5 Unique Alternatives to Outdoor Advertising Banners

Today, 83 percent of people work outside of the home. Which means, they see a lot of outdoor advertising each day– one reason why you want your ads to stand out from the crowd.

Out of the home (OOH) ads are effective in reaching a mass audience, and research shows that well-designed outdoor advertising increases audience engagement.

They also make the first impression of your business or product– reason two why it is so important to use memorable outdoor advertising techniques.

Don’t let your business be reduced just another boring banner.

Here are five unique alternatives to outdoor advertising banners that will help you turn heads and make a lasting impression.

1. Flags

Cheap custom flags come in many different shapes and sizes, so you can choose what works best for your brand.

They work well at grabbing attention because they are different than the traditional outdoor advertising banners.

For one, they are verticle rather than horizontal. People innately want to look at verticle structures (think skyscrapers).

Secondly, advertising flags are bold. They are colorful and their size allows for large fonts and images.

Plus, flags are designed to move in the wind which is eye-catching. Why do you think flags have been used to represent countries and states for centuries? You can’t help but notice a moving flag.

2. Billboards

Billboards are effective because they reach an audience that no other advertising can reach, aside from radio ads. But really–who listens to the radio anymore?

U.S. workers spend an average of three hours and 30 minutes commuting to and from work each day, and billboards connect with them.

Billboards today don’t have to be subjected to the highway, however. Smaller billboards targeting walking pedestrians are popping up in cities, too.

Since people usually travel the same roads and walk the same sidewalks, billboards are seen over and over again. Repetition is never a bad thing in advertising.

The large space of billboards gives your marketing team room to be clever and creative.

Technological and design advances, including 3D effects, digital screens, and interactive boards (check out Reebok’s ingenious Are You Fast Enough campaign), provide additional ways to make advertisements stand out even more.

Some fun and unique billboard marketing strategies that have worked include turning the message upside down, playing on words, telling jokes, interacting with passers, and making the billboard look like something other than a billboard.

3. Street Ads

The heading for this is a little misleading because these ads are usually placed on sidewalks, but they’re next to streets.

Some of these are seriously cool and will definitely leave a more modern and hip impression on your audience compared to traditional outdoor advertising banners.

A benefit to sidewalk ads is the fact that you can strategically place them where you need them. Here are a few different types:

Rain Ads

This outdoor advertising technique will blow onlookers minds. Rain advertisements are stenciled ads placed on sidewalks and then applied with a water-resistant solution.

They are invisible until it rains when they appear like ghostly magic.

These ads are perfect for any business that can use a “rainy-day” marketing campaign.

Clean Ads

Clean advertisements are also stencils but they are unique from traditional methods.

These advertisements are placed on dirty sidewalks which are then heavily cleaned over the stencil.

The wording and images appear as a clean contrast to the rugged path, and a simple, environmentally friendly design is left.

It almost looks as if the ad was built into the sidewalk itself.

Projection Ads

We’re back to that technology thing again.

Projection advertisements are innovative and a great way to reach a night-time market. They simply cannot be missed and are outstanding for catching attention.

They are basically as they sound. Projection ads project light onto a sidewalk displaying images and/or text.

Compare projection ads to outdoor advertising banners and it is easy to conclude which will stick in the minds of onlookers.

3D Street Art

If you haven’t seen these, you should. They are brilliant.

3D street art consists of vinyl art that looks 3D, such as a hole in the ground, and placed on a street or sidewalk.

It is guaranteed to catch the eye or the passerby and often people will stop to take photos. These photos will spread your brand and reach even more since they are likely to end up on social media.

4. Wall Ads

The best thing about wall advertisements is their size. Compared to outdoor advertising banners, walls and windows provide more space to make an impression and a larger opportunity to get attention.

People will notice something artistic and large before something printed and small. They will also be more likely to take photos of art!

Wall advertisements can include murals or graffiti on the sides of buildings. They can also be placed inside of structures such as within public transportation stations.

Window advertisements on empty shop windows is another option.

Wall and window advertisements are great for targeting local customers and reaching people who may not have known about your business or company.

5. Google My Business

One of the best alternatives to outdoor advertising banners is not exactly “outdoors”.

What do people do when they are away from home and looking for a specific business? They get out their smartphones and google it- especially millennials.

The images and details that come up under the snapshot of google maps is actually a feature called Google My Business.

It is a free platform for businesses to list information about their company, including address, operation times, a brief summary, and images.

Since millions of people use Google to search for businesses every day, it is highly effective. You definitely don’t want to be the only one among your competitors that’s not on Google My Business.

You can continue to be creative and unique within your Google My Business page, too. Use the about section to be clever and unique, and fill the images with attractive photos.