor media doesn’t have such a convenience.

Some outdoor media get seen for only a few seconds by any one person. Things are harder to remember when only given a matter of seconds.

Vandalism

Knowing exactly what your ad will look like on TV, the internet, or radio; Outdoor media can become another matter completely.

With outdoor media, vandalism can happen at any time. This could mean you eventually need to consistently monitor the ad for maximum value in your marketing campaign.

advertising sign

bMedia: The Experts in Outdoor Media

As a leading local media business, bMedia’s goal is to provide an advertising vehicle which gets your message through to your target market. To solidify your brand image and increase your overall sales through quality, innovation, impact, and distinct services.

bMedia Group will provide you with strategists and best practices, as you work hand-in-hand through measurable and effective business solutions. As a technology driven company, bMedia thrives to provide innovation.