All posts in Out-of-home advertising

What Factors Determine OOH Advertising Rates?

WFDOOHAR

We all know that billboard prices can vary widely, but what actually causes some billboards to be more expensive than others? There are lots of different variables that can impact OOH pricing. This post will explain what those variables are and why they matter. 

Location

An old real-estate adage states that the three things that impact property value the most are “LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.” The same goes for billboard prices. Although there are other factors that contribute to the final price of a billboard, location is certainly one of the most influential. Billboards placed in large markets tend to cost a lot more than billboards placed in smaller, more rural ones. For example, billboards in urban metropolises like New York City or San Francisco will cost considerably more than billboards in smaller markets, such as St. Louis, MO or Wichita, KS.

Format

The actual size and format of a billboard, or ad, will also be hugely influential when determining its final price. OOH advertisements generally grow more expensive as the format grows bigger. For example, a bulletin will cost more than a poster, a poster will cost more than a jr. poster, and a jr. poster will probably cost more than small format advertisements such as kiosks or benches. Additionally, it should be noted that digital formats are usually more expensive their traditional counterparts.

Circulation & Impressions

Circulation and the number of impressions that a billboard will make are two more variables used to determine the final price of a billboard. Circulation, or the amount of people who will physically pass by the board, is important because it accounts for the total amount of people that could potentially be impacted by a billboard.

Impressions, or the number of people who actually see the billboard, can impact pricing as well. Expect to pay more for ‘boards that are seen by more people.  Any factors that enhance, or limit, a billboards ability to make impressions are sure to impact the overall price of the billboard.

Demographics

Demographics refer to the type of people who will pass by a specific board, usually broken down by gender, income, age, and even education level. Advertising to a target population that possesses high buying power or considerable influence will cost more than advertising to a population that does not. For example, you’ll pay more for an ad placed in a location comprised largely of wealthy baby boomers and millennials than an ad placed in a low-income area with a high percentage of elderly individuals.

Design & Installation*

Although design and installation costs won’t vary much from location to location, factoring in the costs of these two steps into your budget is pivotal. These two steps can make a sizable impact on your overall budget so you must plan on buying a board at a reasonable price that allows for these steps to be properly executed.

Now that you know the main variables that contribute to the pricing of a billboard, hopefully, you can better understand what you are buying and ultimately plan and deliver stronger, more effective OOH campaigns.


If you want to plan a powerful out-of-home campaign think about visiting DOmedia, the host of the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, to get started today!

 


What Does Reach Mean in Advertising?

PlzReachVertThe concept of reach is simple, but there are certainly elements of it that are easy to confuse or misunderstand. This post will attempt to give you a concrete understanding of this important advertising concept by providing a solid definition of the word, as well as defining similar words and concepts that are often associated with reach.

The definition of reach is as follows:

REACH: the total number of people in a target audience’s population that are exposed to an advertisement and notice it at least once during a set period of time.

Reach can be stated as a defined figure (such as 25,000 individuals), but is often expressed as a percentage of households reached in a target area, or among a target audience’s population.

For new brands and products, reach should be an incredibly high priority. High reach allows companies to get their name and products into more consumers’ minds as they attempt to gain market share. Additionally, brands and products that are nearing the end of their useful life should attempt to achieve high reach, as they are in similar need of quality exposure among target audiences.

In addition to describing reach, it may also be beneficial to define a variety of words with similar (but different) meanings. A few of these terms and a brief description of each are listed below:

FREQUENCY: The number of times the average individual sees a particular advertising stimulus

EXPOSURE: The number of people that see, or visually receive an advertising message

Hopefully, this post has equipped you with an understanding of these concepts that will allow you to go forth and “reach” your full OOH advertising potential.


Interested in increasing your reach? Visit DOmedia, the host of the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, and start planning your next OOH campaign today!

 


What is OOH Doing Right?

DomediaNewYearSay hello to 2018! The new year is here and we at DOmedia feel it’s the perfect time to examine exactly what the OOH industry is doing right. The beginning of any new year is a great time for reflection, so this post will detail some of the impressive OOH achievements witnessed in 2017, as well as a few exciting things that the industry can look forward to as it transitions into 2018.

…and the Golden Globe goes to…The OOH industry!

Not really. The Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture actually went to Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. This award-winning film focuses on the journey of a single mom who rents space on 3 billboards in her town in an effort to draw attention to the unsolved murder of her daughter. Although this film was created to entertain and enlighten, this small town drama did more than that and managed to draw big attention to the effectiveness of OOH advertising.

Charity through OOH

OOH advertising formats were used frequently throughout the past year to aid the efforts of a wide variety of charitable causes. Any charity campaign should be considered admirable, but the charity campaigns used to raise awareness for the massive disaster relief efforts that followed Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma this year were especially notable. These campaigns made a difference in a time of intense need and further demonstrated how effective OOH advertising can truly be.

OAAA + Neilsen Reports

At the tail end of the calendar year, the OAAA announced the results of two Nielsen reports that provided insights on some important facets of OOH advertising. The first report focused on the value of poster advertisements. This study found that young adults notice posters at an incredibly high rate, and that “over half of all consumers agree that posters stand-out more than ads seen in newspapers, online, on mobile devices.”

