Creating an effective outdoor advertising campaign with limited budget and resources can be challenging for small to medium sized businesses.

So, how do you ensure your outdoor advertising campaign is a success?

The first step to a successful campaign is to identify all the outdoor marketing platforms available to you. These include:

• Roundabout
• Airport
• Lamp-post banners
• Welcome signs
• Taxi
• Billboard
• Bus
• Train

Deciding on the most suitable platform can be a complex process. Campaign lengths, media buying processes and advertising dynamics can make research and comparison difficult to understand.

To simplify the process, check the following five considerations and select the most suitable advertising platform for your business:

#1 Target audience

Many outdoor advertising platforms boast significant audiences. But if they don’t target the audience you need, your campaign will be ineffective.

Ensure your outdoor advertising is targeted by identifying your audience’s behaviours. This may include where they live, work and socialise and how they travel.

Research into your target audience will identify their habits and therefore the most suitable outdoor platform. Selecting the most relevant platform for your target audience will create a far more successful campaign than simply choosing a platform based on audience size.

#2 Campaign length

The most common outdoor advertising channels often involve large format sites, e.g. billboards. But these sites can be too expensive and have short campaign life-cycles, making them unsuitable for many smaller businesses.

Instead, research outdoor advertising channels with long-term, sustainable life-cycles. Roundabout advertising campaigns run from between one and three years, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This platform can provide long-term campaign success and a much better return on investment.

#3 Repetition

Advertising works best with repetition. A consumer needs to see your advert 20 times before they act on it. Therefore, consider how many times your target audience will be exposed to your adverts.

Creating repetition through a high volume of adverts can be expensive. Instead, choose a low-volume, high-repetition platform. For example, a single advert on a busy road will repeatedly target the same commuters travelling to and from work every day and reinforce your advertising message.

#4 Competition

Some outdoor advertising platforms may include competitor adverts.

Avoid public transport or billboard advertising that feature several adverts simultaneously, meaning you are competing for your audience’s attention.

‘Standalone’ advertising such as on roundabouts or welcome signs can be far more effective. Roundabout and welcome signs will only ever feature your adverts so you can monopolise your audience’s attention.

#5 Impact 

Frequency is irrelevant if your audience can’t notice and absorb your adverts easily. Ensure the outdoor platform you choose is high impact, and not just a part of the urban landscape that is ignored by your audience.

One idea or message per campaign is usually the best approach to create consistency, impact and repetition. Use simple, but effective language and images to help your advert attract attention and engage your audience.

#6 Location

Check to see if the proposed location is suitable to capture your target audience and that there are not too many other adverts in the same location that may dilute your campaign. If you see a better site, then it might be worth waiting until that site becomes free.

If you want to target car drivers, ensure your adverts are on a busy road. Or, if you want to target younger audiences, choose platforms ear where they naturally go, e.g. colleges, cinemas and retail outlets.

#7 Value

Don’t choose an advertising platform purely based on cost. Instead, assess the true value of that platform to your business.

Gather quotes from your shortlist of outdoor platforms and calculate:

• Hourly rate – total cost divided by total number of hours in the campaign. This may show short-term campaigns can have a high-cost-per-hour.
• Cost for every 1000 people – total cost divided by total audience, multiplied by 1000. This will give you a standard, comparable cost across all advertising platforms.
• Competition - identify the level of competition across platforms. Low or no competition can indicate better value than high competition platforms.

Use these figures to draw up a media comparison and assess the best value outdoor platform for your business.

By following these steps, you will have researched and considered the most important factors when selecting an outdoor advertising platform.

If you would like to discuss outdoor advertising or get further advice from an outdoor advertising expert, please call 01423 706676 or visit http://www.communitypartners.co.uk.