9 OOH Advertising Trends That Many Will Overlook in 2020

9 trends that will make you rethink your relationship with OOH advertising.

jfyi... this is the shortened, condensed version of what was posted on our blog

It’s that time of year again for making predictions. 

Consider this our attempt to add some fodder to the broader industry chatter, at a time when the advertising industry, in general, is facing some pretty serious headwinds.

The good news, for us and for you, is that one of the brightest spots in the industry continues to be out-of-home (OOH) advertising and its increasingly prominent role in today’s broader advertising landscape.

 It’s no secret that OOH has been an afterthought in recent years, often hidden by the omnipresent shadow of digital advertising.

But those tables have finally turned! 

OOH advertising is experiencing its very own revolution today.

The influence of technology alone is now giving all kinds of businesses a reason to reconsider the medium as a whole.

And this isn’t just for driving brand awareness anymore — even though many advertisers have believed that to be the sole role of the OOH channel for years.

Fast-forward to the present day, where OOH now drives conversion rates rivaling its more digital, performance-based counterparts. 

In fact, for the first time in OOH’s history, we can apply the same rigor applied to virtually every other marketing channel to optimize and measure OOH’s effectiveness like never before.

This is a game changer -- and just one of many reasons why OOH is having a breakthrough moment. 

It’s time to retire the belief that OOH simply means “static billboard along a highway.”

It’s so much more than that -- and it’s continuing to evolve at an increasingly rapid pace.

That’s why we can say with a high degree of confidence that OOH’s resurgence is making it a true force to be reckoned with more each day. 

Still not convinced?

Here are a few trends that point to why we’re so optimistic about OOH’s future and convinced that 2020 will be the definitive “year of OOH advertising.” 

Let’s talk trends: what to look for in 2020

If you’ve paid attention to the OOH advertising space over the last couple of years, you’ve probably heard a lot of the same ideas rinsed and repeated.

We’re not going to regurgitate those here.

However, here’s a quick refresher to ensure we’re all on the same page:

• OOH advertising is now more valuable because more people are moving to cities. 
• The way overused stat about people spending 70 percent of their time away from home.
• OOH is the only traditional media format that’s still growing (vs. print, TV, radio).
• More OOH inventory has gone from traditional to digital. 
• The growing integration of mobile into OOH advertising. 
• The role of technology in streamlining and simplifying the OOH buying process. 

Because we aren’t focusing on these trends here isn’t to say that they aren’t important.

They most certainly are.

They just aren’t new trends, nor will change your perceptions of OOH in a big way. 

That’s why we’ve concocted these trends below to give you something fresh and new to think about.

Let’s dive in!

Trend #1: Emerging new media owners, new media types 

The definition of OOH advertising has fundamentally changed.

Practically any physical space can be transformed into an OOH ad these days: from bus shelters to digital signage and building murals to car wraps (and everything else in between).

As a result, it also means that anyone can become a media owner, too.

You want to advertise on an empty storefront window?

Don’t call a media company; call the building’s landlord to broker a deal.

Long story short, buying media space is no longer strictly a two-way conversation between media companies and advertisers or their agencies.

And as more physical spaces become OOH ad units and more (civilian) owners become media owners, the addressable market for outdoor advertising will grow exponentially.

Trend #2: Deep local expertise no longer necessary

For years, advertisers believed that in order to run effective OOH advertising campaigns, you or your agency had to either be physically present in that location or have substantial local market knowledge to drive real value out of those placements.

That’s no longer the case today.

Thanks to software inspired by digital advertising's look-a-like audiences and built upon the wealth of data and insights we’ve now got at our fingertips, it’s easier than ever to know which OOH media and which neighborhoods will help you to reach, engage, and drive action from your target customers in unfamiliar markets.

Therefore, anyone with access to the right tools and data can now glean actionable insights about the effectiveness of any outdoor ad placement in any market -- a win for both advertisers and agencies alike! 

Trend #3: The rules of OOH media buying are changing in a big way

We’ve already talked about what goes into the cost of a billboard as well as what goes into that media buying process.

Today, two major shifts are happening within the outdoor advertising industry that are challenging the status quo:

1. the fast-growing inventory of digital out-of-home (DOOH)
2. the continued adoption of real-time bidding (RTB) for buying OOH media programmatically.

This is essentially flipping the rules of engagement for OOH media buying on its head.

In the past, pricing could shift based on seasonality, supply and demand, or whether or not sales was hitting its goals.

Today, the quick rise of programmatic OOH is helping keep costs stable while also unlocking OOH’s true market value. 

Trend #4: Paid social will start to take a back seat

There are a lot of factors at play making digital advertising — especially paid social — less of the one-trick pony it once used to be.

