Research shows that out-of-home (OOH) amplifies the impact of ad campaigns, particularly when integrated with digital channels. 

While OOH may not be the obvious complement to digital, campaign performance data continues to prove its value as an amplifier of reach and effectiveness.

Mary Ventresca, VP of marketing and communications for Pattison Outdoor, says out-of-home is now taking on a more prominent role in media plans, and there are a number of reasons for that. 

Chief among them is the availability of more and more placements. “There’s such a wide selection of canvases all over a city: indoor environments, roadside, movie theatres, restaurants…it’s just really anywhere people are in the public space, there’s opportunities for out-of-home,” she says.

The other reason is better measurability of campaign performance.

“For several years now, a lot of OOH companies have really stepped up in terms of data and analytics, so we can speak to the metrics and KPIs that clients have become accustomed to with digital,” she says.

A Pattison Recall Tracker Study conducted earlier this year quantified the additional impact OOH delivers to a campaign when it’s added to the media mix, and the results were similar for digital and static OOH.

When combined with an online campaign, OOH ups attention within a typical week by 6%, from 84% to 90%, and increases purchase influence from 61% to 67%. Positive reception to advertising is boosted from 55% to 71%. 

Trish Irwin, communication director at Cairns Oneil, says she has seen the OOH boost in action.

“We often see OOH score as the primary driver of brand awareness in campaigns delivering high-impact reach and frequency with proven results across brand metrics,” she says.

“Integrating mobile retargeting with OOH exposure allows us to correlate physical reach with measurable digital engagement. This attribution provides clearer insights into performance and amplifies total campaign impact on awareness metrics.”

The Pattison research further found that pairing OOH with in-app campaigns increases ad performance. Out-of-home media was the most favourable type for engaging with ads that incorporate a mobile component, enabling viewers to interact via tapping, scanning or texting on their devices. This tactic boosts campaign impact by 43% when it comes to attention, 13% in purchase influence and 36% in brand trust.

Jennifer Bidwell, VP of business solutions at Horizon Media Canada, sees a connection between out-of-home and mobile advertising, especially social media, because the two mediums are for those on the go, and consumed together. “In markets where you can get high reach and frequencies out-of-home – especially large format, streetside TSA and transit – paired with mobile, you do see stronger incremental reach in terms of consideration,” she says.

“We do see that stronger correlation between campaigns that are supported by out-of-home versus those that aren’t for actually driving consumers down the funnel through social shopping and or SEM. The overall sales, consideration and conversion are stronger,” she adds.