Ever wondered how billboards first arose?
Take the Times Square or Piccadilly of old, for example, the vibrant advertising, the twinkling lights, these images not only establish the brands and products that are being promoted, they stamp an iconic identity on a city landmark.
These types of advertising all belong to a brand of advertising known as Out-of-Home (OOH). Out-of-Home is perhaps the eldest form of advertising excluding the traditional word-of-mouth promotion of goods and services.
But what is the history behind the brightly coloured billboards, the posters, and the neon signs?
Like most things, OOH can be traced back to Ancient Egypt and in particular ancient markets where signs were plastered up to walls to advertise wares.
OOH advertising is not only restricted to billboards. You may recall seeing rows of posters on underground transit system terminals, signs on buses and trains, airplanes with trailing advertising slogans, or the most recent three-dimensional digital displays that appear to leap out from buildings.
OOH is now perhaps more powerful and relevant than ever, mainly because of its ability to surround and immerse consumers who spend the majority of their day outdoors.
Of course, many marketeers are busily building social media campaigns that transmit directly in people’s palms via their handheld devices, but a current trend seems to move away from these invasive campaigns and towards the simplicity of a good iconic printed poster, sticker, brochure, or a strategically placed billboard with a striking image. Consumers find OOH a less aggressive form of marketing.
There are many benefits to using OOH advertising to promote a product or service. One of the main benefits is that OOH advertising is highly visible and can be seen by a large number of people.
This is because billboards and other OOH advertising formats are often placed in high-traffic areas where they are easily visible to drivers and pedestrians.
Also, the production of materials used in OOH is inline with an affordable advertising campaign. Printing in Perth or in other major Australian cities can be done affordably and often beats expensive digital social media campaigns that bear little fruit.
OOH media is often more durable too. Posters and stickers can remain visible for years, or even decades, while a social media post will disappear and become forgotten after a number of hours.
Another benefit of OOH advertising is that it is not affected by ad blockers or other forms of ad-blocking technology. Customers can’t pay to not see OOM. This results in advertisers’ certainty that their message will be seen by potential customers.
Lastly, OOH advertising is a highly creative medium that allows us to use bold graphics, bright colours, and other eye-catching creative elements to hold the attention of pedestrians. This can be particularly effective in crowded urban environments where consumers are bombarded with monotonous advertising messages on a regular basis on their telephones.