A gulf of difference remains between producing a commodity or service and selling it effectively to the world at large, or even to the local community.
If your target customer base is not aware of the availability of the product or the service, how on Earth are they going to buy it? And this is where outdoor advertising can play a crucial role.
Advertising the product or service eventually brings it to the notice of prospective buyers though the media could be many, depending on the nature of the product, its intrinsic value and many other factors. However, of all the various modes of advertising, outdoor advertising seems to the best method for creating the most visual awareness possible, at least when the target audience is local or even national. But those companies who have a global market and also have a deep pocket often opt for outdoor advertising on a large scale whereby the advertisements are displayed all across the world.
Outdoor advertising is unique because you cannot turn it off, throw it away or click on the next page. This tantamount to the fact that the message is reaching consumers all the time 24 x 7 till the time you are putting down the advertisement.
The Various Forms of Outdoor Advertising
Outdoor advertising can take several forms including billboards, airport displays, shopping mall displays, taxi advertising, mass transit displays as well as mobile ads. Billboards are a highly effective advertising strategy that attracts the attention of cruising vehicles and their drivers when they are placed along highways or busy downtown streets. But designing ad matter for this type of media is a fiddly task since a billboard just has a few seconds to make an impact on the speeding vehicle and its passengers. Though billboards are still very popular among advertisers, quite a good many environmental groups dislike billboards as they feel that it promotes a consumer-oriented culture, intruding on the natural landscape of the surroundings.
Apart from billboards, some advertising agents arrange display of advertising at premiere airports in most innovative LED banner. As against split second exposure to rapidly moving vehicles, here the waiting airlines passengers get plenty of time to view the attractive, electronically displayed ad matter. Advertising agents go in for a strategic mix of mediums, capitalizing on bringing consumers in a buying state of mind. To them, the sky is the limit – starting from Sky Murals, Food Court program to Escalator and Stairway advertising.
Yet another popular mode of advertising in modern metropolitan cities is through running taxis. This type of advertising delivers eye level impact ads right to the customer. Since taxis go where people go, taxi advertising provides high frequency exposure on freeways, airports, downtown areas and business locations 24 x 7 day and night.
A newer version of on road advertisement is the mobile billboard, unique in nature and distinctive in presentation. Well illuminated colorful billboards, mounted on a specially built vehicle with ramp for lifting the ad matter to a suitable height for greater viewing, the mobile ad can be brought to any preferred site and kept there for as long as permitted.