Why National Brands Use Wild Postings for Hyperlocal Impact: Outdoor Advertising in Chicago

One struggle national brands may face with their marketing efforts is finding a way to make their message resonate with diverse audiences across the country. Promoting one campaign across the same channel will not bring in the customer engagement that they need. Wild Postings can provide the hyperlocal connection that brands seek across Chicago’s hottest neighborhoods.

Local Advertising for National Brands: It’s Time for a Hyperlocal Approach

What Exactly Does Hyperlocal Mean for National Brands?

Hyperlocal marketing is the practice of strategically targeting a specific geographic area. The goal of hyperlocal marketing is to reach a very specific, defined audience that is most likely to be interested in the products or services being offered. This approach can be particularly effective for national brands when they utilize outdoor advertising, specifically Wild Postings, in Chicago.

Hyperlocal marketing is all about understanding the specific needs and interests of a small community and tailoring marketing efforts to meet those needs. By focusing on a specific geographic area, national brands can build stronger relationships with their customers and create a sense of community and connection. When people feel connected to a brand, they are more likely to make purchases, refer other customers, post about the brand online, leave positive reviews and choose that brand over competitors.

Next Level Hyperlocal Reach with Out-of-Home Advertising

Outdoor advertising, or out-of-home (OOH) can be used to reach local audiences in a variety of ways. By leveraging the right ad formats and demographic data on Chicago’s neighborhoods, national brands can increase engagement and reach their target markets. Outdoor advertising is great for building brand awareness, as it works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is seen by everyone in the area living their daily lives.

Furthermore, outdoor advertising generates repeated impressions depending on the size of the advertisement and its location. This means that advertisements are often seen multiple times by the same people, which leads to increased brand recognition and awareness. If a company chooses to place multiple ads in the same part of the city, that brand recognition and awareness is compounded as the brand becomes a familiar part of their target audiences’ daily commutes.

OOH Works for National Brands

Local advertising for national brands means increased targeting for more successful promotion. Outdoor advertising can be effective for targeting a wide range of audiences in national and local campaigns. It can be used to increase brand awareness and recognition, thus providing a larger reach for brands. Massive companies like Adidas, Paypal, Spotify and Target use outdoor advertising for national, regional, and local campaigns for a reason. Outdoor advertising is a great way to reach a large and diverse audience successfully. It can be used to effectively increase brand recognition and awareness of a national brand. When businesses partner with an OOH advertising company like View Chicago, they gain a pulse on community life plus the experience and industry knowledge to service multinational brands and help them expand their reach. Above all else, outdoor advertising is cost effective and provides a physical experience for the audience.

Airtable had a successful experience with out-of-home advertising, using it to establish brand awareness and legitimacy with their key audience:

What exactly is a Wild Posting?

One of our six OOH formats, a Wild Posting is a street-level advertisement measuring six feet high by sixteen feet wide. They are targeted toward foot traffic and placed in heavily trafficked areas, such as near major retail centers or public transportation hubs. Sitting inches away from where pedestrians travel, with a striking image at eye level, this format is certainly bold, immersive and attention-grabbing. While a traditional billboard along the highway makes a shorter, passing impression, Wild Postings can make a more lasting impact with placement that individuals could reach out and touch. 

Wild Postings have multiple panels, which allow for powerful messaging and endless design options. They can support brands in conveying a trendy and urban feel. 

In short, Wild Postings can be the key to local advertising for national brands.

The Benefits of Wild Postings 

Cost

One main advantage of wild posting is that it can be a relatively inexpensive way to reach a large audience in urban areas. We’ve meticulously curated our prime locations across Chicago, where foot traffic is high, keeping cost per view relatively low. While the cost for OOH depends on many different factors, including location and number of placements, Wild Postings might be the most cost-effective, depending on a brand’s goals. Compared to some other advertising formats like traditional billboards, Wild Postings are significantly less expensive. While exact cost depends on location, quantity of placements, timing, and duration, a Wild Posting can run from about $1,000 to $6,000 for a 4-week run.

Impossible to Miss

Wild Postings are hard to miss because they are placed in areas with high pedestrian, bike, and road traffic. Wild Postings are also often placed in locations that are difficult to ignore, such as building walls or construction barricades. 

The large scale of Wild Postings and their vibrant colors also make them stand out to passersby. They sit a few feet off of the ground - right at eye level to those walking by. Wild Postings are made up of multiple panels and this helps to draw more attention to the advertisement and make a more significant impact than a single ad.

Targeting Capability

Because brands can choose the neighborhoods and specific locations of their Wild Postings, they have the ability to target specific types of audiences. At View Chicago, we’ve gathered demographic research for each location so that businesses can target individuals of certain age groups, backgrounds, and income levels.

