How Tech Brands and Start-Ups Can Leverage Out-of-Home Advertising: A Strategic Guide
Introduction
The realm of out-of-home (OOH) advertising offers an array of opportunities for tech brands to capture the public’s attention in impactful and memorable ways. But what does OOH truly encompass, and how can tech startups, in particular, make the most of this medium? In this article, you will learn how tech brands can get started in OOH, including common formats and strategies.
Understanding Out-of-Home Advertising
At its core, out-of-home advertising involves any visual messaging that reaches people when they are outside of their homes. This includes various formats such as billboards, transit ads, big digital walls, painted murals, train station posters, signage in airports, malls & arenas, plus urban wild postings and more. The magic of OOH lies in its ability to intercept people in their daily routines, offering a serendipitous encounter with a brand’s message.
The Unique Appeal of Out-of-Home
Why does OOH resonate so deeply with people? There is an inherent magic in the public, tactile, and visceral nature of these ads. Unlike other forms of media that interrupt or intrude, OOH integrates seamlessly into the environment, offering a polite yet compelling presence. This allows for a moment of discovery that feels natural and engaging.
Moreover, OOH is memorable. People often recall a clever billboard or a striking mural, sharing these experiences with friends and on social media. This public and concurrent experience creates a unique bond between the viewer and the brand.
OOH also builds trust. With so many fraudulent tech scammers, how can you build trust with your audience? OOH’s existence in the real, physical world creates more faith in your business by providing more authenticity in your audience’s minds.
Cost of OOH Advertising for Startups
A common misconception is that OOH is only for large companies with hefty budgets. But you don’t need to be like Apple and spend $200 million a year in out-of-home to make a difference. Many brands spend less than seven figures. Some brands start with a modest spend of $20,000-$50,000. Startups can effectively leverage OOH by being strategic and surgical in their tactical approach. Ask yourself, where do I want to be? Why and how can I be there? Then, find affordable ways that you can show up in the markets. If you choose programmatic digital OOH advertising, it can be even more accessible. It’s important to narrow your scope and focus on achieving your objective.
When to Integrate OOH into Your Marketing Mix
Start-ups should consider adding OOH to their media mix whenever they feel ready to make a statement. Typically, startups start considering OOH during their Series B or C funding rounds. However, the timing is relative to the intent and the need to establish a public presence. OOH can be used to demonstrate “proof of life” for the business, boost employee morale, support sales efforts, or attract potential customers and investors.
There’s a level of confidence and vulnerability that happens when a company puts out a message on a highway 24-7 every day, day in and day out. It’s taking a stand, saying this is my story, and I’m not backing off.
Popular Types of Start-up and B2B OOH Campaigns
There are many approaches that start-ups can take in their OOH planning, depending on budgets and objectives. Here are a few:
Proof of life billboard: A billboard on the highway, maybe near your headquarters, or your competitors, showing that your brand is legit, which may also be used for recruiting purposes.
Airport advertising: Some tech start-ups will advertise in airports to ensure that certain C-level decision-makers and salespeople will see it.
Client-based targeting: Choose your top 10 types of prospects and figure out what cities they live in and what places they frequent to increase brand awareness, lead generation and sales.
Tech start-ups should consider where they want to show up and provide authentic proof that they are a real company. Whether you are fresh out of the gate or deep into your funding and ready to go public and beyond, there is likely an OOH campaign that will fit your goals and budget.
Making the Business Case for OOH
Justifying the investment in OOH can be challenging, especially in a startup environment where every dollar counts. The decision often falls to the CEO or a high-level executive who understands the qualitative benefits of OOH. While direct ROI may be difficult to measure, correlations between OOH campaigns and increased sales activities, website traffic, or anecdotal feedback from sales teams and customers can be drawn.
Sometimes, the CRO will recommend OOH to support the sales team. But mostly, it comes down to making the call when you feel that your organization is ready and needs it. Then, your company will realize its benefits and the added value that it brings to the other work that you are doing.
For example, you might put up a campaign in 10 airports trying to reach decision-makers in key markets. You’ve already done the research and know these are the right markets. You run the campaign for 12 weeks and then see if there was a corresponding increase in activity on the sales side by looking at the level of activities before and after the campaign.
You're usually not going to use out-of-home for a strict direct response mechanism, especially for B2B tech. But, what out-of-home can do, is support those kinds of efforts and put wind at the back of your brand. It can create that conversation you’re looking for and build increased trust.
That’s why, though there is a great deal of measurement available, to prove out the OOH investment you’re looking for increased meetings, or anecdotal evidence from your staff, competitors, clients, and prospects.
Think about what it says to a an existing client or prospect, when they see your brand show up in the right places in the right moments in that big, visceral way. It will resonate that OOH is a statement of confidence, of purpose, and commitment.
