The Vaccine and Out of Home Marketing Tactics

The wait for a COVID-19 vaccine is finally over. And while it will still be a while before the vaccination is available to everyone, this breakthrough will lead to a transformation in consumer behavior, which will facilitate a change in advertising spending.

The pandemic forced people inside, ultimately leading to huge decline in marketing, particularly in the Out of Home (OOH) industry. How drastic was the drop for OOH advertising? When you consider that demand for public transit plummeted, it’s not surprising to learn that JCDecaux, the world’s largest OOH advertising group, saw a drop of 66 percent in the early months of the pandemic, as reported by The New York Times.

OOH, which includes billboards, kiosks, bus benches, interiors and exteriors of buses, taxis, trains and subways, and signage posted on the exterior of brick-and-mortar locations, has long been a favorite form of advertising for some of the world’s largest companies.

Even before the vaccine for COVID-19 was developed, OOH advertising was starting to rebound. Businesses had started opening, schools had reopened, people were venturing outside, and brands were starting to spend again on advertising. With the vaccine being distributed now, we can expect to see incredible growth in 2021 for OOH marketing.

Already this year, we’ve seen marketers ramp up their OOH spending as they try to cash in on the holiday season, which just makes sense. The right ads can create powerful and memorable campaigns, leading to a huge return on investment, which of course, is what every marketer desires.

How popular will OOH be in 2021? You can expect marketing spends to increase dramatically, which means OOH, specifically digital OOH advertising, should go through the roof. And that, in turn, could lead to a “good problem,” meaning the desire for OOH could be reach such heights that it may be hard to meet the demand. Those businesses who offer OOH will simply have to be prepared to handle the surge.

Are you ready to take the OOH advertising plunge? The High Road Agency continues to produces numerous OOH marketing campaigns for a variety of businesses – and can create one for your organization too! Call 423-900-8424 or shoot us an email at letschat@thehighroadagency.com.