Advertisers now have to think twice about which tactics and channels they use for customer acquisition.

Paid social is no longer the only answer — and certainly not the most cost-effective solution either, especially as growth decelerates, competition skyrockets, and prices increase.

Growing channels like OOH will undoubtedly be the biggest victors as advertisers shift their attention away from paid digital and social. 

Trend #5: New tools fuel smarter OOH advertising

For years, marketers had no clue how to measure the effectiveness or value of OOH ad campaigns.

The lack of measurement capabilities eventually decreased demand and undervalued the OOH channel as a whole.

Unfortunately, many advertisers still (wrongly) believe that OOH can’t be measured today.

Here’s the good news: as new tools and platforms emerge, like AdQuick’s very own solutions, marketers and agencies can now become OOH experts and build smarter, more effective OOH ad campaigns that drive real results.

And it’s our guess that, as they begin to see the value that OOH brings to their end-to-end marketing strategies, they will continue to double-down on it in the future.

We’ve seen a lot of "a-ha!" moments happen with AdQuick customers.

It’s just a matter of time until everyone else catches on. 

Trend #6: Advertising budgets will increasingly shift to OOH

Building upon the above, as both the cost of digital advertising rises and the effectiveness of OOH as an online conversion channel grows, budgets will shift.

Savvy marketers know the importance of allocating their budgets to the channels that give them the biggest bang for their buck.

OOH is proving to do this more and more each day.

Now, we don’t expect this shift to happen overnight — because people are still very much focused on all things digital — but we know that it will continue to grow in 2020 and well beyond.

Trend #7: Large brands take back the media planning and buying reigns

Large brands have made a lot of progress recently towards building in-house agencies, managing everything from creative development to media buying.

This is, quite frankly, less of a criticism of the agency business and more of a response to cut costs and drive efficiencies across the board.

This is especially true for brands that have grown up almost entirely in the digital age.

So, why not cut out the proverbial middleman, right?

The truth is, whether you’re a proponent of the in-house model or not, there are pros and cons to both sides.

Agencies, for example, deliver tremendous value to brands by bringing outside perspectives that many internal teams might fail to see on their own.

In-house teams, on the other hand, can typically react more quickly and also tap into a business’s resources more effectively, even though they can sometimes have trouble scaling quickly (or at all) to meet increasing demand. 

Trend #8: Cannabis, DTC, and tech brands will become OOH superstars

Just to be clear: every industry can benefit from OOH’s resurgence.

However, there are a few industries that truly stand to win with outdoor advertising , including: 

Cannabis

Advertising cannabis-related brands or products, regardless of media, is highly regulated. OOH, however, has become a relatively neutral space to get the word out since it is regulated at the state level.

This helps explains why we’ve seen upwards of 84 percent of marketing budgets for these brands being spent on OOH ads.

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC)

The more digital advertising becomes pervasive in our lives, the more people tune it out.

This is especially true among millennials.

As opposed to digital, mobile, radio, or TV ads, which can feel intrusive, OOH ads are oftentimes believed to enhance the surrounding environment.

This has helped OOH quickly emerge as the leading channel for driving online searches, sparking positive word-of-mouth, and boosting mobile brand engagement for direct-to-consumer brands.

Recent studies have shown that 58 percent of people take immediate action after seeing an OOH ad, making OOH the perfect compliment to any DTC brand’s digital campaigns.

Consumer Tech & B2B Software

The tech industry has a unique challenge: many companies offer products and services that don’t really apply to the general population.

So, why waste valuable marketing dollars on expensive, far-reaching digital ad campaigns that may or may not actually reach your desired target audience, when you can strategically place OOH ads, at far less of a cost, in the places where you know your target customers are?

This is exactly what many tech companies have done recently. They have used OOH to augment and amplify their cross-channel marketing strategies.

hint: It works.

Trend #9: Automation is democratizing outdoor advertising once and for all

This is probably the most important trend to note for the year ahead.

The days when only large brands could afford OOH ad placements — and SMB’s could only dabble in the park bench or bus shelter space — is officially over.

Automating OOH media buying is leveling out the playing field once and for all, transforming what was historically a complex and decentralized marketplace into one that’s accessible and affordable for all.

And as more OOH media buying becomes automated, pricing will stabilize across the board, thus making it possible for smaller brands to play and compete in a space that was once dominated by big brands and their media agencies.

Conclusion

So, there you have it — a few new and interesting trends about out-of-home that you should pay close attention to in 2020. (And if you don’t, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to drive incredible value for your brand or clients!)

So, what do you think of the trends above? Do you see any other OOH advertising trends that will come true in 2020 that few people talk about?

Leave a comment below.