B2B marketers don’t usually go flashy or adventurous. Mostly, they focus on driving measurable results using entails like content marketing, direct mail, or account-based marketing (ABM). Out-of-home (OOH) advertising has traditionally was considered as a consumer marketing tactic, but, this is changing very fast, especially for technology companies.
Top firms like Zoom, Zendesk, ZoHo, Salesforce, and Cisco – to name a few—have invested in OOH advertising to drive brand recall and awareness, reinforcing brand messaging, supporting their Sales team to reach and engage new audiences. B2B OOH spending is rising—and it’s poised for continued growth.
Also read: Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategies Go Mainstream
Below are a few points that reinforce the need to transform the mindset of marketers to adapt OOH marketing:
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It Works
To start with, OOH is highly effective as brands are driving results with OOH campaigns, and companies are noticing the results. According to the Nielsen OOH Advertising Study 2019, 90% of U.S. residents age 16 and above, noticed some form of OOH advertising in the last month, with wrapped vehicles and billboards ranking as the most noticed forms. On average, 81% of people who noticed an OOH advertising in the past month engaged with it’s messaging, and two-thirds of viewers used their smartphone in response to the OOH ad.
B2B marketers understand that there are people behind the companies they are courting—these audiences find autoplay videos and pop-up ads disruptive and annoying. So, marketers are looking for innovative ways to stand out in the existing saturated digital landscape, and connecting with audiences respecting their preferences. As such, a considerably growing number will consider OOH soon.
Many B2B technology companies include OOH as part of their advertising program leading to an IPO, which contributes to the uptick in the OOH expenditure. Compare brands investing in advertising before an IPO, like Zoom, to those that do not, a positive correlation between the stock performance and brand spend will be noticed. It’s not the single factor, as smart advertising helps companies to connect with investors and build confidence in the brand.
Also read: AI can Lead B2B Conversion
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Buying Process is Simplified
The Digitalization of OOH is far more than the billboards themselves. B2B buyers can now purchase OOH impressions using digital tools like AdQuick, a platform simplifying planning, purchase, and measure outdoor advertising. Another similar tool, the Rubicon Project Exchange, makes digital billboard inventory available to programmatic buyers through a private marketplace; and a self-service platform Adelphic, utilized for cross-channel programmatic advertising.
The ease of buying has expanded OOH popularity and made it simpler to execute traditional OOH campaigns. Since it is so easy to purchase, a company might be interested in buying a billboard near its headquarters to bolster employee morale. The B2B brands can support their Sales team by launching OOH campaigns near enterprise prospect offices. This creates brand ubiquity in those areas helping to grease the wheels for the Sales team.
Few advertising agencies are building their personal tools for planning and buying OOH media, which also contributes to OOH expenditure. Horizon Media, for example, launched AMP an OOH audience targeting platform helping the agency make more informed and well researched buying decisions.
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It’s Measurable
The third reason B2B buyers are considering OOH is that it is measurable. Using technology and data, brands can now target and measure impressions; attributing online and offline activity to OOH advertising exposure; and smartly retargeting people who have seen OOH ads. OOH performance measurement is more accurate than many other forms of media. The most sophisticated measurement tools track impressions that were viewed, as opposed to impressions that could have been observed, i.e., viewable impressions.
OOH is evolving from an upper-funnel tactic to a mid-funnel, as a robust performance-based strategy. It is now becoming a more apt advertising tactic that B2B brands can invest in. It’s easy to buy, effective, and entirely measurable. Because of these benefits, a growing number of B2B marketers are jumping to grasp this opportunity incorporating OOH into their media plans to drive brand awareness and to deliver measurable advertising results.
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