Then the second study found that OOH advertising generates more online activations than TV, radio, print, and online banner ads when indexed against spend. Both of these reports demonstrate that OOH advertising continues to perform regardless of trends and that the industry itself is one that is destined to achieve growth.

 


History of Digital Advertising Displays

1796 | Munich, GermanyLa Gatine historique et monumentale. ... Ouvrage accompagné d'eaux-fortes et de lithographies représentant les monuments de ce pays, dessinés d'après nature et gravés par M. E. Sardoux

A man named Alois Senefelder invents a revolutionary printing process that utilizes the immiscibility (inability to mix) of oil and water to create an image. This process is dubbed lithography, and it dramatically changes the way images are produced and reproduced. The invention of this process eventually leads to the printing of the first illustrated poster and unknowingly serves as the initial genesis of the OOH industry.

1835 | New York City, United StatesRingling Brothers Ad

Jared W. Bell, a young printmaker hailing from Brooklyn, NY, produces a series of 5o ft2 ads to be used as promotional tools for the Ringling Bros. “The Great Wallace” circus shows. These prints bridge the gap between print and promotion, and mark the first documented use of conventional “billboard advertising.”

2005 → Presentdigital

Fast forward 170 years to the installation of the first digital billboard in 2005. It is at this moment that the OOH industry encounters one of its most profound innovations to date. The advent of digital billboards allows billboard companies to display numerous ads at a single location, and effectively changes the way consumers interact with OOH advertisements.

The first digital billboards to be introduced were far from the digital LED billboards of today. These first digital pioneers were often only partially digital, in an effort to save on cost, and sported low-resolution displays, offering only 34-millimeter pixel pitch. Present day digital billboards are technological works of art. They are capable of displaying images at high resolutions and can do so while being incredibly energy efficient. 

Additionally, a wide variety of digital innovations have been made since these displays became commonplace in the OOH industry. For example:

QR CodesDOmediaQR

QR codes, or quick response codes, are visual representations of encoded data that, when scanned, can display desired information or send users directly to specified online locations. Although QR codes were invented in 1994 for use in the Japanese automobile industry, their popularization didn’t really occur until the rise of smartphones. Now that virtually everyone has a QR code scanner sitting in their pocket all advertisers have to do is place a QR code within their artwork and wait for results to follow.

Interactive Media Walls

When first introduced, digital displays tended to be passive, delivering one message or ad to anyone that encountered it. However, the introduction of interactive media walls has allowed advertisers to offer more individual experiences to consumers. Through the use of monitor and projection based displays, advertisers can create memorable advertisements that allow users to select and interact with the specific offerings that interest them.


Since it’s very origins the out-of-home industry has constantly been evolving. Now DOmedia, the host to the largest database of OOH vendors in the US, is trying to push the industry forward by changing the way out-of-home media is bought and sold. Check out this link or scan the QR code above to check DOmedia out!


SSP Spotlight: Adam Malone

This is the first entry in a new series, SSP Spotlight, in which we’ll be interviewing DOmedia employees that work on the supply-side platform. We have a great team here and want to be sure you get to know each team member a little better. For our first interview, we spoke to our VP, Adam Malone.

Adam Malone

How long have you been with the company?
Eight and a half years.

What do you like most about your job?
Working with talented and passionate colleagues and customers.

What’s your best DOmemory?
I’ve loved seeing the evolution of our company – the products have gotten better, the relationships, the business models, the organizational and communication structures, etc. It’s been a fascinating journey.

How did you get into the OOH industry?
Once I crossed the DOmedia event horizon I have been unable (and unwilling) to escape!

Do you have a favorite OOH campaign? Why?
Samsung did a campaign – I believe to launch the Galaxy S6 against the current iPhone generation – that included an amazing NFC activation. The campaign included street-level and airport media in which Galaxy users could download songs or books by touching the posters. It was a brilliant branding campaign as it demonstrated a key product difference while celebrating and rewarding Samsung customers. Very well done and ahead of its time in many ways.

Before working at DOmedia, what was the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
I worked for a spring and summer at a tech start-up in Darmstadt, Germany. We were a band of interesting characters, to say the least!

What’s your favorite movie?
I’m a huge Woody Allen fan — Midnight in Paris and Vicky Christina Barcelona in particular. Godfather II is a marvel as well.

What’s your favorite band?
I love and support anything my brother Daniel does. Les Racquet and Lulu the Giant, among others.

How do you like your coffee?
Strong and often.

What is your biggest achievement to date – personal or professional?
Convincing Mary Frances Wedekind (Malone) to marry me. The coup of a lifetime for sure!

What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this?
I would have loved the challenge of working for my father. However, there is something in my marrow that needs to build things from scratch, so I suspect I would start something new with my father’s guidance and support.

Would you rather be a tiny hippopotamus or a giant ant?
I would think that a tiny hippopotamus would elicit a far more affectionate response from the fairer sex than the alternative.

What would be the title of your autobiography?
Dreamers and DOers – the unauthorized autobiography of Adam Malone.