Out-of-home (OOH) advertising, also called outdoor advertising, outdoor media, and out-of-home media, is advertising experienced outside the home, such as billboards, wall art, and posters seen while “on the go.” It also includes place-based media seen in places such as convenience stores, medical centers, salons, and other brick-and-mortar venues.

OOH Measurement

In general terms, brands and agencies can measure the effectiveness of out-of-home advertising by observing changes in whatever KPIs the brand had in mind. For example, an increase in phone calls, leads, in-store traffic, website visits, or even sales during the duration of a billboard or bus branding can be an indicator of the impact of running the campaign.

Usually, the goal for any advertiser is some form of sales. Still, it can be difficult to attribute a sale directly to an outdoor ad (and most forms of traditional advertising) without a marketing mix analysis or marketing attribution study.

So, how can advertisers then know if their out-of-home campaigns hit the right buttons and achieved the actions they needed from their target audiences?

Collecting insights directly from the intended audiences is an excellent place to start – to know if the advertisement was seen, understood, acted upon, and by whom. Several tools collect this information, including running recall surveys, GPS mapping through devices carried by the respondents or satellite, and travel diaries. The Global Guidelines on OOH Audience Measurement by ESOMAR and various OOH associations provides the most formal guide for measuring Out-of-Home advertising representatively, accurately, and affordably.

Out-of-Home Measurement Surveys

Recall surveys can be deployed to evaluate the effectiveness of an out-of-home advertising campaign during or after the campaign. Some of the considerations here include:

• Sample – Due to the local nature of out-of-home campaigns, the respondents should be recruited from a population within the geographic area the campaign is running in. The rest of the demographic considerations that typically represent a good sample, such as gender, age groups, and socio-economic indicators should also be considered to get a representative sample. People who are regularly out of home and the less mobile must also be represented correctly in the sample.
• Survey mode – Depending on the structure of the sample, researchers can choose an appropriate survey mode. Panel-based trackers can be conducted through SMS, mobile links, WhatsApp, and MROCs. At the same time, samples that include older or illiterate respondents can deploy modes such as CATI or CAPI. If the survey needs location data, the survey can be run through web links with location-enabled devices or a specialized mobile application such as the GeoPoll App.
• Timing and frequency – As with most recall surveys, timing can be integral to the accuracy and performance of the study in terms of response rates. OOH measurement surveys can also be continuous to track performance, so the optimal frequency must be nailed down.
• Survey questions – A survey is only as good as its questions, which are largely informed by the metrics being investigated. OOH measurement questions could cover a range of themes, such as
  • Incidence – did you use the X-Y route this morning?
  • Awareness – have you seen a billboard for Brand A?
  • Opinion – how much did you like or dislike the billboard design/message?
  • Intent – do you intend to take action B based on the message you saw on the billboard?
  • Action – have you done C as prompted by the billboard?

Measure the Impact of your Out-of-Home Marketing with GeoPoll

GeoPoll’s Out of Home solutions can measure the ROI of specific outdoor advertisements, identify the audiences they reach, and monitor the quality of billboards during your campaign. Using GeoPoll’s mobile data collection platform and panel of respondents, you can gather real-time insights from those who have traveled down roads with Out of Home advertisements, collect pictures of advertisements, and much more.

Case Study: Measuring the Effectiveness of Outdoor Advertising in Nigeria

Contact our sales team to learn more.

The post Using Surveys to Measure Out-of-Home Advertising appeared first on GeoPoll.

This was a key takeaway from the recent PAMRO conference  which took place in Cape Town, South Africa from 27 – 30 August 2017.  The conference brought together over 100 delegates representing the media and media research landscape in Africa.

The increases in population and constant changes in the dynamics of environments, increased fragmentation of TV, radio and even print, suggest that the oldest form of advertising, the ‘billboard poster’, whether static or digital, is still the most cost-effective and impactful medium to reach the mass or the new niche markets  – Akinyi Okulo, Client Services Manager,  Media, GeoPoll

OOH’s Return On Investment Is Becoming Measurable For the first time, a common currency is available allowing advertisers to compare Out of Home (OOH) media measurement with other channels on a like for like basis.

We were honored to have our very own Matt Angus-Hammond, Global Key Accounts and Custom Research present “Audience Wars: Out of Home Media Takes a Stand” at this year’s conference.  His presentation demonstrated to attendees  the ability to measure audience and campaign effectiveness with Out of Home media measurement by the OOH advertising industry. Through use of satellite image and mobile phone technology, we can now calculate audience metrics for OOH channels using the same units of currency including GRPs, frequency, impacts, reach and audiences.

His presentation (pdf) demonstrated to attendees the ability to measure audience and campaign effectiveness with Out of Home media measurement by the OOH advertising industry. Through use of satellite image and mobile phone technology, we can now calculate audience metrics for OOH channels using the same units of currency including GRPs, frequency, impacts, reach and audiences.

“The PAMRO 2017 conference highlighted the dynamic, even turbulent, situation media finds itself in across the African continent and indeed worldwide. For example, GeoPoll’s OOH audience measurement case study revealed the channel’s extraordinary ability to reach huge numbers of people, something which the increasingly fragmented television and radio media can no longer claim. But exposure does not necessarily mean effectiveness, and Marshall McLuhan’s old adage ‘the medium is the message’ is looking shaky. The message is everything. Content is king.” – Matt Angus Hammond, Global Key Accounts and Custom Research, GeoPoll

As mentioned during Mr. Angus-Hammond’s presentation, brands and advertising agencies can now better understand which locations have the highest audience size on weekdays and weekends by key demographics as well as see when and where target audiences travel throughout the day.

Cuende Partnership
It’s in partnership with Cuende, that we offer media measurement from television, radio, and print to the Out of Home advertising industry. Cuende is a leading outdoor advertising data provider in Europe and Asia that uses satellite imagery to measure traffic at specific locations throughout the day. 

OOH and TV/Radio Measurement Come Together

We were honored not only to have Mr. Angus-Hammond present at this year’s PAMRO conference, but he was joined by Akinyi Okulo, Client Services Manager, Media, GeoPoll who spoke on the tendency to compare OOH advertising to TV and Radio. Ms. Okulo spoke about our media product, KGMM, which measures TV, Radio and newspaper audience ratings across 11 countries in Africa to provide overnight media data.

“The future of audience measurement is fenced within the context of content.  PAMRO 2017 has presented a unique opportunity for peer learning as well as exploratory methodologies on identifying, tracking and measuring content.” Akinyi Okulo, Client Services Manager, Media 

Download Mr. Angus-Hammond’s full presentation now

The post Out of Home Media Takes a Stand at #PAMRO2017 appeared first on GeoPoll.