Are you considering Out-of-Home (OOH) for your next advertising campaign? You may think, “Sure, OOH is great for brand awareness, but it doesn’t drive actions like online and other marketing channels do.”

Out-of-Home Advertising has a massive reach. It can do much more than build brand affinity and awareness. It can reach audiences through all marketing funnel stages and drive real-world actions. According to OAAA and Morning Consult’s March 2023 OOH Ad study, 78% of audiences took action after seeing an outdoor ad. 

In this article, you will learn what actions audiences take after seeing an OOH ad. You will learn how to position your OOH ads to encourage audiences to follow through on your CTA. 

Here are common actions viewers take after seeing an outdoor advertisement:

OOH Drives Search Engine Queries

Search engines are used every day by millions of people to find answers to questions or to learn more about a subject. According to a recent study, 44% of audiences who take action after seeing an OOH ad use a search engine, such as Google, to find more information about a brand. Nearly half of those who took action after seeing an OOH campaign went to their preferred search engine to look up more information about a brand. 

How to Encourage Search Engine Queries through your OOH: Include your company’s name in your outdoor advertisement to make it easily searchable. You could also consider using a specific campaign message linked to an SEO-optimized landing page. Implementing these measures can make you more likely to drive search engine traffic to your website through OOH. 

OOH Drives Social Media Visits

Social media presence is crucial for most brands. In the study, 29% of audiences who take action after seeing an OOH ad look up that brand on social media. Many audiences spend much of their time on social media. Unusual activations, unique creative images, or compelling messaging encourage people to take pictures and share them on social media. Integrating these two marketing streams amplifies the effectiveness of your campaign.

How to Encourage Social Media through your OOH: Include your brand’s social media handle or a campaign-specific hashtag. This will increase the likelihood that OOH audiences engage with your social media accounts. Create an unusual or immersive experience through advertising to amplify your brand’s OOH impact through social media shares, likes, and follows. This can extend the life of your advertisement past its flight dates.  

OOH Drives Website Visits

Websites allow advertisers to share their brand’s message, connect with their brand, and buy products or services. Of those who responded to an OOH ad, 29% visited the advertised brand’s website. This means the advertisement piqued their interest enough to research more about a brand rather than simply researching a product or service. 

How to Encourage Website Visitation through your OOH: Include your brand’s website address in your creative. If you are using a high dwell time format, it may make sense to have a QR code so audiences can quickly go to a landing page specific to your campaign. This will help you further determine the effectiveness of your outdoor campaign.

OOH Drives Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth can be a great way to amplify your OOH campaigns and reach more of your target audience. It is not as measurable as some other actions viewers may take but is still effective at increasing brand awareness. 21% of audiences were excited enough about an OOH ad to tell their friends and family about the campaign. 

How to Encourage Word of Mouth through your OOH: Unusual activations, such as experiential advertising, immersive experiences, or 3D executions, surprise and excite potential customers. It encourages them to share the experience with others. 

OOH Drives In-Person Visits

Out-of-Home campaigns can reach audiences when they are out and about and primed for shopping or dining. Nearly a quarter (24% restaurant, 23% store) visited a physical location in response to an OOH ad.

How to Encourage In-Person Visits through your OOH: Timely OOH campaigns strategically placed along a restaurant or store’s path can encourage audiences to go to that venue and make a purchase.

 OOH Audiences Watched a Television Program, Tuned into a Radio Station, or Watched a Movie in Theaters

Entertainment advertisements can personalize that brand or program to a viewer. It makes them curious to learn more. 41% of those polled watched a television program, 28% tuned into a radio station, and 22% watched a movie in theaters because of an OOH advertisement. 

How to Encourage Entertainment Views through your OOH: Make advertisements for entertainment exciting and memorable. Include information on where they can tune in to your show. Follow OOH design best practices and ensure the brand name is written large enough for people to read. This will help audiences to find your brand and engage. 

 Drive Real-World Actions Through OOH with Billups

OOH has the ability to not only build brand awareness but to get viewers to take action on your brand. Our advanced planning software at Billups helps us find the best placements for your campaign goals and budget. We can measure real-world results through our detailed attribution studies. Reach out to learn more about how we can help your OOH campaigns be more effective.