The Impact of Outdoor Advertising

The 2019 Nielsen Out of Home Advertising Study details the impact of outdoor advertising on an increasingly savvy consumer base. As a segment of Out of Home (OOH) advertising, billboards continue to gain ground, and digital billboards are able to increase that reach with eye-catching, responsive messaging that effectively targets consumers every 6-8 seconds.

Out of Home Increases Website Visits
Many marketers look at leads that come from their website, without researching what influences prospects to visit their business website in the first place. The Nielsen survey determined that 33% of people use a search engine to look up info on a company being advertised after seeing an ad on a billboard. The survey also reported that 15% of people will visit a company’s social media page after watching an ad on a billboard. Digital billboard advertisements are especially successful in pushing viewers’ interest back to the advertiser’s website and generating new leads.

Longer Time Spent Driving Means More Ad Views
Roadside billboards are by far the most noticeable ads when driving. Today’s travelers are averaging 25 or more hours on the road each week and covering and average of 159 miles. Nielsen determined that 81% of travelers reported noticing a digital billboard within the past month.

More Engagement and Interaction with Outdoor Advertising
Noticing an ad while driving by is one thing, but advertisers covet consumers who engage with what they see. The Nielsen OOH study found that 83% of billboard viewers make a point to look at ad messages some of the time, and 40% did almost all of the time. Sixty-six percent of people with smartphones reported taking some type of action after seeing the advertisement.

Like other forms of traditional media (think print, radio and television), static billboards are losing their edge. Digital billboards bring advertisers the ability to change messages frequently, display eye-catching content, and be highly visible day or night. As digital technology changes the landscape of advertising, outdoor digital billboards will continue to grow and make exciting and lasting impressions.