Effective ways to measure the effectiveness of outdoor marketing campaigns

An outdoor marketing campaign, or out of home marketing, is an ideal way to reach out to many consumers at one time. When considering your marketing campaign as a whole, it is important to use outdoor tools to reach as many people as possible. Outdoor marketing is defined as commercial information that is transferred in a visual aid over structures and signs erected outdoors. The main goal is to not only inform consumers of your goods and services, but ultimately benefit the community as a whole.

There are a number of outdoor marketing tools that can be used. This includes painted or projected images, freestanding signs in frames, bus shelter advertisements or vehicle wraps. However, the most popular type of outdoor marketing is billboards. Regardless what type of outdoor marketing you choose to use, all mediums should inform the general public, offer advice towards your goods and services or guide/direct/persuade people to use your good or service.

Any type of business or brand can benefit from the use of outdoor marketing. It is an vital medium for reaching out to many people at one time. Take the time to develop a quality banner, billboard or sign to assure the best use of your campaign. Start with the design of the outdoor marketing campaign. Businesses should create a clever design and logo that will grab attention and make people talk. Include a call to action such as a website or store location to make viewers participate in the campaign. This is a statement that urges viewers to take immediate action.  Once you create the campaign item, choose the best location for your target audience. For example, if you want to reach out to teens to use your product, place your billboard near the mall or local high school.

Though outdoor marketing is a quick way to spread the word about your product or brand, it can be difficult to measure its effectiveness without close observations. The way to measure how effective your billboard or sign is measuring how many people will see the billboard or sign. This means counting the foot and car traffic that passes. People will only look at the media for a few seconds, but it is when they are thinking of nothing else and focusing only on your advertisement. .

One of the best ways to measure effectiveness is through the call to action. Direct people to a store or website to measure how many people took the outdoor marketing to heart. You can use this as a measurement tool because you can watch as your sales increase or stay the same. If you are selling more goods and services once the campaign is displayed, you can assume it’s because of the campaign. Those that direct people to websites can also be a measurement tool because you can physically see if traffic has increased or not. People sitting in a traffic jam or other passengers in the car may even follow the call of action immediately, heading to the store or pulling up a website on their tablet or smart phone

The Traffic Audit Bureau developed a new system to also help companies measure the effectiveness of their outdoor marketing. EYES ON YOU is the project and it is created off data from the Daily Effective Circulation (DEC). Potential advertisers can obtain statistics that show “how likely” it is that someone will see the advertisement in its outdoor location. A scale is designed for each location ranging from “likely” to “very likely.” Ultimately companies can decide if a specific spot is a good investment or not.

Outdoor marketing is one of the best ways to advertise because it is constantly updated with technology. For example, traditional billboards are available, while some companies offer computerized options that allow billboards to change or display multiple images at one time. Take the time to research a location and the effectiveness to assure that a campaign reaches its full potential.

Visit banners trade show to get an idea of the latest trends and measurement tools. These industry shows offer the latest techniques and tips for both companies and agencies to assure they are making the most of their out of home marketing.

About the Author

Melissa Warner is a marketing specialist and guest blogger.