Roadside billboards have been around for decades now and were one of the first out-of-home mediums available. Over the years many changes have been made to the medium. No longer are roadside billboards simply only static posters or paintings (although these still exist), they’ve evolved to include digital roadside billboards.
Throughout history, we’ve seen the rise and fall of many advertising channels, the most memorable in recent years are print media, and soon, potentially, social media advertising. There is a range of reasons that roadside advertising has survived, and continues to thrive, even after a pandemic that shackled everyone to their homes.
The main reason that experts believe roadside is here to stay is due to its unique offerings as an advertising channel. Roadside DOOH can reach huge audiences to build brand awareness, target untapped markets in specific locations, and has huge returns on investment for advertisers ($6 earned for every $1 spent). Not to mention that most roadside media owners offer third-party verification for play data.
Reach
As mentioned above, roadside DOOH is able to reach huge audiences due to its unskippable nature and physical presence. Not only that but due to the locations that are typically chosen, car, bus, and tram loads of people will be exposed to the content. On average, 78% of Australians notice OOH each month, of that, 72% are on the roads. These audience numbers are nearly unmatched and provide brands with a great channel for building awareness.
Location, location, location
Everyone’s heard the phrase at some point, and it holds true for roadside billboards too. Media owners such as LUMO Digital Outdoor research every location thoroughly and provide relevant key data to advertisers. These media owners know everything about the demographics of the audience in which their screen operates. With this information in hand, advertisers are able to show specific, targeted ads that are relevant to the specific audience.
Return on Investment
All these factors contribute to digital roadside signage having a huge return on investment. Marketers are always looking for the highest ROI and in 2017 it was discovered that for every $1 spent on OOH advertising, $5.97 is generated in product sales. Thanks to the continued evolution of technology in the industry, making use of DOOH advertising is becoming easier and more convenient.
Third-Party Verification
Part of the reason why marketers avoided digital out-of-home was due to the lack of play data verification. There was a fear that media owners could manipulate data in a way that makes their locations/impact more appealing. Not only did marketers want to ensure their advertisements were being seen, but they also don’t fully understand all the technical data they were presented with.
This is where third-party verification tools and companies come into play. These organisations ingest data from Doohly, verify it, and then compile reports to send to the advertisers. A process like this is a win-win situation as media owners can ensure advertisers that their content is being played when and where they specified and paid for.
Examples of Roadside
Digital roadside billboard providers can be found all over the world, and come in all shapes and sizes.
Some media owners have integrated other technology to innovate and support unique dynamic creatives. Dynamic content can be defined as content that takes external data and combines it with creatives (you can learn more about external data triggers here). This external data can either be presented within the creatives, such as showing the weather or speed of a car. Or be used to dictate which creatives are displayed, like if it's raining, show content for umbrellas.
By combining digital roadside billboards with external data triggers, these providers enable dynamic content for their advertisers. An example of this is LUMO and Southern Cross Pet Insurance’s latest campaign.
Across New Zealand, a campaign was launched encouraging drivers to slow down and be aware of people walking their dogs. To emphasise this, the speed that drivers travelled at was displayed and those going at or below the speed limit were thanked by local furry friends.
If you’re a media owner who operates roadside digital signage, or any form of DOOH, reach out to us today. Doohly can provide you with the easiest to use CMS solution that is super affordable.
