Mobile Billboads
The ramifications of COVID-19 in the OOH Advertising Industry
Mass-market advertising demands that businesses use media that can help them to reach as many customers as possible. As such, there are numerous out-of-home (OOH) advertising avenues with which businesses can sell their brand and products. Notably, avenues like mobile billboards enable advertisers to push the message deeper into the market and closer to the customer.
Everything about mobile billboards
There are different types of OOH advertising, depending on the design of the resource. Billboards are the most recognizable since they are the most popular of outdoor advertising. However, the biggest undoing of billboards is that they are immobile. As such, only the audience closer to the billboard or one that happens to pass by the billboard views the message.
The coming of mobile billboards, therefore, is the solution to a significant shortcoming of billboard advertising. Notably, mobile billboards are just huge banners placed at the side of a truck. Consequently, one can safely call the media moving billboards. The trucks ferrying the billboard could be dedicated vehicles, or they could be delivery trucks. Trucks crisscross much of the country, bearing in mind that tonnage index of trucks in the US expanded by 3.5% in September 2018. Increased tonnage index means that more trucks are hitting the road to ferry goods.
Billboards for rent are not effective enough
The size of the ROI measures the effectiveness of any media. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), OOH advertising guarantees at least $5.67 in product sales for every one dollar spent. Further, the American Trucking Association (ATA) shared that banners wrapped around the trucks enhance the brand’s awareness. In particular, the ATA noted that over 90% of the target audience interact with the message due to high levels of attention.
Nevertheless, mobile billboards are less effective because they do not attract the right attention. While man people view the ads, few actually go ahead to make direct action. This targeting problem makes it impossible for this advertising avenue to return desired ROI. Even those who might have interest in the ad do not have the concentration to understand the message.
Also, billboard advertising prices are high
Mobile billboards may be cheaper than, say, TV advertising, but the price is still high. For example, small businesses can hardly raise $20,000 necessary to rent a mobile billboard for 14 days. Particularly, the price gets even ridiculous when you want to advertise in upmarket regions like New York’s Time Square.
The key in advertising is to be able to track number of impressions. Billboards demonstrate a lack of targeting and tracking and very often a low engagement with the target audience, high costs, low ROI and in many cases they cause visual pollution and low brand recall. The targeting issues very often are addressed with alternative approaches as mobile billboards, digital OOH, ads on trucks and ads in places people don’t expect as flags, backpacks, inflatable objects, gas pump and balloons.
Mobile advertising vehicles will ne no longer effective
Recently the Interactive Advertising Bureau surveyed nearly 400 media buyers and brands. The results were surprising: 74% think the coronavirus pandemic will have a larger impact on their advertising spend than the 2008 financial crisis. According to the President of Interactive Advertising Bureau, David Cohen, “Typically marketers will press pause for a moment, take a breath, assess the situation, replay and reevaluate.”
The use of mobile OOH methods will most likely experience more decline in the coming months, given the fact when the economy re-opens, people will still be cautious and stay more at home. Mobile advertising using trucks, buses and others will be fast replaced by in-home advertising. The impact of COVID-19 has kept normally mobile citizens inside their homes. Hence, the best ways to reach your audience and maintain brand visibility will be to take your products and services to them indoors, as it will be clearly unprofitable to place adverts on advertising vehicles that no one is seeing.
Why you should try In-Hand Advertising
In-hand-advertising has become a popular low-cost marketing strategy. Adzze is a leading in-hand-advertising media helping businesses to place their brand in the hand of the target consumer.
Using door hangers to advertise is the simplest yet most effective medium. Simply, you print door hangers and then distribute them to target locations. You do not need a ridiculous budget like the one for mobile billboards. With $20,000, you can print over 60,000 door hangers. The delivery process is easy because you can do it yourself or even delegate to a well-trained delivery team. While you spend little money, the ads earn high engagement rates.
The industry will shift to Stay-at-Home Ad options with Door Hangers
The advertising methods are changing in the age of COVID-19. Whether its effects are brief or prolonged, marketers need to be nimble in these challenging times, and pivot when needed while optimizing performance throughout the crisis.
Advertisers will have to find alternative channels to reach consumers and many already pivoted to In-Home Advertising. This model represents the new market trend in advertising as an alternative to traditional OOH advertising channels. New advertising methods as seen at Adzze, will effectively engineer the on-boarding of major businesses as many begin to see the tremendous benefit of in-home advertising.
