What is outdoor advertising? Does it make sense to use it?
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5 January 2024
The online advertising market is worth billions of dollars and there seems to be no end to its growth. While it is undoubtedly worth exploiting the potential of this medium, older forms of marketing should not be forgotten. Indeed, the advantages of outdoor advertising are indisputable. What are its types and how can you use them to promote your business? It is time to remind ourselves of the power of this form of marketing.
Outdoor advertising - what is it?
Outdoor, or outdoor, advertising refers to any form of marketing message that passers-by encounter on the street. Because each person is both a current and potential consumer of products and services, the effectiveness of such promotion appears to be high.
The potential that the different types of outdoor advertising have contributes to the fact that they continue to be used alongside campaigns on TV, radio, press and online. This is perfectly understandable, as street promotion is available regardless of the size of a company's budget. The amount of marketing funds only determines the scale of the venture, not the sheer feasibility of undertaking it.
Outdoor advertising media
Promoting products, services and events on the street is perhaps as old as human civilisation. In the past, only people who loudly communicated what could be bought or where was worth going were enough. Over time, the ways of promotion became more and more imaginative. Today, thanks to the development of technology, various forms of outdoor advertising have emerged.
Leaflets
Although informing by voice, e.g. about the possibility of purchasing goods at a particular location, is nowadays a phenomenon that exists almost exclusively in marketplaces, a person can still effectively promote a product or service. The greatest advantage of paper flyers is not so much the chance to reach the recipient, but above all to give him or her time to familiarise themselves with the offer. Unlike signs and banners, which are only seen for a short while, the person who receives the leaflet takes it with them and reads it at their convenience.
Spatial names and logos
Signs indicating what kind of company is based in a particular location are the simplest, yet essential, way to reach customers. It is difficult to imagine the chance of attracting customer interest without displaying them. Importantly, brand recognition should be taken into account when choosing the format of such outdoor advertising. A company that is widely known, or at least locally known, can afford to mount the logo or name alone. Otherwise, it is best to add information about what the company does, e.g. XYZ household goods shop.
Signs and panels
Signboards and light boxes have a similar function to spatial names and logos. However, these two types of outdoor advertising are distinguished by their location. They are most often placed at a certain distance from the company's premises to make it easier to reach. It is also common for them to be placed by the roadside so that they are visible to drivers.
Large-format banners
Large format advertisement outdoor is one of the most popular forms of promotion both in cities and along local roads and motorways. The visibility of billboards is simultaneously their advantage and disadvantage. How is this possible? On the one hand, their size makes them difficult to miss. On the other hand, their accumulation has led to the phenomenon of banner blindness, i.e. individual advertisements being ignored by passers-by and drivers.
Advertisements on cars
It is difficult to draw attention to oneself in public spaces, the reason being an overabundance of signs, posters and banners. Although these should not be abandoned, it is worth using much more eye-catching cars for promotion. A vehicle wrapped in advertising material and equipped with an illuminated signboard stands out from other cars. It is worth remembering to make such advertisements as aesthetically pleasing as possible and to keep the message unobtrusive.
Citylight posters and banners
Standing outdoor advertising at eye level is an option for entrepreneurs who are not convinced by large-format banners. Posters, which have been known for decades, can have the expected sales effect.
In addition to sticking advertisements on street poles, citylight banners are also worth considering. They are placed, for example, at public transport stops. These types of outdoor advertising have an advantage over posters because they are backlit. Thanks to the fact that they can also be seen after dark, they work well at any time of year. In Poland, where for many months of autumn, winter and early spring it is more often dark than light during the day, this feature of citylights becomes particularly important.
Advertisements on public equipment screens
The need to promote themselves causes advertisers to use every possible space to show their offer. Such places are the displays of ticket machines, ATMs, drink and snack machines, etc. Unlike many other types of street promotion, this format of advertising cannot be overlooked. This ensures that the money spent on the campaign has not been wasted. Graphic advertising can also be found on the screens of Paczkomat® machines, which are used by thousands of people every day. 
Advantages and disadvantages of outdoor advertising
Despite the existence of more direct methods of communicating with consumers, outdoor advertising is still going strong. The twilight of this phenomenon should therefore not be expected. In some respects, however, this form of promotion is inferior to its much more modern counterpart, the online campaign. Many companies opt for both, as simultaneous offline and online advertising can be more effective.
Advantages of outdoor advertising
The biggest plus of outdoor advertising is its visibility. Widespread marketing allows you to reach hundreds or thousands of potential customers from all over the country, and often from abroad. However, if we even run a small business, a single banner placed in a public place in the area increases the chances of finding an audience for our products or services.
Outdoor advertising is also a way to make our business stand out. An original sign, logo or poster has the potential to be memorable for passers-by. From there, it is only a step to getting them interested in your offer. It seems almost certain that among the crowd of people who see the advertisement, a certain percentage will be the target group of customers.
Disadvantages of outdoor advertising
One of the downsides of outdoor advertising is the lack of customer targeting. In other words, it reaches a wider audience and not just a specific target group. As a result, in order to find a large enough group of buyers, many companies run large and therefore expensive campaigns.
The expense involved in street marketing is its second and biggest drawback. Only the ordering of a spatial logo is a relatively low and one-off cost. For the rest, larger sums are needed, for which you can rent advertising space and pay for the preparation of the campaign.
How effective is outdoor advertising?
Knowing what outdoor advertising is and what its pros and cons are, one can consider the extent to which it can be used in a specific company's promotional campaign. For large companies, it is best to use every available means of reaching customers. A large budget simply provides enough opportunity to spend money even on those media whose effectiveness is considered average, e.g. large-format banners.
Is the use of outdoor advertising cost-effective?
Small entrepreneurs should approach the issue of an outdoor campaign differently. Unfortunately, not all examples of outdoor advertising are profitable for them. Limited financial possibilities make it necessary to choose only the most effective advertising formats. Otherwise, the work required to prepare promotional activities may go to waste, and this involves wasting money.
So what to do? It is a good idea to advertise on the screens of public vending machines and to rent space at the eye level of passers-by. Company logos are used in every company. It seems simply impossible to abandon this form of identification (which, by the way, can be advertising).
Outdoor advertising with InPost - discover the benefits of our offer!
The effective use of public space becomes easier when you cooperate with InPost. We offer our business customers the rental of advertising space on Paczkomat® machines in various locations throughout Poland. The advertising olein may turn out to be a hit in 10! Paczkomat is also a great tool for handing out product samples to customers. This is what product sampling is all about, which is also included in InPost's advertising offer.
Entrepreneurs who would like to expand their promotional activities may also be interested in the offer of leasing space on our websites. We offer placing banners within the inpost.pl website, newsletter and the InPost Mobile application! Contact us using the form below and we will provide you with a detailed offer.
Advertising your company with InPost? Always a good idea!
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There are plenty of possibilities:
- Branding on Parcel Locker machines
- Ads displayed on Parcel Locker screens
- Sampling of promotional products
- Banner ads on the InPost website
- Advertising in the InPost newsletter
- Push notifications in the InPost Mobile app
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