In today’s diversified media landscape, out-of-home (OOH) advertising remains one of the few channels capable of combining visibility, trust, and widespread reach. While the advertising industry has evolved far beyond static lawn signage and highway bulletins, each OOH format offers its own unique and strategic advantages depending on a campaign’s objectives and timing.
For advertisers and media buyers, knowing how and when to deploy the right OOH format is a critical piece to maximize ROI and ensure campaigns are reaching valuable demographics with precise relevance. Let’s take a look at the OOH topline and which scenarios allow for top performance.
- Billboards
- Why they work: They are the foundation of OOH, delivering massive scale and visibility on a 24/7 time frame, day and night.
- Best for: National awareness campaigns, dominating a given region, and for brands seeking to deeply penetrate their markets.
- Strategic tip: Static billboards are great for brand recall as their long-term messaging is repeatedly seen by onlookers and commuters.
- Digital Billboards (DOOH)
- Why they work: DOOH is dynamic and can be swapped with a multitude of creatives, even capable of shifting based on traffic flow and local weather.
- Best for: Promotions that require heavy urgency and when showcasing multiple products.
- Strategic tip: Pair DOOH with mobile ads, allowing the display to set the foundation while bringing the message straight to your audience’s mobile phones, wherever they go.
- Transit Advertising
- Why they work: Transit ads reach audiences all across cities and demographics that are constantly in motion through ads on buses, trains, subways, and transit shelters.
- Best for: Brands targeting students, daily travelers, and commuters in dense urban and metro areas.
- Strategic tip: This form of advertising builds recall as commuters encounter the same ads multiple times per week.
- Street Furniture
- Why they work: This form of OOH allows for deep local penetration through bus shelters, benches, kiosks, and even bike stations. Local communities offer immense visibility to these highly visible formats.
- Best for: Local businesses, new shop openings, and campaigns focused within a given community.
- Strategic tip: Ensure your visuals are captivating, and coupled with a powerful call-to-action, these forms benefit from increased dwell times.
- Airport Advertising
- Why they work: Travelers are captive to their environment and spend a prolonged amount of time in terminals, lounges, and at key decision-making points.
- Best for: Luxury brands, tourist-friendly companies, and the hospitality industry, all enhancing a traveler’s experience.
- Strategic tip: Place your ad in key points such as terminals, security lines, and cafes that have individuals dwelling for long periods.
- Mall & Retail Advertising
- Why they work: Malls are full of shoppers already in a purchasing mindset. This form of ad media is conversion-focused and reaches consumers in key decision-making moments.
- Best for: Seasonal retail promotions, fashion and beauty brands, and in-store food and beverage brands.
- Strategic tip: Placing OOH in mall food courts and entertainment access audiences in areas where they are sitting and standing for long periods of time, opening them to the opportunity of captively ingesting your message.
- Murals & Wallscapes
- Why they work: Murals and wallscapes create cultural and local interest as they take over huge buildings, while doubling as an artistic statement as well as advertising.
- Best for: Brand launches, unique lifestyle campaigns, and advertisers looking for social media virality.
- Strategic tip: Align your message with urban audiences and younger demographics, as this will make up most of the viewers.
- Taxi Toppers & Rideshare Media
- Why they work: Mobile ads such as these deliver constant visibility and are accessing new audiences through a given city in a single day.
- Best for: Quick-service brands, nightlife, and entertainment brands.
- Strategic tip: Invest in digital rideshare media as it is most visually attractive, can cut through the noise, and allows your message to shine.
- Event-Based OOH
- Why they work: Festivals, concerts, sporting events, and local events concentrate audiences in hotspots that allow for cultural moments to be made.
- Best for: Product launches, brands looking to tap into local communities, and activations that are specific to a given event.
- Strategic tip: Ensure you’re utilizing QR codes and call to actions, as these high-engagement audiences are ready to interact with their environment anyway they can.
- EV Charging Displays
- Why they work: As EV usage rises, charging stations are becoming more and more prevalent, offering long dwell times and premium audiences.
- Best for: Automotive brands, tech, energy, and lifestyle companies looking to target eco-conscious consumers.
- Strategic tip: Keep your ads dynamic and constantly shifting; these audiences are in prolonged dwell time environments with ample opportunity to view several messages.
