Data + Mobile + OOH = Results. Need proof? Research shared in Campaign shows that mobile click-through rates increase by up to 15% when supported by OOH. Additional research from Outsmart, states better performing OOH campaigns create a 38% uplift in short-term brand action taken via mobiles, with 66% of all actions being direct to the brand itself.
Mobile display ads give advertisers the opportunity to serve ads within proximity of billboards/displays and other target areas of the market, amplifying the reach of their OOH campaigns. This integrated strategy reaches consumers in the moments that matter — during relevant times when they are most likely to visit, search, shop or share.
According to a recent AdAge article, spending on OOH advertising is expected to reach a new high of $7.4 billion this year in the U.S., and the second quarter of this year was the strongest quarter in four years, driven by a 15 percent leap for digital OOH. Fueling this growth is mobile, because OOH is no longer just about driving consumers to physical locations, but about driving specific, measurable actions.
While the use of location in targeted marketing is not new, its use as a tool has only sharpened with the increased adoption of mobile devices. This is most often embodied through interaction with associated mobile ads, corresponding store visitation and/or website traffic, app downloads and social amplification around the brand. Mobile is also used at scale to measure attribution post-campaign, providing the data media planners need to prove their strategy worked.
To further illustrate the use and effectiveness of OOH and mobile integration, we’re sharing thirteen case studies across verticals with varied marketing objectives. Check them out:
Driving Store Visits
To increase sales of gaming consoles and drive visits to electronics retailers within a limited-time price incentive, the client activated DOOH within five miles of select retailers. In addition, they layered in mobile retargeting to consumers who passed the OOH units or who were seen at any of four key retailers, where the gaming console was sold. There was a 46 percent increase in visitation from mobile alone, a 69 percent visitation lift from DOOH alone, and 127 percent lift from those exposed to both DOOH + mobile. View here.
When a bank wanted more customers, they promoted impactful messaging across both digital and printed bulletins in close proximity to select branches. To extend the reach and impressions of the campaign, they targeted devices seen at the bank itself and top competitor locations, with complementary messaging. The results? One third of exposed visitors spent 17 or more minutes at a branch, with those who were exposed nine or more times showing a visitation rate 40 percent higher than average. View here.
To increase club memberships, a major fitness brand used a mobile and OOH strategy inclusive of high impact billboards, proximity targeting (loyalty and competitor locations) and behavioral audience targeting for gym goers. The brand saw a 260 percent lift in visitation rates driven by those who were exposed to the OOH and mobile campaign. View here.
A packaged goods brand drove traffic to a partner grocery store where the product was sold through a proximity and behavioral audience targeted campaign, inclusive of digital billboards and mobile advertising. The marketer looked at the lift in store traffic of the advertised grocery store compared to the top four competitors in the area. During the campaign, there were over 11,500 tracked visits to the advertised grocery store, which accounted for 53 percent of all tracked store traffic, over two-times higher than any other competitive chain. View here.
To understand the effectiveness of its OOH campaign in driving consumers in-store, a mobile telecom brand measured its Chicago OOH street furniture campaign via a media-agnostic partner. They were able to prove that the campaign generated a visit lift of 86 percent among consumers exposed to the ads, proving a direct impact of OOH advertising on in-store visits. Peak visit times for consumers who saw the ad were Friday and Saturday afternoons, indicating a strong trend toward weekend shopping. View here.
Driving Ticket Sales and Visits
To spark buzz and drive awareness and visits for an iconic artist’s exhibit, a museum launched a socially-activated OOH campaign. Signage at a major transit hub in New York City featured lyrics, photos, and museum-like plaques that added contextual relevance for onlookers. In addition, commuters could scan a code to stream a curated playlist by the artist during their commute. The results – milestone attendance, with over 2 million visitors to the exhibit! There were over 266 million earned social media and press impressions over the course of the campaign. View here.
Increasing App Downloads and Streaming Subscriptions
An online delivery service used OOH to cut through the noise and reach hungry consumers with creative posted on New York’s streets and subways. This messaging reached commuters on their way home from work – when dinner was most likely on their mind. Within one week, the campaign had 1.1 million earned social impressions on Twitter alone. A nine percent increase in brand awareness and a 10 percent increase in app use were also attributed to the OOH campaign. View here.
Dogs need training and pet owners need trainers, but not all training can be done in person. A virtual dog training app utilized digital OOH to launch their brand and drive app downloads and purchases of their training services. Consumers could interact with the digital units through augmented reality. After playing with a virtual dog, they were prompted to buy the training service on the website or app. The owner of the startup reported the highest website traffic to-date during that month. View here.
To meet the needs of weary travelers, a major grocery chain utilized digital OOH technology in-flight to help consumers select items they needed to restock their cupboards and fridges while still on the road, and a convenient time for the order to be delivered to their home address. Running for three months, the place-based campaign yielded a CTR that was 25x compared to the house ad CTR. View here.
A streaming service chose OOH to drive brand awareness, brand favorability and purchase intent. By using a mobile panel, they were able to determine the effectiveness of the campaign, and found that there was a 20 percent lift in consumer awareness. The streaming service also saw a 22 percent increase in consumers’ likelihood to consider the product for purchase. View here.
Joining the Social Conversation
When a reality star broke a woman’s heart, fans banded together to strategically place billboards to communicate their outrage, supplementing an already-massive social conversation. Within four hours, creative was designed and posted. The digital billboards garnered their own fame, with over 760 million press and social media impressions, plus prominent television coverage. Searches for the program’s billboards ranked second in Google search results, only behind the actual star’s name for the two weeks following the campaign. View here.
Inspiring Action Online
When an organization wanted to get signatures to help ban animal testing on cosmetic products, they used digital billboards and transit signage in key metropolis hubs to drive the online petition. Within 72 hours, they saw their website traffic triple and received over 81 million impressions within the first 48 hours of launch. The campaign hashtag reached over 1.6 million people on social media and signatures steadily increased, adding fervor to the cause. View here.
Utilizing Programmatic DOOH
A big box retailer utilized interactive coupons and DOOH to drive new customer engagement and purchases. Programmatic DOOH-enabled ads boasted a superior post-click response online by delivering impressions across 88 digital displays within 1.25 miles of top retail locations. The call-to-action gave consumers the option to access the coupon via SMS, visiting a shortlink URL, or scanning a QR code. The post-click response rate was six-times greater than the industry average for online prospecting and the coupon redemption rate was two-times higher than similar online channels. View here.
OOH is leveraging new technology to make brand campaigns more relevant, responsive, and rewarding for consumers. A key portion of this is driven through mobile, as there is a natural confluence and flexibility between the two screens. The methods may have evolved, but the goal remains the same: Connect brands with their desired audiences.
*Sources: AdAge; Campaign Live; Outsmart
View the DOOH + Mobile Attribution Case Study Collection
