Regardless of economic downturns, smart businesses know that they need to continue to invest in advertising in order to survive, and hopefully even thrive in the coming years. The most common type of advertising that is on the rise is outdoors such as billboards, signs, banners, mobile ads, tents, LED signs, inflatable balloons, etc. Potential customers may be able to turn off a TV, exit a website, or throw away a newspaper, but they still have to drive to and from work, go grocery shopping, and pick up their kids from school. These outdoor ads translate to a higher number of views, which in turn means more conversions and sales. But who makes up the audience for these types of marketing promotionals? What does the makeup of these categories of audiences mean for effective outdoor advertising?
Your Outdoor Audience Those who see the types of outside ads mentioned fit into a few different categories: 1. The Dog Walkers These are the locals who live VERY close to your place of business, so close that they can literally walk from their residence to your business in a short, easy distance. These neighbors are often out for a walk with their dogs, children, or as a convenient means of exercise. This group tends to go by on a daily or weekly basis and because they are walking or jogging by, have more time to notice and absorb their surroundings. Walkers and joggers can have as much as 10 minutes or longer to read outdoor marketing products depending on the ad’s placement. 2. The Commuters This group of potential customers also tends to go by your store-front on a regular basis, the difference being they are driving going by in a car or bus on the way to destination. This means a few things. First, the commuters usually don’t have the time to stop in the first time they see your store front as they are likely headed to work or to run errands, meaning they are on a schedule. Also, because they are in a vehicle, they are move past a specific place at a much faster rate than those walking or jogging. Second, this higher speed means they also don’t have as much time to take-in promotional signs. If the potential customer is stopped at a light, they may have 60 seconds to read an ad. But if there is no light and they are the driver, needing to keep their eyes and attention on the road, the amount of time they have to take in your business’ sign is one or two seconds at best. 3. The Visitors This final category of potential customers are the “wild cards”. These are the people who happen to be driving past by pure random, chance. The ones who don’t go by on a regular basis. The people that may be vacationers. The people that usually stick to the other side of town. This final group of people may not be on a time-crunch like commuters. Regardless of the reason, these passers-by are not familiar with your section of town, have never been in your building before, have likely never even heard of your company, and in the few moments it takes for them to pass by your store-front, it is doubtful they are in need of your product or services within those few seconds.
What Does All This Mean? What type of outdoor advertising is most effective? The general rule of thumb for outdoor ads is to keep it short, sweet, and simple. The idea behind that is that those who are driving by are moving too quickly to be able to read more than a few words, maximum. Anything more than that will simply just take up space and be a waste. But each of the 3 groups of people going by your store-front are quite different, so differing methods of promoting need to be used for maximizing effectiveness. 1. The Dog Walkers As mentioned before, this group has the most time to read banners and signs as they are moving at a much slower pace. Also, because they are walking along the sidewalk or through the parking lot, they come much closer to your storefront than the other two groups. This means two things: First, they are able to read a much longer, more informative ad. Second, what they read can be printed much smaller. The most common types of outdoor advertising that fit this profile are fold-able sidewalk signs, window banners, and sidewalk displays. These promotionals often explain “the whole story” behind a special sale or event, giving full descriptions and instructions. For example, while larger signs will simply read “SALE”, these smaller, more detailed banners might have printed “After Christmas Sale, All Items 50% - 75% Off, Rewards Members Receive Double the Points”. 2. The Commuters This is the group that knows of your business, likely knows what services and products your business offers, but they have either never had any reason or need to stop in, or they have never made it a point to take the time to do so. And as mentioned, this category goes quickly by your place of business in their vehicles. The goal in marketing to this group is to gain their trust enough to convince them that making time to stop in and see your business will benefit them. And, if they are in search of your services or product, part of the convincing process means letting them know exactly how they will find the complete help and service they need for an honest price to meet their needs. This group tends to respond best to large, custom-printed banners and LED signs. These two options compliment your existing business sign because potential customers already know your place of business and they usually have a pretty good of an idea of what they can find at your store. The banners or LED signs give them enticing information that they do not yet know but in an easily-digestible, larger way as they speed by. 3. The Visitors Attracting and keeping the attention of this third category of potential customers might be considered the most challenging out of these three groups. This group presents two challenges. Number one, they have never heard of your business or seen its store-front. Without some sort of outdoor promoting, it is very likely they will drive right by without even knowing your business exists. The second challenge is that even if they do happen to look out the window of their vehicle and see your company, the chances of them being in actual, immediate need of your services is incredibly slim. To gain the attention of this group, the best option is a mobile ad or inflatable balloon. These allow potential patron to get as much advance notice of your store as possible. It also create interest, so that by the time they are close enough to see your store they are actively searching for more details simply because they are curious. Once the get closer, the ads geared toward “The Commuters” should be able to help fill in the blanks and answer the questions in their minds. And because this final group likely has no immediate need for your services or products, these larger marketing tools of inflatables or mobile billboards need to include an incentive. The quality of the incentive needs to be enough so that when it is combined with their curiosity passersby will not be able to help but decide to stop in.
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