Eight “Don’ts” in OOH Advertising (Outdoor Advertising)
Have you ever seen an outdoor advert and it made you feel not any less than you had already felt? Have you ever seen another and the effect was different? Maybe you felt this time that the advert has caused to need to buy the product in mind. Advertising has the power to make you feel different to need to buy something or change the way you felt about someone. However, not all advertising can do the trick. You do not just expect that you will make fortunes by a single advert with no basis, no style or aesthetics, no persuasion, no information by research. Even so having all the above facts is not enough, there are some things you need to stop once you are engaging in an OOH advertising as follows:
1. Do not copy
People think that if they create adverts with the same feel as those of others they could put up some positive competition. However, the game of advertising is a timely one. Those who had made it took their time and released it to the market when it communicated most. Copying such a move could end up promoting a competitor when the goal was to challenge your competitor through an outdoor advert. Come up with your own and make it work.
2. Do not ignore your website
Are you doing an outdoor advert and trying to avoid the use of your website? You could be doing the wrong thing. The moment some customers come across an OOH ad, they will quickly go for their phones, try to look it up if there is a different story, then you have ended up confusing your public. They need to see no different philosophy than what is there. Ads have leads; your website needs to be quoted somewhere in the ad and to do that you will need the website in good shape so that it can lead to inquiries, sales, and profits at the end of that campaign.
3. Do not just do what every advertiser is doing
There are trends in the market announced every day, every month, every year. People fall prey to the trends of the industry an end up losing the point in the end. Why not play unique, new, fashionable, realistic, adventurous, appealing, attracting and influencing. The ultimate goal is to win them over to your side. The billboard used by your organization could be all-print, but it still brings you sales, that of the advertiser could be all laser and expensive. In the end, all are outdoor adverts, and they are bringing sales, causing leads. Just stay different but relevant, so the consumer can think of you before they buy a competitor.
4. Do not use many words on an outdoor advert
An OOH advert should be able to communicate in the shortest time possible. It should not take the customer forever to understand the message. Clear, precise, straight to the point advertisements are best sellers. Companies like Coca-Cola use slogans, Walmart, Pepsi, name them, use the same, and it works for them. The client should be able to register the slogan in their head without much trouble and remember when they hear it on radio or TV or see it next. This is one most important rules in OOH advertising.
5. Do not stack AdWords together
Not everyone gets close to an outdoor avert to get its message. Some people will look from afar. Stacking words in an OOH advert could look good; however, it does not make any sense if they do not result in a change in opinion or sales. Keep the words on your ad well-spaced to avoid obscurity.
6. Do not be too subtle
The way you communicate with the public is never the same as the way you will communicate with friends. There are things you could talk about to public but end up getting a blank face. A joke on advert needs to be very straightforward to achieve the intended result. In less than six seconds, the customer should be able to figure out what your poster is trying to put across.
7. Do not ignore location
The OOH advert needs to be seen. Before an advert makes any sense to a customer, the customers need to notice it. They could pass by it today but could pass later and interact with it. Decide where you need your advert. Picture the advert in that location in multiple angles.
8. Do not be quite simple
They say simplicity is the door to easy expression. But does it work to tell someone, “buy me.” Take your time to prepare an advert, give a twist so that its quality enthuses the customer. Never too complex, never too simple. There needs to be a balance of the two, appeal and lead generation to make it work.
The above list is a clear description of what an OOH advertiser should never do. It should be able to work for anyone that could be using these modes thinking they will work only to perform not any different from the expectations.