All posts in Out-of-home advertising

While it could be argued that the earliest billboards were cave paintings or even Egyptian obelisks, the genesis of the billboards we know today probably started with the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1440s. His invention gave rise to handbills, which are small paper advertisements that were often posted in public places. The first billboards! Yes, the advent of the printing press gave birth to the Renaissance, mass communication, and billboard advertising.

The next major technological advancement came in 1796, when Alois Senefelder invented the lithographic printing process. Lithography is a type of printing that allowed artists to make copies of their work without having to carve them out into plates as they had to with the printing press. Instead, they created their artwork on a plate using grease-based materials. Once the artwork was finished, it could easily be reproduced. This allowed illustrated posters to be mass produced in color for the first time.

The first modern billboard is often attributed to Jared Bell. In 1835 he created a fifty square foot color poster advertisement for The Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. This wouldn’t have been possible without lithography.

The circus posters gained popularity and billboard advertising evolved and became big business. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, billboard associations (including the OAAA) were created and best practices were established in the United States. The construction of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s created the perfect space for billboards to flourish. In fact, billboards were so plentiful on the interstate that in 1965 President Johnson signed the Highway Beautification Act. The act put certain restrictions on the sizing and spacing of billboards on the interstate. Many of these standards and regulations were the foundation for the billboard industry we know today.

Much has changed in the way billboards are created. Nowadays, billboards are generally printed on vinyl material using computers. There are also digital and interactive billboards. Billboards that are connected to the internet. We have certainly come a long way since Gutenberg.

This is the third post in our series on bus advertisements. In our first post we took a deeper look at side panel bus advertisements. Our second post was on front and back end bus advertisements. In this post we’ll be taking a look at full and half wrap options and benefits.

Full wraps are a premium bus advertisement option. Like all bus ads, they expertly target commuters, motorists, and pedestrians. Since buses travel all over cities, it’s easy to hit your intended demographic.

While they tend to be the most expensive bus ad option, they are still relatively affordable and can be made to fit most marketing budgets. The higher price is due to the fact that they yield the highest rates of retention and impact. Offering the most space over any other bus advertisement option, full wraps also have the most creative space to work with. This allows you the opportunity to create not just a moving billboard, but an out-of-home spectacle people are more likely to discuss, snap pictures of, and share on social media. Let’s take a look at the difference between full and half wraps.

FULL WRAP ADVERTISING

Just as the name implies, the bus will be fully wrapped in your advertisement. This includes front, back, and sides. Your moving two-sided billboard can’t help but turn heads and demand attention. If you’re looking for the best results bus advertisements can offer and are willing to pay for it, full wraps are the way to go.

HALF WRAP ADVERTISING

With a half wrap, one half of the bus is wrapped in your advertisement. This generally includes one full side, and half of the front and back of the bus. A half wrap is understandably less expensive than a full wrap. This allows you to save some of your marketing budget or increase exposure by purchasing additional half wraps.

Why buy billboard ads? In a world of smartphones and constant mobile connectedness, traditional billboards almost seem archaic, don’t they? They’re static! They’re silent! They’re vinyl, for pete’s sake! It’s easy to write off billboards as the advertising king of the decades long past. Being wrong is always easy.

According to the OAAA, there are currently over 158,000 traditional billboards in the United States today. Advertisers are still using billboards, but how many consumers are actually seeing them? Let’s take a look at this Arbitron Out-of-Home Advertising Report.

Arbitron Out-of-Home Advertising Report

A very high percentage of people are in fact seeing billboards. Seeing doesn’t necessarily mean engaging with. Of the people who notice billboards, how many are paying attention to them?

Arbitron Out-of-Home Advertising Report

It’s pretty clear that lots of people are seeing and engaging with billboards. This is all relevant because the same report found that almost one-third of travelers are making purchasing decisions while they are in their car and that two-thirds are making purchasing decisions while they are outside their home.

Arbitron Out-of-Home Advertising Report

The above numbers should make it obvious that billboards are invaluable to marketing campaigns. Advertisers are still buying billboards because they’re still very effective marketing tools. Instead of competing, newer technology is actually helping billboards be even more effective by utilizing location data that lets you target your demographic with billboards like never before.

