Using outdoor advertising to promote your event

Whether we notice it or not, we are confronted daily with varying forms of advertising. Particularly in this technological and digital age, we are targeted from every angle with clickbait, sponsored posts or pop-up adverts on our smartphones, tablets and computers.

Outdoor advertising is unique in its non-intrusive and creative presentation and is especially effective as it cannot be made to disappear by clicking a little cross in the top right hand corner of a screen. It is primarily a visual medium and generally appears on a larger scale than it would online or in print.

Your requests can be tailored to effectively reach specific target audiences. Whether you are advertising a large or small event, you can get help to creatively use the spaces in your neighbourhoods to access as wide or niche an audience as you want.

If you are planning an event, what forms of outdoor advertising can you explore?

Billboards – traditional and digital, mainly located by the roadside, you can capture the attention of drivers and passengers passing by or waiting in traffic.

Furniture – advertising bins, news racks, and mall furniture to name a few

Phone boxes and bus shelters – phone boxes and bus shelters are great places to advertise- an effective way of reaching specific neighbourhoods.

Why should you consider outdoor advertising for your event?

A recent Forbes article discussing the relevance of outdoor advertising in a digital age, quotes a study that discovered ‘58% [of drivers] learned about an event they were interested in attending’ just from passing roadside billboards.

You can target relevant and specific locations or neighbourhoods.

You can guarantee exposure to local people.

You can run short, focused campaigns of a minimum of two weeks.

How to promote an event using outdoor advertising

Here are some things to consider:

Location

Draw up a geographical perimeter for your event advertising and think about how you want to use the urban space.

Here at Bubble you can use our online interactive map to search for advertising spaces available in your desired location and book online. Think about the type of person you want to attract and consider the places they would pass or stop and wait.

Multiples

It goes without saying that increasing the number of adverts increases the chance of people noticing and attending your event. Depending on its location and nature and your budget, think carefully about the number of adverts you want to place.

White space

The most memorable adverts are often the ones that are the simplest, the ones that utilise white space and the ones that don’t overload you with too much text. Don’t overcrowd the advert with ALL the details of the event.

Give people one or two things to remember- perhaps the event name and date or the website and event location. Raise levels of curiosity and leave people intrigued to find out more. Leaving social media details can be a helpful insert too.

There is something to be said for large, clear, simple outdoor adverts that grab the attention of passers-by, passengers staring out of car windows, a queue waiting at a bus stop, or even someone locking their bike up. If you consider carefully and engage with your target demographic, you can be sure to guarantee maximum exposure and maximum attendance to your event.