Back before the age of digital branding and insistent popups, OOH (out of home) advertising ruled the world of marketing. Many marks of the old age faded in the glow of led lit screens and neon boards, yet the empire of roadside hoardings and eye-catching creative designs remains unending, still significant.
“In this era of social media, the right content can literally move millions to action. An innovative example of the same was seen recently in New York by a pharmaceutical company with an OOH ad encouraging others to post their un-edited selfies on social media. The audience were asked to participate in the campaign using the given hashtag and participate in challenging the unrealistic beauty standards of digital filters. A dynamic digital billboard was placed next to a standard digital billboard with informational messages. Nowhere on the ad did the company brazenly promote their product. Yet it was a hit. Social media flooded with the supporters. A genius display of using global cultural trends and the thought process of the current generation to form a connection. Ultimately, this example of Digital OOH emphasizes a societal shift away from unrealistic beauty standards and towards celebrating raw, unfiltered beauty by combining a strong campaign with meaningful placement and interactive consumer content.”
The origins of OOH advertising can be traced back to early civilizations. One of the earliest examples can be found in the Egyptian civilization where they used stone tablets inscribed with laws to raise public awareness. OOH Advertising kept evolving with time. And in time, creative design entered the fray bringing with it an idea, and advertising became an art. The idea was to not only display the brand/product in as many places as possible, but focus on actually connecting with the audience. The modern trend in OOH ads is to not only follow the trend but also recruit the trendsetter and keep feeding people the content they would like to see. This is now done with data collection from numerous portals, surveys and analytical software. Interactive digital OOH ads are taking over the marketing world.
You see, people see plenty of sights a day, but most of it gets filtered by our brain to the recycle bin anyway. Creative design meant not only making the advert more eye-catching and striking, but personable, relatable. The idea was to evoke a feeling in the minds of people. An intent bloom to something much more in time, slowly making its way to the heart. See, you can swipe away the pop ups, you can mute away the radio but OOH ads? Whether digital or static, they are just there, in your sight, neither blockable or ignorable (if the creative design is creative enough). There are many modes of marketing now and doubtless many more will come in time but OOH ad format? It’s here to stay. Period.
