Maximizing Out-of-Home Advertising for Black Friday and the Holiday Shopping Season

As the holiday season approaches, retailers and marketers gear up for the busiest shopping time of the year. Black Friday, in particular, has become synonymous with unbeatable deals and shopping sprees. To stand out in the crowded marketplace and capture the attention of potential customers, businesses are turning to a mix of advertising strategies with one very important component being out-of-home. 

Out-of-home advertising encompasses a variety of formats, including billboards, transit ads, mall advertising, and more. Its effectiveness lies in its ability to reach a broad and diverse audience while creating lasting impressions. During the holiday season, OOH advertising can be a game-changer for several reasons.

1. Capturing the Spirit: OOH ads can be tailored to capture the festive spirit of the holidays. Bright and cheerful designs, holiday-themed visuals, and catchy slogans can instantly put shoppers in the right mood and connect your brand to the festive season.

2. Location, Location, Location: Strategic placement is key to OOH advertising success. Placing ads near or within shopping centers, malls, and high-traffic areas ensures that your message reaches shoppers when they are most likely to make a purchase.

3. Constant Exposure: Unlike digital ads that can be easily skipped or blocked, OOH ads are always there, providing constant exposure. This helps in building brand awareness and ensuring your message is seen multiple times.

4. Complementing Other Campaigns: OOH advertising can complement your other marketing efforts. By incorporating OOH into your media mix, digital and social media campaigns are further amplified, creating a consistent and memorable brand experience across channels

Tips for Effective OOH Advertising during Black Friday and the Holiday Season

Now that we've established the advantages of OOH advertising during the holiday shopping season, let's dive into some practical tips to make the most of it:

1. Creative Designs: Your OOH ads should be eye-catching and memorable. Incorporate holiday-themed visuals, festive colors, and compelling copy that resonates with the season.

2. Special Offers and Promotions: Black Friday is all about the deals. Use your OOH ads to prominently display special offers, discounts, and promotions. Make sure to include any time-limited offers to create a sense of urgency.

3. Use of QR Codes: Incorporate QR codes into your OOH ads that link to your online store or a specific landing page with more information about your holiday deals. This enables potential customers to easily access more details and it makes tracking interactions with your OOH ads simple and transparent.

4. Dynamic Creative: Take advantage of the flexibility of digital out-of-home, specifically programmatic, which can accommodate dynamic creative and frequent creative changes. You'll be able to switch messaging on a dime to latch on to holiday trends, pivot along with any product inventory changes, or even count down to the holidays. 
5. Social Media Integration: Encourage shoppers to engage with your brand on social media by including relevant hashtags and handles in your OOH ads. User-generated content can amplify your campaign's reach.
6. Connect IRL: Tis the season for shopping and not all of it will be happening online! This presents an amazing opportunity for brands to make the in-person shopping experience a pleasant and memorable one. Consider experiential activations such as coffee trucks, brand advocates, or pop-up shops to add a special extra layer of human connection to your holiday campaign.
   
   

American Greetings partnered with Wilkins last year to promote their Create-A-Card product using brand advocates dressed as Elves and Carolers. To learn more about the campaign, click here. 

In the competitive landscape of holiday shopping, out-of-home advertising can be a powerful tool to make your brand stand out and connect with your target audience. By creatively designing your ads, strategically placing them, and integrating them with your overall marketing efforts, you can effectively capture the attention of shoppers during Black Friday and throughout the holiday season. As you plan your holiday marketing strategy, don't underestimate the impact that OOH advertising can have in driving sales and creating lasting brand impressions.