Planning out-of-home advertising: from campaign objectives to the right site
A good outdoor campaign starts with a clear task. This guide helps you compare offers and put the main decisions in a useful order.
1. Define the objective and target area
Begin with one sentence: who needs to learn what, and by when? Promoting a new branch calls for different decisions from generating registrations for an event. Then define the geographical area. A radius around your premises can be a starting point, but it does not replace looking at actual journeys, barriers and access routes.
Our editorial recommendation is to record which areas are explicitly unimportant too. This makes it easier to judge whether a broadly drawn package of advertising sites really fits.
2. Assess location and format together
Traditional poster formats include large-format billboards, city-light posters and advertising columns. They differ in construction and placement, among other factors. The Bundesverband Aussenmedien overview of poster advertising provides an introduction.
Request recent photographs and precise location details for promising sites. From which direction is the creative visible? Are there obstructions? Is the panel illuminated at the relevant time? Are you buying a particular site or a network whose individual locations may change? Record these points alongside the price.
3. Test the message in its intended setting
Develop a clear hierarchy: advertiser, main message and next step. Review the layout at a smaller size and with a brief glance. Can someone unfamiliar with the project recognise who is advertising and what the message is? This simple preliminary test can reveal overloaded designs, although it does not replace an effectiveness study.
A QR code should not be the only route to the offer. Check whether the surroundings allow people to scan safely and comfortably. A memorable web address provides an additional point of reference.
4. Compare the complete budget
Ask for design, production, media space, installation or posting, and possible creative changes to be itemised separately. Agree artwork delivery, approvals and start dates as well. A cheap media rate is of little use if production misses the intended campaign launch.
5. Distinguish delivery from results
Agma's ma Out of Home provides a basis for audience planning in Germany. It connects mobility data with poster locations, traffic volumes and other parameters. Such modelled performance values differ from directly observed purchases. Source: agma, ma Out of Home.
Ask which data underpins the offer and which period it covers. Also define your own outcome measures, such as the contact sources customers voluntarily mention when enquiring. Changes during a campaign are initially indications: seasonality, other advertising and special offers may also contribute.
Before you book
- Are the objective, target area and duration documented?
- Are locations and availability confirmed?
- Are creative, technical specifications and production deadlines agreed?
- Does the quote include all costs and delivery evidence?
- Is there a realistic evaluation plan?
For digital inventory, see screens, spots and audience contacts. If the medium itself will be on the move, read our guide to planning mobile outdoor advertising.