Outdoor advertising for business – What are the benefits?

Key takeaways

1. Outdoor advertising promotes goods and services outside of homes, mostly on the streets and along the roads.
2. It is also called out-of-home advertising.
3. One advantage of outdoor adverts is high visibility. People and motorists often view them without being compelled by anyone.
4. Read on to understand various forms of outdoor advertising including signage and billboards, and how you to use them to grow your business.
5. Also, learn vital tips in outdoor advert design for high-quality ads to ensure maximum reach for your brand/business.

Types of outdoor advertising

1. Outdoor advertising is largely represented by huge static billboards along major highways and busy city streets.
2. Outdoor advertising, however, exists in many different ways as discussed below.
3. Selecting the right out-of-home advertising strategy follows an evaluation of how big your business is (scale), which in turn dictates the advert you can afford.
4. The following are the types of outdoor advertising:

• • 1. Static billboards/regular billboards
    2. Outdoor signage
    3. Sky sign billboards
    4. Street light advertising
    5. Bus shelter advertising
    6. Iconic backlit billboards
    7. Iconic billboard
    8. Multidirectional signs
    9. Scrolling signs
    10. Outdoor advertising balloons (Sky balloons)
    11. Posters to reach mostly pedestrians and motorists
    12. Point of purchase advertising

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Benefits of out-of-home advertising (Outdoor advertising advantages)

1. Outdoor adverts especially billboards are highly visible. People and motorists view them without being compelled by anyone.
2. People are generally comfortable with outdoor advertising as it does not intrude on privacy.
3. Out-of-home advertising is very effective at catching the attention and imagination of the masses.
4. The sheer attraction of the product images on the advert can entice potential customers to reach out to your business.
5. Outdoor advertising provides maximum brand exposure owing to the imposing nature of billboards
6. Outdoor advertising provides round-the-clock publicity for your brand.

Outdoor advertising services available in Kenya

Kenya has several advertising agencies offering various services.

Top 10 outdoor advertising companies in Kenya

1. Magnate ventures
2. Ikon Prints Media
3. Consumer Link Limited
4. Base one Media
5. Alliance Media
6. Pelican Signs
7. Look Media
8. Tangerine Investments
9. Ad Site limited
10. Backlite Media

Types of outdoor advertising for businesses and brands

A. Static billboards/regular billboards

1. Static billboards are large outdoor advertising structures that carry huge banners with attractive pictures and texts.
2. They are usually installed in high-traffic areas like roads, highways, and busy streets.
3. Static billboards are very effective in creating awareness because their size easily gets them visibility and attention.
4. Your brand can be spotted by many people for the first time through the billboards.

B. Outdoor signage

1. Signages are labels or pieces of branding that are placed on different structures such as stadiums, airplanes, highways, petrol and service stations, windows, airports, bus terminus, etc.
2. The most popular forms of signage are LED and 3D signs.
3. These are the favorites for small shops, malls, and other commercial buildings.

C. Sky sign billboards

1. Sky signs refer to large advertising structures that are installed on top of buildings, especially skyscrapers.
2. Sky signs are usually placed just above or at the same level as the roof.
3. Sky signs are visible from afar, and are major decorators for city skylines.
4. They glow in the dark, announcing the city with your brand at the front.
5. From the rooftops of tall buildings, your brand benefits from maximum visibility from kilometers away.

D. Iconic backlit billboards

1. Iconic backlit billboards are special billboards that are illuminated with background lights.
2. Like TV screens, they are lit all around and emit some light out in the open.
3. The aim is to make your brand highly visible in the dark on large display panels.
4. Their bright light makes them stand out in dark areas giving your brand high visibility and attention from passers-by.

E. Multidirectional signs

1. Multi-directional signs are structures built for business to display their names and services.
2. One structure with multi-directional signs can be used by businesses or brands located along the same road, street, avenue, or compound.
3. You can easily spot these signs along road junctions and busy streets.
4. Pedestrians can get quick information about your business’ existence in that location and what it does.
5. If you run your business in a shopping mall or plaza, for instance, you should seriously consider pinning your business name on the signs.
6. This helps both familiar and new customers to easily find you.

