STOPPING POWER!
Bold. Eye-Catching! Attention Getting.
There are few rivals to the SHOWSTOPPING POWER of a great visual message.
Outdoor advertising historically has relied on sheer size to command attention.
Oversize hand-painted boards that measured 10' X 44' or as big as 14' X 48' were icons along major highway arteries. They supported and in some cases, supplanted television advertising for many clients.
Most offered a clear sightline and landscape dominance which resulted in nearly exclusive presence to vehicular eyeballs.
As technology evolved, and printing quality improved, the long term hand painted boards gave way to paper posters which could more readily be installed and removed. This allows you, as an advertiser, the opportunity to 'Play Outside' as printing costs were cheaper and posting flights could be shorter.
While cities and municipalities enjoyed their tax percentages of this outdoor boom, it led to a cluttered landscape which many cities felt devalued the hometown pride.
Tighter build restrictions compelled incumbent and new Outdoor suppliers to revamp their offerings to be more aesthetic, more harmonious with their environment and more responsible land use in both rural and urban settings.
When you're ready to take your message in a new direction, Outdoor Media offers you a huge buffet of choices.
Differing formats. Vibrant Colour reproduction. Special 'Snipes' (extensions beyond regular borders), add panache and memorability.
There remains a tremendous amount of versatility when you use Outdoor advertising.
Importantly, Outdoor can be used in isolation or in tandem with other media.
• One option might be to use an Outdoor Poster campaign, coupled with Television. This has been used by numerous advertisers who have extended the visual of their TV message to Outdoors for reinforcement to the broadcast campaign.
• Sometimes a combination of vertical and horizontal messages work well as complements to each other. This happens in the case where you combine Transit Shelters and Horizontal Posters to continue a theme or style but have to adjust by market for the respective availabilities of different formats.
• As part of a grander campaign, depending on your budget, the audio portion is satisfied through a strong Radio campaign which allows you to target specific listeners based on radio station format. This is a great platform to then introduce Outdoor Horizontal Posters, in conjunction with Transit Shelters, and perhaps magazines or On-Line ads to create multiple touch points that your customer can relate to.
An eye-popping visual with a crisp, 'Bang-On' creative message can resonate with the customer long after other media have run their course.
If you can distill your message to fit within space limits in Outdoor, then you've struck gold.
Additionally, there is excellent geographic targetability with Outdoor. Your message can be refined to be as specific as a neighbourhood, or as extensive as a multi-market Launch Weight campaign.
As with every media option, the naysayers will dismiss Outdoor advertising as being ineffective due to being stationary, but there will always be limitations to each media chosen.
While a case can be made for the restrictions of a stagnant board or poster, the power of a properly placed Outdoor sign can drive the message home as your customers are driving home.
Vehicular visibility is paramount as consumers are creatures of habit. We take the same route to and from work, school, the gym, the sporting arenas etc., so the repetition to build awareness and be top of mind is built in to the posters' geographic placement.
For the advertiser who fears too much exposure to the same audience is detrimental, they can take comfort in knowing that locations are typically rotated every four weeks to ensure equity among advertisers and freshness of message across different neighbourhoods of each city.
As much as there is uniformity among poster companies for parallel specifications in their sizes, which helps defray production costs, there is diversity from market to market in the Outdoor offerings.
If you've done advertising for yourself or clients already, then some of these choices may be familiar to you. If not, then we're glad to share a sampling of the the vast buffet of choices you can make when taking your campaign outdoors.
• Superboards ( horizontal signage at 10' X 44' or 14' X 48' ( and depending on the market, some specialty signs can be double this size)
• Horizontal Paper Posters (10' X 20')
• Transit Shelters ( also known as TSA's) 4' X 6' and usually Backlit for enhanced visibility
• Scrolling Transit Shelters - perhaps a dozen advertisers on a continuous scroll in sequence like a window shade
• You can also take advantage of signage in Bus and Subway and Airport terminals
• Vinyl Wraps around buses or trucks, or on the side of tractor trailers
• Taxi Tops feature triangular faces for advertising
• Signage in washrooms and fitness change rooms
• Exterior Buses with signage on the side or the back of the bus
• Creative graphics have found their way on to Rickshaws and eco-friendly vehicles
• Mall Posters- a sister to Transit Shelters are a very popular option
• Elevator ads - TV screens inside and decaled doors outside
These may provide a few ideas for some future choices for you. If you are ever challenged in your advertising to think Outside the Box...Just think Outdoors.
