The Power of OOH: The Ads Influencing Consumer Purchases

The average person sees hundreds to thousands of advertisements per day. The jury is still out on an exact number, with some sources estimating 4,000 while others report a number closer to 10,000. Whatever the magic number is, there’s no denying that we’re constantly being put in front of ads— whether for food and beverage, automotive, travel and entertainment, or something else.

While there are many forms of advertising, out-of-home (OOH) advertising brings a little fun and flare into the arena by stopping consumers in their tracks and encouraging them to take action.
Jennifer Ventola, director of production services at New York-based OUTFRONT Media, says OOH’s effectiveness in reach and frequency offers a unique opportunity, allowing advertisers to increase brand awareness to a larger, more specific audience via strategic ad placement.

“Traditional advertising forms do not allow for being that precise or that frequent with one ad,” she says.

"Having multiple formats and platforms for advertising allows for engagement with their chosen audience in multiple environments.”

Consumers can opt out of TV, podcast, or radio ads as they wish, and Jen Lee Almeida, chief operating officer at Pearl Media in Montclair, New Jersey, says that’s where OOH fills the gap.

“We love to say, ‘You can’t turn it off!’” she shares. “Other media formats have seen the advancement of technology such as ad-blockers, privacy acts, and the fast-forward button, but with OOH, you can’t really look away. Even the ads that maybe aren’t getting your direct attention — they’re still being seen and leaving a mark somewhere in your subconscious, influencing your brand awareness and your purchasing decisions. There’s nothing else like it!”

If that’s not enough to get print service providers (PSPs) invested in what’s happening in OOH, the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) shared some exciting numbers that further prove these points in its 2023 OAAA Annual Report¹:

→ 76% of U.S. adults took an action on their mobile device after recently seeing an OOH ad. Of those who acted, 43% made an online purchase.

→ 68% of U.S. adults notice OOH ads on their way to shop in physical store locations.

→ 61% of adults view billboard ads favorably, higher than any competitive ad media.

→ 42% say OOH ads impact their in-store purchase decisions.

With numbers like these, PSPs may want to get a grasp on the market, the offerings in this segment, and how 3D and digital elements take OOH ads to new heights.

Attention-Grabbing OOH Projects

While Ventola wouldn’t classify the OOH jobs OUTFRONT Media does as “typical,” there are common project types that come through the door that many wide-format PSPs likely already offer or can produce if they’re looking to service the OOH market.

“Our clients have a multitude of choices, both locally and nationally, to get exposure on a number of platforms between transit and outdoor locations,” she says. “They range from bulletins, posters, walls, and spectaculars, to subway, rail, and bus displays.”

While the list of printed products in this category can get long, Ventola says most clients stick with billboards and posters for off-highway locations and thoroughfares. Others opt for transit advertising like bus kings, which are the ads on the sides of buses. These can be useful when a client is looking to target specific areas on a bus route.

At Pearl Media, Almeida says the company’s most common offerings are its eye-level billboards, which are “permitted signage placements throughout urban corridors, placed at street level for the highest impact with both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.”

Some of its more innovative OOH offerings include vacant storefront conversions — turning them into interactive ad campaigns — and combining digital and static displays in popular lifestyle centers for a dynamic package.

“Our OOH placements are always positioned to capture the greatest impressions, utilizing a mix of various graphic assets to maximize impact,” Almeida adds. “Almost everyone remembers seeing a Chick-fil-A cow hanging off a roadside billboard, right? We have incorporated similar elements at street level to help reinforce that brand recognition, such as living walls (flowers/plants), mirrors, water features, tear-away stickers, and other elements. It’s a lot of fun working with the brands and creative agencies to see how
we can stretch the limits of static ad placements.”

For OUTFRONT Media, some out-of-the-box campaigns include adding custom neon or LED lighting to billboards, channel letters, inflatables, 3D props, and embellishments to standard printed vinyl.

“Something that we just did, and I am proud of, was being able to deliver on a campaign that was just as impactful using a more cost-effective approach,” Ventola explains. “The client was interested in channel letters and a 3D prop of a lightsaber. We were able to achieve that for them at less than half the cost using 2D cutouts with backlighting and an inflatable. The wow factor delivered for them while maintaining their budget constraints.”

Consumers remember OOH ads like these, which showcase what’s possible when combining standard graphic elements with fabricated pieces. While static 3D designs have been part of the OOH industry for more than 20 years, Ventola says she doesn’t expect that to change anytime soon. 3D elements have stood the test of time, especially as props and buildouts get lighter and easier to manufacture and install.

Within the 3D category, providers are pushing the boundaries of OOH even further with mixed media, and that’s where Ventola sees the most potential — combining digital billboards with 3D technology. Done successfully, imagery can appear to jump off a billboard. “The realism is almost scary, and it’s still in its early stages of design and implementation,” Ventola says. “Augmented and virtual reality have revolutionized the 3D digital space into experiential storytelling.”

Experiential marketing and storytelling are hot right now as companies look to capture the attention of their audience in new ways, and OOH is certainly a piece of that puzzle.
The Growth of Digital OOH

With the rise in all things digital, OOH is no exception. In a March 2024 news release on OOH growth², the OAAA reports that OOH advertising revenue increased 2.1% in 2023 compared to 2022 — accounting for $8.7 billion in total spending. Digital OOH (DOOH) represented 33% of that spend and grew almost 10% in 2023.

With 10% year-over-year growth, we wanted to know how DOOH stacks up against traditional/static OOH. Asking if digital OOH competes or complements traditional OOH formats, Ventola says there’s no competition. “It’s definitely its own medium and has the benefit of executing and delivering advertisements quicker than traditional OOH assets in that there is no printing time or installation time.”

Because of this flexibility, she says DOOH adds value and complements a full OOH campaign. Almeida agrees, saying Pearl Media’s portfolio of work includes a mix of both forms. Digital allows for multiple moving messages, while static OOH offers a “constant presence and the opportunity to be big and bold where digital cannot,” Almeida says. In an ideal world, they go hand in hand with a complete OOH package.

Whether only using printed graphics or adding depth with digital, 3D elements, or other custom buildout, OOH advertising offers brands the chance to get in front of their audience in powerful ways.

“There is no doubt the OOH space is seeing collective growth and progress,” Anna Bager, president and CEO of OAAA, stated in a March 2024 news release². “Increased focus on innovation and unbridled creativity continues to drive impressive growth across our industry, and we don’t see that slowing in 2024 and beyond.”

With the promise of growth of OOH advertising, graphics providers are encouraged to keep their finger on the pulse of the industry. They might uncover new revenue streams and profitable print opportunities they would have otherwise looked past.

1: https://oaaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/OAAA-2023-Annual-Report.pdf
2: https://oaaa.org/news out-of-home-advertising-continues-on-growth-trajectory-up-2-1-in-2023/