Outdoor Advertising or out of home advertising

Outdoor advertising sometimes referred to as out-of–home advertising is virtually any advertising that reaches consumers outside of the home. Outdoor advertising is generally used to promote local businesses and their products within a region or specific geographic area.

According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), seven out of every ten outdoor ads are used to promote local business with the highest percentage of local advertising being even greater in rural and non-urban areas. Statistics reveal the primary buyer of outdoor advertising services are the tourism and travel industry.

Since the inception of outdoor advertising when it was used for the traveling circus, it has come a long way in helping business owners communicate with potential customers, guided travelers to food, lodging and their destinations, helped charitable organizations to publicize their causes and politicians to reach voters. In more recent years, the use of digital billboards has been beneficial in helping police departments apprehend criminals and locate missing persons.

As the industry continues to evolve, the use of advanced technology, and consumers increasingly becoming more mobile and spending more time away from home will be important factors contributing to the growth and success of the industry.

Outdoor Advertising Categories

Outdoor ads appear in numerous places. If you pay attention to the outdoor ads you see on a daily basis, you will be amazed at how many there are and how they have become a part of our everyday lives. We see them at sporting events and entertainment arenas, on buses, taxis, rail cars and subways. We see them on benches, bus shelters, in airports and along our highways. It seems that wherever we go, outdoor advertising is there!

The OAAA places outdoor advertising into the following four main categories:

Billboards are one of the oldest and most common forms of outdoor advertising. Billboards bring in over half of all outdoor advertising revenue. They are most effective when they are in close proximity to the advertised business. The perception may be that outdoor advertising is only affordable to large companies; however, small local business owners make up the majority of billboard accounts and have often expressed that the benefits of billboards far outweigh their cost.

Transit or mobile advertising consists of ad displays attached to moving vehicles or ads located in the common areas of transit stations, terminals and airports. Sometimes referred to as “captive audience” advertising, because consumers are held “captive” for a period of time such as in subway cars, taxis, buses, trains, airplane ads on overhead bins, table trays etc. Transit advertising reaches a lot of commuters. The ads are not only visible, but market research shows that transit advertising is also highly effective.
Street Furniture consists of advertising displays, positioned specifically at pedestrians and shoppers for eye-level viewing, or at curbside to draw the attention of drivers in traffic. The two most popular and highly visible methods of street furniture advertising are bus bench and bus shelter advertising. The audience is huge. Red lights and slow moving traffic can be viewed by thousands of people each day.
Alternative advertising can be just about anything. It is constantly evolving and being developed. Some popular examples are golf cart advertising, rest area and trash receptacle panels, gas nozzle, turnstile advertising and ads placed on parking meters. Generally alternative advertising is used to reach large audiences with colorful, attention-getting displays along with other media programs.
Although outdoor advertising includes numerous types of displays such as highway billboards, bus stop benches, public safety announcements, and receptacle panels. It is all centered on communicating a message to the public and potential consumers. As tourism and automobile traffic continue to increase, tens of millions of Americans commute every day guaranteeing exposure and profit for the business owners that participate in cost effective outdoor advertising.