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F. Scrolling signs

1. Scrolling signs are arguably the latest form of outdoor advertising especially in high traffic busy urban areas.
2. Adverts are made to scroll in a slide-show manner on a digital screen.
3. These signs are usually placed in strategic areas such as near resting parks, trash bins, termini, and other areas frequented by people.

G. Iconic billboards

Iconic billboards are extra-large structures bigger than static billboards.

They are the highest rewarding form of advertising, giving your brand/business instant attention from passers-by.

Placed at strategic outdoor locations, iconic billboards are effective platforms for product awareness and promotion.

H. Outdoor advertising balloons (Sky balloons)

1. These are special balloons usually found in shop entrances to attract customers.
2. They usually have brand logos printed on them with catchy messages to draw customers to the shops.
3. While Sky balloons often appear just next to product displays, they are sometimes airborne above recreational parks or city squares.
4. The aim is to attract the attention of those flocking to these areas mostly to have a good time.
5. Sky balloons offer your brand an opportunity to join the fanfare and get much-needed attention from these collective audiences.

I. Point of purchase advertising

1. Point of purchase is a marketing communication strategy also known as Point of Sale.
2. They are advertising messages used for sales promotion to keep loyal and purchasing customers informed about a brand, product, or service.
3. Point of sale messages are well-designed stickers usually wrapped around product shelves in supermarkets and shop counters.
4. Point-of-purchase adverts serve as quality reminders and reinforce your product as the brand of choice.

Disadvantages of outdoor advertising

While out-of-home advertising gives your brand an edge in visibility, it has several limitations:

1. Outdoor banners and billboards are at risk of being vandalized by petty criminals and malicious individuals.
2. Billboards can also be affected by extreme weather such as strong winds. Strong weather can take entire or parts of the billboard down affecting visibility.
3. Billboards are mostly effective for visibility but cannot facilitate engagement with the public.
4. It is nearly impossible to get direct feedback about the advert and the products featured in it.
5. Social media marketing outshines outdoor advertising in this regard, as it is possible to read and reply to comments and monitor other forms of engagement e.g. Likes.
6. It is also difficult to track the groups targeted by the ad to measure effectiveness.

Outdoor advertising design

From billboards to shop signages, outdoor advertising design is meant to be captivating to the eye and communicate as fast as possible.

Outdoor advertising design best practices

1. Have a clear objective. It could be announcing a special offer, announcing your product, or directing people to you.
2. The brand name should be very prominent in the ad and easy to see/read from afar.
3. Keep your message short. Less than 10 simple-to-understand words are ideal.
4. Use simple fonts with big font sizes to maximum legibility. Your words should have contrasting colors to the background and surrounding banner elements, to make them stand out.
5. Bold non-serif fonts are most appropriate for good readability.
6. Stick to one idea, the one message you want your audience to grasp. Mixed messages often bring confusion, given most people have a few seconds to look at your advert.
7. Pick one appropriate image to go with your message. A well-chosen and edited picture can compel viewers to look into your product or service.

Also read: What is web banner advertising and how does it work? – all you need to know

Features of outdoor advertising

What does an outdoor advert contain?

Out-of-home adverts usually have:

1. A logo with the brand name
2. A short message
3. A captivating picture
4. A smaller band of contact information is placed at the bottom of the advert.

Conclusion

Outdoor advertising is the perfect way to get the word out about your brand and business. It offers endless opportunities to explore, from iconic billboards to posters and sky balloons.

The numerous choices available allow small and large businesses to pick one or a combination of strategies to display themselves to the masses.

Adhering to the budget, and continuous testing for efficiency are key to running a successful out-of-home advertising campaign.

Despite challenges like vandalism and extreme weather, outdoor advertising has retained its place as the oldest and most effective way of advertising.