MDG Solutions

Now Out-of-Home Marketing is Hitting Home with Mobile Users

Now Out-of-Home Marketing is Hitting Home with Mobile Users
Today, brands are welcoming home the new consumer journey path that’s based on the mash-up between out-of-home (OOH) marketing and mobile. These technologies have merged to allow consumers to interact directly with brands without the need for human interaction. And experts agree that the complementary nature of OOH and mobile enhances the impact and power of each. Thanks to the explosion of mobile, most consumers always have a mobile device within close reach. Now, brands are leveraging this fact by capturing consumer attention with OOH messages they can engage with on their mobile screens to research and connect with the brand. Now, a large number of brands and industries are adopting and adapting to the consumer journey of OOH to mobile with very successful results. Discover how the new OOH-to-mobile marketing is helping brands bring home even greater connection with consumers.

Driving Home the Brand Message to Consumers
Now that brands have discovered this connection between out-of-home and mobile, they’re using various vehicles to drive consumer action. Adweek.com reported that many brands are simply placing a URL, hashtag, or QR code on outdoor ads, while other brands have gotten creative by using digital imaging, augmented reality, and other advanced tactics directly on their out-of-home efforts. And some brands are increasing engagement through discounts, coupons, and entertainment that allow the brand to measure a campaign’s impact and effectiveness.

With younger audiences spending much of their time on mobile devices, experts agree that extending out-of-home messaging via mobile is now essential to reaching Millennial and Generation Z consumers. The mobile-mindedness of younger audiences is convincing many brands to explore OOH to mobile initiatives.

Homing In on Results
OceanOutdoor.com reported on a recent study by Outsmart Marketing with Ipsos and Route Research called “Outperform.” According to the study, out-of-home activity drove a direct increase in smartphone brand action. As the largest study of its kind, it analyzed how OOH is performing in today’s digital consumer world amid global smartphone ubiquity. Specifically, researchers examined how OOH is transforming the consumer journey into a personal story for UK individuals aged 16 to 44. The results revealed that OOH marketing delivered the following:

  • 17% increase in overall smartphone brand interactions.
  • 38% rise in smartphone brand interaction among the 20 top-performing campaigns included in the study.
  • An even greater amount of brand interaction was seen among Millennial and Generation Z respondents.

The study also showed that 66% of smartphone actions, such as website visits and online searches, were made directly to the brand. This demonstrated that out-of-home converted brand advertising into consumer brand behavior.

In addition, the study found that 57% of respondents who acted were either new or former customers of the brand. This revelation emphasizes the power of OOH for brand marketing, especially when a brand is striving for greater growth by reaching a broader segment of consumers far beyond the brand’s core customers.

The study clearly showed that out-of-home can provide consumers with personal consumer connection to brands and propel their brand interaction. Considering the current marketing focus on connecting with consumers, OOH appears to be serving as a vehicle for consumers to directly access and interact with brands. As a result, brands need to start including OOH into their media plans in order to generate greater consumer interaction with the brand via smartphone.

How the OOH to Mobile Model Began Striking Home with Brands
According to MediaPost.com, OOH rose to attention last year when a consumer study revealed that 22% of Americans were either researching, socially engaging with, or buying from brands less than 30 minutes after being exposed to their OOH marketing efforts.

At that time, mobile was rapidly becoming a prevalent and preferable way for consumers to research and connect with brands. In addition, mobile browsing was already claiming the majority of adult Internet usage. These facts led researchers to correctly conclude that study respondents were using their smartphones for many of these brand actions and interactions.

These findings immediately piqued the interest of brands and drove numerous large and small companies to start exploring this consumer marketing connection.

One brand currently reaping the rewards of this connection is JetBlue. The airline has integrated OOH campaigns into its marketing to serve customers much more personally throughout the consumer journey. The airline’s uplifting campaigns, #NYCTakeoff and #ABetterWingman, began with OOH ads and led consumers to take action via the brand’s mobile app. This app was designed to be consistent across all marketing platforms and provide consumers with a cohesive experience on every brand channel. These campaigns drew an enormous consumer response and resulted in a steady stream of mobile brand interaction.

With the enormous momentum behind this innovative integrated marketing method, more and more brands in every industry are starting to use this approach. As a result, the OOH to mobile consumer journey is rapidly on its way to becoming the brand’s preferred consumer marketing model.

More Brands Hitting a Home Run by Embracing the OOH to Mobile Consumer Journey
Popchips recently ran an OOH-to-mobile campaign for its new kettle corn flavor. The company placed OOH ads on mall screens made up of eye-catching creative and singing sponsor Katy Perry. The campaign encouraged consumers to scan their mobile devices to view exclusive footage from the making of Perry’s Popchips commercial. A full 50% of the consumers who engaged with the ad used their mobile devices and 10% connected to one of the brand’s social media pages.

Another example is Clear Channel Outdoor, which is currently embarking on the largest combined OOH and mobile ad network in the world. It began with the company’s recent rollout of a global OOH-to-mobile interactive ad platform called Connect. By mid-summer, the brand is scheduled to have equipped 75,000 of its outdoor sites with mobile engagement technologies like QR codes and near field communications (NFC.) The company also plans to convert its current pedestrian-accessible sites into launch pads for interactive content. The Connect platform will provide advertisers with easier and more flexible access to their mobile-interactive campaigns. And by pre-installing tags that instantly direct consumers to an advertiser’s mobile-optimized content, advertisers can save the time and effort involved in developing their own QR codes and NFC tags.

According to Karen Bleier, media director at MDG, “It’s easy to see why the OOH-to-mobile marketing model is being adopted by brands. It helps them increase their consumer engagement and boost marketing effectiveness by making it convenient for constantly connected consumers to use their mobile devices to access a brand any time they pass by an OOH placement.”

For all of these reasons and more, brands need to give these innovative OOH-to-mobile tactics a permanent home in their marketing strategies.

Keep up with the latest trends in out-of-home and mobile marketing. Contact MDG.

MDG, a full-service advertising agency with offices in Boca Raton and New York, NY, is one of Florida’s top branding firms. MDG’s capabilities include print advertising, direct mail marketing, branding, logo design, creative, media buying and planning, radio and TV advertising, outdoor, newspaper, digital marketing, website design and development, online video advertising, infographic development, email marketing, video marketing, mobile marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, paid search marketing, and SEO. To learn about the latest trends in advertising and branding, contact MDG.