Last month I focused on the importance of getting to know potential customers by literally being “yourself ”. In flesh and blood. Using face-to-face interactions to get you or your business’ brand noticed by attending industry seminars, speaking or volunteering at professional events, to name some other methods. Do whatever it takes to get out there and get noticed.
Now I know it’s not for the faint of heart but as I will reiterate, you reflect your business. And you are your own brand. So maybe work on becoming an extrovert and tell the world about your brand. If you’re terrified at first, engage with folks on social media. Start or engage in discussions. There are several platforms out there at your disposal to share your knowledge and espouse your expertise. You could always slap your face on the side of a billboard and promote yourself that way? Not so fast.
This brings me to this month’s topic: OOH. Now what is OOH and what does it stand for? It stands for Out-Of-Home, also known as “outdoor” or any advertising you’d find outside your home. It’s a great way to reach audiences who congregate in high traffic areas such as shopping malls, transit platforms, busy intersections, office tower elevators, etc.
Last month I attended a breakfast meeting hosted by Pattison Outdoor who are Canada’s leading OOH advertising company. You may have noticed the “PATTISON” name below many billboards you find on your way to work downtown. They are Canada’s leading OOH advertising company.
It was a presentation on how OOH is doing post Covid. My gut was telling me that OOH was a medium that was going the way of the Canucks’ chances of winning the Stanley Cup. However, I was quite surprised to learn the opposite. In fact, thanks to Covid, there has been a resurgence in media spending on OOH. People are venturing out from their homes and are more mobile. This presents a great opportunity for brands to gain awareness aside from traditional means. Besides the obvious, there are also unconventional OOH ways to advertise: hoarding, floor decals, guerilla, cooler displays, bus benches to name a few. And a huge surprise, data suggests that OOH outperforms social media due to its more trustworthy perception versus social media ads which are perceived as disruptive.
Unlike traditional mediums such as television, newspaper, magazine, and radio, which are down from a media spend standpoint, digital and OOH media spend continues to increase. Some of the reasons are because transit ridership is up, and commute times and distances have increased since more folks are commuting to downtown from rurban/rural areas.
One main caveat to using OOH in your marketing is that, to me, it is the most challenging of mediums to develop creative (I discussed how to create a billboard in a previous article – October 2022). Hire a professional or you’ll be wasting lots of $$$$$.
Keep an eye out for eye-catching OOH on your way to work or play.
Cheers, mark.
