3 Ways Out-of-Home Advertising Reduces Digital Ad Costs During the Holidays

With digital ad costs surging by an incredible 30% around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, many B2C and DTC brands planning holiday shopping season campaigns will either have to increase their budgets or accept that their dollars won’t go as far. With consumers only remembering a quarter of holiday ads, brands must decide whether upping their budget is even worth it.?

One solution we see is DTC branding shifting some of their marketing spend to out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Research reveals that OOH delivers a remarkable return on investment, with every dollar spent on this method generating around $5.97 in sales .?

Complementing digital marketing efforts with OOH, reduces overall average ad costs while still targeting the intended audience. Here are three ways OOH might save DTC brands money.

1. Spend Less on Paid Ads

OOH is often more organic than paid digital marketing. It's also less intrusive.

Think about all the paid online ads shoppers will see this holiday season—search engine ads, banner ads, sponsored social posts, etc. "Digital ad fatigue," when people are exposed to too many digital ads, is a real thing, especially when so many brands are advertising on the same old platforms. Throw in increasingly intrusive ads and distrust in online advertising , and you can see why there's a problem with online holiday ad engagement.??

Do you really want to cut through all that noise if it means wasted effort and a drained budget ?

With OOH, shoppers find out about your brand in a natural, real-world setting—when commuting to work, for example. Often, they'll come across your company when they least expect it. All of this can help you boost organic traffic to your website and other digital assets, reducing the need to spend loads of money on paid online media for Cyber Monday advertising, Black Friday deals, or other holiday promotions. You can also reduce ad frequency for paid online ads if your OOH campaigns are successful.?

It's important to note that OOH isn't just billboards—a misconception many DTC and B2C brands have. This medium refers to all the media outside a consumer's home, including street furniture, transit ads, and interactive displays. These assets help you engage with your audience organically throughout the holidays, meaning you don't have to rely so much on paid online media.?

2. Lower CAC Costs

Customer acquisition is one of the biggest expenses for brands at this time of the year. With many people looking for holiday gifts, companies want to generate new customers and capitalize on increased spending.?

Offline media might be one way to lower the amount you spend acquiring customers. Our research shows that advertisers using both OOH and digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising are four times more likely to report reduced customer acquisition costs (CAC). What's more, 96% of advertisers say they are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the return they're getting from their OOH investment.?

Acquiring customers with OOH can take less time than digital media, lowering overall costs. Plus, OOH accounts for just over 2% of total U.S. ad spend , meaning it's still a relatively untapped medium. With less competition, you could acquire many new customers this holiday season without the expensive price tag of online paid media and stand out from your competitors not using OOH.?

3. Minimize Lead Nurturing Costs

We would not expect a brand to move all of its marketing budget to OOH, but it is an excellent complement to your current digital marketing, including mobile marketing.

Creating a more omnichannel ad approach with OOH and digital marketing can prove lucrative. One study reveals that mobile click-through rates increased by 15% after customers saw OOH ads. Meanwhile, short-term action taken on mobile increased by 38%.?

With OOH doing a lot of the legwork in the marketing funnel, you can spend less time and money nurturing customers. For example, if someone clicks on a link to your website after seeing a digital billboard, they are already interested in your offerings, meaning your job is a lot easier.

Measuring OOH Holiday Advertising Campaigns

Here are some ways to track offline media campaigns during the holidays:

• Mobile IDs (MAIDs): These anonymous identifiers are linked to mobile devices used by your target audience so you can learn how they interact with your OOH campaigns over the next few months. For instance, you can find out if someone visited your website or signed up for your mailing list after viewing a billboard or other asset.?
• Cookie-ing: By tracking cookies across the web, you can discover the actions consumers take after viewing your offline media that lead to direct sales. This helps track conversion and sales lift.?
• Footfall data: This information tracks the amount of foot traffic your OOH locations generate and the number of people who visit your physical store after seeing a nearby ad.?

Monitoring different metrics throughout your holiday campaigns can also help you determine the success of your OOH investment. One of the best metrics is return on ad spend (ROAS), which calculates how much revenue your ads generate. Use it to tell whether your Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals ads were worth the effort.?

DTC brands like to measure as many aspects of marketing as possible, so OOH can be a good option for them this holiday season. However, B2C companies might also benefit from offline media's ability to produce real-time insights that result in smarter advertising decisions.?

Now’s the Time for OOH

Want to stand out during peak shopping periods like the holidays? OOH can help. It's a way to control your digital ad spending while maintaining brand visibility and expanding reach.?

Think of OOH as another marketing weapon in your omnichannel marketing arsenal—one that can destroy your rivals during this oversaturated advertising season.?

If you're unsure of how to get started with OOH, get in touch with our OneScreen to take the heavy lifting off your plate. With one of the most extensive OOH inventories in the U.S., we can help you plan, execute, and measure your Black Friday and Cyber Monday advertising and other OOH campaigns with data-driven precision.