With sales during the holiday season surging over $1 trillion, businesses can’t afford to ignore this ideal time for advertising. OOH is strongly poised to help you take advantage of the higher spending that occurs during the holidays. Read below for tips on winter advertising and marketing campaign ideas that you could pair with outdoor advertising.

Why Outdoor Advertising During the Holidays

Many of us remember classic TV commercials during the holidays. With the growth of social media over the last two decades, that might seem like the best avenue for your new holiday marketing campaign. However, outdoor advertising has been, time and again, the best medium for holiday advertisements.

Consider the following statistics, gathered by different polling sites like the OAAA or Nielsen.

3 out of 4 people make impulse purchases around the holidays.
People out of home have a 33% heightened alertness compared with people in home
68% of buyers frequently make purchasing decisions while driving

Why is OOH perfectly tailored to help you take advantage of these findings? OOH lives out there in the world, next to stores and restaurants, where people shop and eat. People are more alert when they are out and about, giving your ads an edge over mobile ads. 68% of shoppers are exposed to outdoor ads in the same half hour of purchase – higher than any other media. Furthermore, while people are driving, they are thinking about what to get for their family members. A billboard might just help them get the answer they need.

Picture the following situations:

A husband/father has still not bought presents for the family, and the holidays are coming up. He is feeling the pressure—he wants to make his wife and kids happy. He notices street furniture ads on bus shelters on his commute from Lincolnwood and wallscapes in River North near the office, perfect placements for the hottest gift ideas. There’s a 68% chance he frequently makes purchasing decisions while driving—a high likelihood that you have a new customer.
A young woman wants to buy presents for her family and friends. While walking the dog through Bucktown she sees some of her favorite shops featured on HotSpots… they’re open and they have a curbside pick up option! She’s more alert than she would be at home, and she’s much more likely to make an impulse purchase…. One less present to worry about!

These situations aren’t just imaginary. They happen all the time, throughout the year. The holiday season, however, is the perfect time to harness these moments, since people are trying to shop for their loved ones. There’s a lot of pressure to find the right gift for the right person, so people tend to put off buying presents, increasing the likelihood for impulse purchases. Having your ads out near shops, roads, and highways makes it much more likely that you will find new customers during the holiday.

Start Planning Now

Over the past decade and with the advent of online shopping, the holiday season has extended its reign over the winter months. It’s not just Christmas and Hanukkah—now we have to include Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

For this reason, planning ahead is one of the most important steps you can take to make sure your marketing during the holiday season is effective. During some years, over half of Americans start planning for the holiday season in October, with a majority of those people starting their shopping before Thanksgiving.

In other words, your campaign should be launching now. This helps spread awareness of your brand, of your products, and lets you take full advantage of the entire holiday season.

Chicagoans might be entering into the holiday season with lots of ideas and information on what to purchase, but in no way does that mean their minds are made up. “Nine in 10 holiday shoppers said something convinced them to make a purchase they may have been hesitant about; more than half purchased an item that was recommended to them by the retailer online.” says the National Retail Federation.

Winter Messaging Pitfalls

As you are planning your marketing campaign for the holidays, keep these two things in mind:

Avoid false urgency
Remember your existing customers

Customers are smart, and they know the holiday advertising tropes. Give them a good reason to shop, not just a fake sense of urgency. Usually, this takes the form of big discounts, giving customers a great incentive to head to your store (whether in person or online) and take advantage of the deals you provide.

But these discounts aren’t just about making a sale: they’re also about creating long-term relationships with new customers who might be life-long patrons of your business. Don’t just consider how you can obtain new customers during the holiday season, but make sure to think about how to keep these new customers, whether for the next holiday season or throughout the year.

Which brings us to your current customers. In the quest to expand your audience pool, you’ll want to make sure you’re not alienating your existing customers. Give customers who have already made a purchase this year extra promos to reward them for their loyalty, or providing them with product recommendations in order to give them a better sense of what your business offers.

Holiday Campaign Ideas

In order to take advantage of the holiday season, here are some effective campaign ideas that work well with outdoor advertising.

Promote Unique Gifts

With its big and bold displays, outdoor advertising is a great medium to emphasize both new and tried-and-true products. Make your customers give all their attention to a specific product you want to showcase for the holidays. By focusing on one product, you are keeping your marketing campaign simple, which is important during the high-volume and high-competition holiday season for advertising.

Keep Shoppers Happy

While out and about, shoppers need their holiday fix. This tends to be sweets, like donuts or chocolate, and hot beverages, like coffee and hot chocolate. If your business sells these products, advertising near shopping centers will make shoppers want to consume your products while they shop. If you don’t sell these products, consider offering discounts or promotions with local coffee/donut shops in order to make your customers happy.

Promote Ease & Safety

A lot of people dread the idea of going out and shopping during the holiday season. The thought of long lines and crowds during COVID only makes it worse. Make your messaging around one-click shopping, safe pickup, or delivery to encourage shoppers to make the decision.

Advertise Gift Cards

Many people don’t know what to get. They saunter through stores, malls, and they scroll endlessly online without a clue what to get their loved one. Gift cards are the perfect compromise—it gives the buyer a sense of having found something, while giving the person who receives the gift the freedom to choose what they way. Whether you’re a retailer or a restaurant, focusing on holiday gift cards for your marketing campaign can help you make sales without having to convince your customers of the uniqueness of a certain product; they can rely on your reputation as a business or brand.

Advertise Your Website & Online Store

Increasingly, people are looking for presents online, either for inspiration or for actual purchasing decisions. Especially during the pandemic, you’ll want to make sure your customers know about your online store. Give your audience all the information they need to make purchasing decisions online, since this might be the way they feel most comfortable shopping. Then, you could have specific landing pages that bring your customers to your holiday season section.

Community Messaging

Across any holiday celebrated this time of year there is the idea of togetherness, family, and love. It’s a feeling that is shared across communities, beliefs, and cultures. In order for your messaging to be relevant and meaningful to those who see it make sure to join in on that conversation and speak to these values and feelings of the season. There’s not a need to be specific or single out a particular holiday, but acknowledging this time of year goes a long way in being relevant and in touch.

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Outdoor Advertising During The Holidays