Not only does technology make for more effective and targeted billboards, but research confirms that that adding billboards and other out-of-home media to your digital or mobile marketing campaign increases your reach and response rate. Too many people ask themselves if they should go with out-of-home, digital, or mobile advertising, instead of understanding how a solid campaign should effectively incorporate all three.

Why buy billboard ads? You should buy billboard ads because they’re effective marketing tools. Location data has made them even more effective. Adding them to your digital and mobile campaigns makes them most effective. The data suggests that the real question is: why wouldn’t you buy billboard ads?

This is the second entry in our series of blog posts on bus advertisements. In our first post we took a deeper look at side panel bus advertisements. In this post we’ll be taking a look at bus end advertisements.

Bus end advertisements can go on the front or back of the bus. Like with all bus advertisements, it’s easy to target your demographic with bus ends as they are seen repeatedly by motorists, commuters, and pedestrians. Who hasn’t been stuck in traffic behind a bus, left to ponder the ad for a few minutes?

Bus end advertisements come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are also cost effective, allowing you to get the most out of your marketing budget. Most bus end options are going to be cheaper than the bus side options and definitely cheaper than the full wrap options. Let’s take a look at some examples and benefits of the most common bus end options.

Taillight Bus Advertisements

Taillight bus ads go on the back of the bus, generally below the window. The low price and high impact of this ad makes it one of the most popular bus advertisements.

Mini Tail Bus Advertisements

Mini tail bus advertisements go on the back of the bus and are smaller than the taillight option. This is perfect if you’re running on a tight budget or just want to have a larger reach with a higher number of bus ads.

Back Bus Advertisements

Full back bus ads cover the entire back end of the bus. This is the top-tier bus end option, giving you the most creative space and offering the biggest impact.

Headlight Bus Advertisements

Headlight bus advertisements go on the front of the bus under the windshield. This is another low cost, high impact option that mainly targets pedestrians and motorists.

Facebook recently announced that they would begin rolling out ads in their popular Messenger app. This means that their 1.2 billion users will soon start seeing ads appearing in their Messenger home screens. What are the potential implications for out-of-home advertising and location-based mobile advertising?

Location-based mobile advertising has the opportunity to target people like never before. Imagine lingering in a store deciding if you can really afford those new shoes. You start to put them back when your phone dings and offers up a 10% off coupon. When you know someone’s location habits and brand preferences it’s easier to figure out what they’re looking for and how to get them to buy more of it. Ads can now be extremely specialized, targeted, and timed.

Another benefit to location-based mobile advertising is that it can make data easier to collect. If you’ve been sent a coupon to use in a physical store while you’re in or near that physical store, it shouldn’t be hard for that store to determine if that coupon was used or not. With other forms of advertising the exact impact of an ad can be a lot harder to measure.

Location data can also be used for more traditional out-of-home advertisements. It’s now possible to determine location-based demographics for those seeing billboards or bus ads and what their effectiveness was. For example, you see a billboard for your favorite fast food restaurant. An hour later, you’re at said fast food restaurant. Your phone knows. 

Coordinating mobile and traditional OOH is becoming increasingly essential in creating successful marketing campaigns. A recent study by the OAAA found that out of all media, OOH was the most likely to influence mobile response in consumers. Adding Facebook Messenger ads into the mix creates a whole new level of opportunity. Not only does your phone know which ads you’ve likely seen and which stores you frequent, but now it knows when and how you talk about products. Messenger already suggests specific emojis to use as a response in your chat context. Why couldn’t it offer up specific products or services in a similar context?

Currently, Messenger ads only appear in the inbox (not inside conversations) and ads use typical Facebook targeting (not written message content). However, as the relationship between traditional OOH and mobile response becomes better utilized, there should be no question that Messenger ads will eventually be made more targeted and specialized by both location and contextual data. Consumers will get more relevant ads and advertisers will get more successful ad campaigns. Everybody wins!