And that means something to everybody, not just your employees, your internal team, your sales team, and your prospects, but your customers look at that and say, "Oh, maybe I've made the right bet.”
Strategic Planning and Execution
Successful OOH campaigns require careful planning and execution. Ideally, brands should start planning several months in advance, especially for major events like CES. However, flexibility and agility are crucial, as opportunities can arise at the last minute. Working with experts in the OOH space can provide invaluable insights and very quickly help navigate the complexities of inventory, logistics, and creative execution.
As a tech start-up, you likely do not have a creative agency on retainer. But you likely have graphic design support on staff that you can use to help you develop your creatives. You will not your OOH messaging to be excessively intriguing, humorous, or tricky. Using this approach when just starting as a tech brand can misfire. It becomes too much of an inside gag, and no one really understands what it means.
For tech startups, the creative approach to OOH should be straightforward and impactful. Focus on bold, clear messages. You want people to grasp and become aware of your brand quickly. Since your brand name isn’t well-known as a start-up, you want to keep your messaging succinct and simple.
There are two main strategic creative approaches that tech start-ups take:
Identity Approach - This is when your brand follows just the fundamentals of strong out-of-home campaigns to say, “Hey, this is us. We exist.” These ads should have two or three key elements: high contrast, one idea, and a sustained investment over a long period of time. A typical campaign flight is four weeks, but you’ll want to run this campaign for longer, maybe 16 or 20 weeks. Give it some time and approach it as an investor or a citizen of the space and it will usually pay off.
Event Approach - Tech events are quite popular for OOH, and coming up with advertising for them can create energy for your brand. This is where you can get into the nuances of the individual market where you are investing in OOH. Some markets have a bunch of out-of-home all around the event venue, while others have much less. There are often OOH opportunities all along the customer journey from the airport to the transportation your audience uses to get to the venue, to the hotel they are staying at. You should also consider the nearby nightlife areas and what points of interest they will encounter on their business trip. This approach works best when you use a deep mix of multiple touchpoints. In addition to OOH outside the venue, perhaps you’ve also sponsored activities or advertising within the venue or as part of the conference itself. Maybe you have street-level inventory outside or are wrapping vehicles and doing VIP rides for free. There’s also the option to rent a footprint and create a standalone buildout for an experiential execution that conference attendees are sure to remember. This type of start-up advertising is focused on frequency and thoughtfulness. It requires expert planning with strong market knowledge.
But what if you cannot secure a budget or spaces in advance? OOH is much faster in terms of speed to market than people often realize, but digital out-of-home can be even faster, and sometimes availability will pop up at the last moment. Temporary media can also have a much shorter planning window, as can non-traditional options and inventory such as wraps, digital trucks, etc.
Common Mistakes in OOH that Tech Brands and Start-Ups Should Avoid
When starting out in OOH, there are some common mistakes that brands make and that you should avoid.
Not fully committing to OOH: OOH takes time to work, so it’s important to dedicate several months to it and remain active.
Grabbing the first inventory you see: There are different levels of inventory. There’s the big inventory that you can get in advance, but you can also get opportunities at the last minute because you’ve kept looking.
Not following event/venue rules: If you do activities that are not sanctioned, you can create negative outcomes for your employees and the people you hire to help you. For example, if they have requested no branded wrap cars and you show up anyway with your brand ambassadors in tow, it may not have much impact on your brand, but it can backfire on your staff.
It’s important to remember that out-of-home is not about you or your brand. It’s about the public that you’re going in front of. Think of yourself as a citizen of the space and an investor of the space versus a tourist or a consumer. Thinking this way will come through in how you’re represented in those brand moments, whether it's a big billboard on a freeway or at an event.
Getting Started
There are over a million pieces of inventory in the US alone and 1500+ different suppliers. There are a wide variety of painted, printed and digital formats and they often serve different functions market-to-market. It takes the knowledge developed through a lot of experience to truly understand how to craft the OOH puzzle. In addition to concept and creative and how it fits into your overall campaign, you have to consider logistics: getting the creative right, getting it shipped, posted, and tracked.
As part of a start-up, you’re used to wearing many hats and doing it yourself. That can work. You can call some billboard companies and ask them what they have. But, we’ve found at PJX that as you gain more knowledge and begin to see the complexities of out-of-home, you will seek help.
You wouldn't day trade if you weren't a day trader. If you want better results for your OOH, talk to OOH experts like PJX Media and learn how to do it well the first time. We can help you understand the inventory and formats in your target markets where your audience is, and we’ve got the tools to measure outcomes.
With the right approach, tech brands can navigate the OOH landscape effectively, ensuring their message resonates and leaves a lasting impression while staying on budget.
Insights derived from Firebrand Podcast interview with PJX CEO Rick Robinson.