6 Reasons Why Wild Postings Should Be a Part of National Campaigns

1. Instagrammable Ads Engage Viewers

When brands spend time creating an ad campaign that they’re proud of, others will take notice (and share their creativity). Statistics show that people are twice as likely to post outdoor advertising to social media compared to other types of advertising. According to OAAA, “social media users are regularly seeing out-of-home advertising creative in photos across their feeds, confirming that social media provides significant organic amplification opportunities for OOH campaigns.” This suggests that outdoor advertising is more impactful and memorable than other forms of advertising, which can help to increase brand awareness. Additionally, outdoor advertising is more effective at driving engagement, as it can be seen as people go about their daily lives. This increases the likelihood that people will post about it on social media, thus creating a larger reach and more impressions for the advertiser.

Out of all the outdoor advertising options in Chicago, Wild Postings in particular are the most photograph-able and postable form of advertising because they sit right at eye level along sidewalks and streets. Their artistic, urban feel, and vibrant creative appeal to younger audiences who are in the habit of posting interesting parts of the landscape they encounter on a daily basis.

2. Creative Freedom

One reason why national brands love Wild Postings is the creative freedom they provide. Wild Postings are made up of several different panels, so brands have the option to post multiple sets of ad copy or creative with one ad. Some advertisers opt to post four different sets of creative on one Wild Posting, which provides a unique, urban look. Other advertisers choose to post a repetition of the same ad or take up the entire space with one larger ad. 

Another way to make the ad creative or copy more impactful is to create localized campaigns for different areas of the city. Because each neighborhood of Chicago has its own unique feel, it only makes sense to cater the ads to those living or working in that area for a hyperlocal approach. 

3. Reach Younger Chicagoans with Buying Power

Wild Postings allow advertisers to target specific demographics, such as street commuters, construction workers and college students. At View Chicago, we understand how various types of audiences behave in and move about the city. From income bracket to age to background, we have the data to support brands as they choose prime locations for their message.

Because of their dynamic feel and locations in affluent and up-and-coming neighborhoods, Wild Postings are an ideal fit to reach the millennial generation. Wild Postings are located in neighborhoods like Bucktown, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, the Loop, West Loop and River North, where the median population age is 30-32 years old. The average household income in these neighborhoods is upwards of $100,000-120,000. 

4. Become a Neighborhood Landmark

Outdoor advertising in Chicago can help thousands of viewers quickly become familiar with the advertiser’s message. Our Wild Postings are located strategically in heavily trafficked areas where individuals that live and work in the city can easily pass by the same ad four times a day or more. When these individuals continue to pass by the same Wild Posting multiple times a day, every day over the span of weeks or months, its impact is compounded exponentially. As those who travel the neighborhood regularly become familiar with the brand’s message, they are more likely to visit their website, follow them on social media, share their brand with others, or make a purchase.

5. An Investment with Real Return

In addition to being more impactful than many other forms of advertising, outdoor ads are more cost-effective than other forms of advertising, making them a great option for brands with limited marketing budgets. Studies have found that outdoor advertising has a higher return on investment (ROI) than most other major forms of marketing, such as print ads, television and radio. People just aren’t tuning into other forms of media to see ads like they used to. However, they will always have to travel their neighborhoods to go to work, run errands or seek entertainment, engaging with OOH ads along the way.

Television, radio and print ads all have something in common - they are an annoyance and interrupt the individual’s experience. However, seeing a Wild Posting on one’s morning walk is a seamless, unintrusive experience.

6. A Winning Multi-Channel Approach

Wild Postings are a powerful advertising format, and they can be made even more successful when paired with other channels that national brands use to promote their products or services. They can boost display ad and social media results. For example, if a national brand is promoting one campaign in a specific region or city via display ads, they should also invest in Wild Postings in that area. If a potential customer is already made aware of a brand after seeing a Wild Posting, they will be more likely to click on that brand’s display ad they see on their screen. 

There are many ways to employ Wild Postings in social media campaigns. Including social handles, QR codes, hashtags and interactive messaging on ad creative can encourage viewers to engage with a brand’s social accounts and even produce user-generated content.

Choose Wild Postings For National Campaigns

Planning to include Wild Postings in a national or regional campaign is a winning strategy for any national brand. Wild Postings can help attract customers in a way that no other channel can. At View Chicago, our Wild Posting locations sit in the hottest neighborhoods in the city, allowing advertisers to reach populations that are ready to engage and buy. Compared to other marketing options, Wild Postings have a higher ROI and a more impactful presence. 

What Should Brands Look for in an OOH Company? 

National brands should look for an outdoor advertising company that has experience with local advertising for national brands and is able to scale national ad budgets with precision. The company should also have local knowledge of the area, as well as the ability to provide sophisticated localized consumer targeting. They should have a track record of successful campaigns and be able to provide advice when it comes to developing effective creative designs and messages for the campaign.

View Chicago Sets National Brands Up for Success.

Experienced in partnering with national and international brands, View Chicago is a team of outdoor advertising experts in Chicago that understand what it takes to reach target audiences with Wild Postings. National brands headquartered elsewhere might not fully understand how to best reach key demographics in The Windy City. This is where we can help - View Chicago was founded on the principle that Chicago is a city of unique neighborhoods, each with their own vibrant culture and personality. We can help brands identify areas of opportunity across more than 40 neighborhoods and make the largest impact with the lowest budget. 

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