Categories: OOH Basics & Insights

The Difference Between Being Seen Online vs. In Real Life

Brands have more ways to reach people than ever before. Paid social, search ads, display advertising, email, streaming and influencer marketing can put a business in front of millions.

But seeing an ad online and seeing a brand in the real world are two very different experiences.

Online advertising

Built for targeting, interaction and immediate action

Out-of-home advertising

Built around physical presence

A billboard, transit ad or street-level display puts a brand directly into the places people live, work, shop and travel.

For marketers, the question is how combining the two can make a campaign stronger.

What Is the Difference Between Online and Out-of-Home Advertising?

The simplest difference is where the advertising experience happens. Online advertising reaches consumers through digital devices, while out-of-home advertising reaches them in physical, public spaces.

Digital formats

  • Paid search
  • Social media ads
  • Display advertising
  • Video
  • Sponsored content

OOH formats

  • Billboards & digital billboards
  • Transit advertising
  • Street furniture
  • Airport advertising
  • Other place-based media

Both can generate awareness. But the way that awareness is created is very different.

Online, your ad is competing with everything else happening on a screen.In the real world, your brand can become part of the environment.

Online Attention Is Crowded

Think about the last time you opened Instagram, searched something on Google or read an article online.

How many ads do you actually remember?

Digital advertising gives marketers incredible targeting capabilities, but it also exists in an environment where consumers are constantly moving, scrolling past sponsored posts and skipping content. That creates a difficult attention problem.

A few secondsEven a highly relevant digital ad may only occupy a small portion of a screen before something else replaces it.
Days or weeksA 14-by-48-foot highway bulletin doesn’t compete with a post directly above or below it. It holds its location and reaches people repeatedly as they move through the area.

OOH Advertising Builds Familiarity Through Repetition

One of billboard advertising’s biggest advantages is how naturally frequency can occur. People tend to follow routines. They take similar routes to work, drive the same highways, visit familiar shopping centers and travel through the same neighborhoods.

A strategically placed billboard can become part of that routine:

MondayThey pass your ad without giving it much thought.
TuesdayThe name looks familiar.
FridayThey recognize the brand immediately.

This type of repeated exposure can help build brand awareness without requiring the consumer to click, watch or otherwise interact with the ad.

Online Advertising and Billboard Advertising Work Better Together

Brands don’t need to choose between digital advertising and OOH. In many cases, they serve different parts of the same customer journey. Someone might see your billboard during their morning commute but have no reason to act immediately. Later, they search for your company. The next day, they encounter one of your paid social ads and recognize the brand.

Sees your billboard
→
Searches your company
→
Recognizes your social ad

That relationship can work in the opposite direction, too. Someone who has already encountered a business online may see its billboard and recognize it immediately.

Take Your Brand Beyond the Screen

BillboardsIn helps businesses find and book outdoor advertising across the country, from traditional and digital billboards to other OOH formats. Whether you’re building awareness in one local market or expanding across multiple cities, find placements that match your goals.

Get Seen in the Real World

Michael Vargulin

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Michael Vargulin

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