Covid 19 has negatively affected every aspect of human life today. The economic sector hasn’t been spared, as a matter of fact, it’s the worst hit.

Out-of-Home advertising has been a staple in the marketing industry for years. By definition, Out-of-home media, also known as OOH, includes all forms of outdoor advertising such as billboards, transit ads, posters on the side of buildings, in malls, stores, and more. It’s estimated that about 5 billion dollars are spent annually on this form of marketing alone in North America.

Not until the pandemic came in, out-of-home advertising used to be an excellent method of reaching out to consumers as they travel from place to place. However, we’ve only recently begun to see how much COVID-19 has impacted this media type. The government-imposed travel restrictions have affected out-of-home advertising, because people cannot move about as freely as they would before and they fear going outside due to infections.

In as much as the pandemic has had negative implications on OOH advertising, we have some positive ones. Companies that relied on out-of-home advertising have woken up to the reality that they need to adapt to survive the storm. As a result, marketers are experimenting new ways to reach their desired audience.

This article will look at how Covid 19 has changed the impact of out-of-home advertising and how it’s taking advantage of post covid travel.

How Covid 19 Has Changed the Impact of OOH Advertising

The travel restrictions have reduced the amount of time that people spend outdoors. The revenue from outdoor advertising reduced significantly during the first year of the storm because companies were reluctant to advertise. Even so, there are discoveries that promise a better future for OOH amidst the pandemic. These are:

1. Blending of Digital OOH with Traditional OOH

In the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic, traditional methods of OOH advertising are blending with digital ones. Digitization of OOH includes using electronic billboards, signs, and screen displays. In pre-covid times, digital billboards are being used in smaller spaces like a taxi which have a screen on the front seat headrests. This method makes it possible to display more adverts at ago and targeted when potential consumers are.

It’s important to note that the digital methods of OOH do not replace, but they back up the traditional methods. One main advantage of digital OOH is the ability to reach consumers in the real world.

2. Relevant Services Are Advertising

Since people travel out of their homes for essential services- to go out for food, visit the bank, go to the pharmacy or hospital, many advertisers in this Covid times are essential service providers like banks and local supermarkets. These effectively advertise discount offers and their open hours to entice people to visit and purchase when they go out.

Digital billboards can convey real-time messages and relay a sense of urgency to the target audience. Also, it’s far better off than interrupting consumers by forcing ads when they visit online sites.

3. Developing Tailored OOH Advertisement Content

Tailored content in OOH attracts greater attention from consumers and has significant impact. The range of digital advertising content on screens now includes weather updates, breaking news, fun facts, and local events updates to make it more engaging. People are still fearful and will be attracted to watching a screen with newsreels than a plain advertising screen. Such information in public places attracts consumers, and at the same time, it informs them about brands or services.

For it to be effective, digital OOH advertising needs quality content research and display methods for the target audience.

In conclusion, though we acknowledge that Covid 19 has devastated the economy and industries like OOH advertising, there are rays of hope amidst the storm. Brands have found more personalized spaces to advertise and added engaging content to the digital screen. Not only are these discoveries short-term survival tricks, but they promise a brighter future for OOH advertising. Thankfully, the Post-Covid era has started seeing the industry start seeing a slow growth in business which is anticipated to get better as we return to our new normal.