Mastering the art of out-of-home advertising: Content simplicity, placement, and cross-cultural insights

Blog by Veronica Burbulea

This blog is based on the presentation that was given during the yearly EMAC conference in Budapest last May. DVJ hosted a special session where Lisette Kruizinga- de Vries shared insights from internal studies and the PhD students we cooperate with shared the latest insights from their studies.

Why focus on out-of-home advertising?

Think about how much advertising you typically see once you step outside your house. Probably a lot, and everywhere: at bus shelters, on phone kiosks, billboards, and wall murals, in supermarkets, and subways. All these types of advertising fall into one broad category, namely out-of-home (OOH) media. This type of advertising refers to commercially available and physically rentable assets located outside the home in both public and commercial places (Wilson, 2023).

OOH media is one of the oldest forms of communication and has been widely used by practitioners in advertising campaigns for several reasons.

• Firstly, it has lower production costs compared to other media types.
• Secondly, it boasts high visibility in a diverse set of public and commercial places, which translates into higher cost-effectiveness in reaching a wider audience.
• Lastly, it ranks highly among consumer preferences when discussing advertising types.

Past research has shown that consumers view OOH advertising as a way to fend off boredom while waiting in line, or as a means to entertain themselves during travel. Nonetheless, it remains unclear how effective this type of advertising is and what mechanisms drive its performance.

Content or context?

A great number of studies focus on advertising effectiveness in various media contexts, such as TV, print, or social media. These studies underscore the crucial role that the content of advertising plays in its performance. In our study, we distinguish between the content you advertise — such as emotions and original ideas — and how you advertise it, specifically whether you use a lot of text, complex designs, and intense colours.

Additionally, we investigate whether the location of the ad influences its effectiveness. This aspect is particularly relevant for out-of-home (OOH) advertising, where the time of exposure is typically brief: consumers are often engaged in other activities while seeing the ad and may not always pay sufficient attention to it. Therefore, what and where you advertise are salient aspects for OOH media, as they are crucial in capturing consumer attention and facilitating the processing of the ad.

Our analysis

In this study, we evaluate how advertising content influences consumer cognitive responses, such as ad recall. Additionally, we investigated whether the location/context in which the ad is placed enhances or diminishes the effect of ad content on ad performance. We utilised data provided by DVJ Insights, covering 84 ads across 15 product categories in three countries: the Netherlands, the UK, and Germany. Furthermore, we enlisted five marketing experts to assess the content of the ads and determine whether the location of each ad corresponds with its content and design.

Our analysis reveals that both the content of the advertisement and the manner of its presentation significantly impact consumer cognitive responses. Ads loaded with information negatively affected ad recall, as did ads exhibiting considerable variability in colour intensity. Additionally, we discovered that the influence of ad content on performance varies between countries, with Germany and the UK showing more similar results, while the results for the Netherlands were distinctly different. For example, incorporating more emotionality in ads benefits the English and German markets but proves detrimental in the Dutch market.

The location of the ad also plays a crucial role. We found that the congruence between the ad and its location in terms of conveyed ideas and design can either amplify or weaken the effects of the ad content on its effectiveness. For instance, the negative impact of emotionality in Dutch ads is exacerbated when the ad is placed in a location that matches the ad’s design.

Key takeaways

Beaty of simplicity: Our study indicates that “simple” ads tend to perform better. Advertisers should focus on conveying straightforward ideas, avoiding excessive information and limiting variability in basic image features such as colour or edges.

Location is key: Moreover, the location where ads are placed is crucial, as it can either enhance or diminish your efforts to boost consumer recall. Depending on the design and content of your ads, you may want to choose locations that are either congruent or incongruent with these elements.

Variation across countries: Lastly, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of how the market or country in which you intend to advertise responds to ads. What may be effective in one country could prove to be completely ineffective in another.

References

Wilson, R. T. (2023). Out-of-Home advertising: A systematic review and research agenda. Journal of Advertising, 52(2), 279-299.