Guide to Advertising on billboards and Outdoor Advertising
Malaysia has one of the highest road users in the world today although the country has yet to reach the point of massive traffic congestion like Bangkok and Jakarta. This is mostly because of the affordable vehicles sold in the country. Besides that, it is also due to the constant efforts by the Malaysian government to build more roads and highways to accommodate the people while there is the constant opening of new areas, townships in the wider Kuala Lumpur regions.
The best environment for billboards
With more roads, it creates an attractive opportunity for advertisers as it will directly create more spaces for billboards. Billboard advertising in Malaysia is very popular because they offer a lot of advertising opportunities. Billboards in Malaysia are most commonly found along highways and roads while there are many which are on top of buildings and wraparounds on public pillars and furniture as well. Among the features that make billboard advertising effective include:
Location The most crucial element about advertising in billboards is locations like highways. Creativity plays an important role but if the location is not appropriate, then the ad is wasted. Therefore, if your brand is planning to use billboards for advertising, the most important thing that you must do first is to get the right location.
Getting the right and most suitable location is easier said than done mainly because the best spots are always taken and if you really want that space, you will be on the waiting list.
Cost and time Billboard advertising today is a lot cheaper. This is because of the highly competitive market and the fact that more and more billboards have become available while the authorities have become more relaxed with the regulations.
You will need to plan your budget carefully and the time-frame of putting up your ad. By now, you will know that advertising on billboards are very static as you are limited to the location of your ad. Therefore, you will want to stretch your advertising dollars so that your ad is seen by as many people as possible in the time it is displayed.
Approvals As mentioned earlier, location is very important in billboard advertising. This means that in order to have your ad enacted, you will need the appropriate approvals from the respective authorities. The first and most important approval is from the local councils.
Depending on the location of your ad, you will need to get approval from the appropriate councils. This can usually be done through your agency. Then you will need to obtain approval for the content of your ad, which can be done through the agency too.
A growing market for billboards
With digital marketing and platforms becoming ever so popular today, traditional media advertising has become more challenging than before. However, billboards continue to be as influential as before. Malaysia in particular has been growing in this area for some time now.
Billboards are mostly static but with cost becoming lower for electronics, LED and digital frames are now becoming more popular. Out-of-Home media owners like WOW Media and Big Tree are among those who offer affordable and effective packages for advertising on most types of billboards.
Quite simply, and as the name tells you, Outdoor Advertising is when an ad is placed on the outdoors. This is very common in today’s advertising environment in which practically any place where an ad can be placed has been exploited for the maximum exposure that the brand owner desires.
Outdoor advertising has become a lot more popular today as people as more mobile
They no longer stay at home for long hours watching television although a large portion goes online. Even if that is so, the availability of affordable telecommunication rates have allowed people to be more mobile on their smartphones and staying connected on-the-go. Therefore, outdoor advertising has become more popular as they can garner more impressions at locations which are high in traffic and visible.
Under most circumstances, outdoor advertising involves messages that are posted in public areas as well as promotional items in areas where people can easily spot. This type of advertising is very popular in Malaysia where they are seen in junctions, bus-stops, LRT stations, KTM Komuter stops and many others. Outdoor advertising might be an ideal choice for advertisers due to the following reasons:
Variety
Effective
Repetition
Timing
Variety – There are many types of media available under the umbrella of outdoor advertising. In certain cases, this is included as part of OOH (Out-of-Home) media although they are not the same thing entirely. Outdoor advertising involves all the media seen outdoors where it can include Billboards which is not part of the OOH media umbrella.
The similarity with OOH media stems through the use of bus-stops, posters, signage and others
The most recent type of media being used outdoors today are digital advertising boards. Using the more affordable and bright LED screens, digital advertising boards are fast becoming one of the most popular media in outdoor advertising as they are more cost-effective. It must be noted that despite having many types of outdoor media, this type of advertising is often limited to a certain geographical location which is most evident in billboards.
They are placed in strategic locations to garner as many impressions as possible. Another media are ads that are placed along sidewalks, corridors of train and bus stations and other public spaces. Apart from that, ads are now being placed on sides of buildings, park benches and on the fascia of structures. One of the most visible advertising spaces is on the pillars of LRT and Monorail tracks.
Effective – One major advantage of outdoor advertising is that it is very effective. This makes the media very attractive for advertisers. With more people using public transportation and spending time outdoors (as they are more mobile), the ads play an important role in creating awareness of a product or brand. People spend a lot of time commuting to and from work and this are more evident with the traffic jams that the Klang Valley is accustomed to which will then bring about the impressions needed.
Repetition – This is one area where outdoor advertising can be guaranteed and cannot be achieved by other conventional media. A person who drives to work every day will see the same billboard many times. Commuters in a train station will be looking at the same ad each day while waiting for their train to arrive. Such repetition rate is one of the highest among all media where in a long run will bring about brand awareness and subsequently create stronger brand loyalty among the customers.
Timing – In business, timing is everything. Outdoor advertising allows this through a calculated and concerted strategy. By placing a billboard ad of a supermarket 50 meters from the retail store will create the last-minute drive for your customers to actually head towards your store and make a purchase. This type of timed-reminders is very effective and highly attractive for the advertiser. Are you looking for results that work for your outdoor campaign? Searching for a reliable digital advertising agency with impactful ideas and plans that can help your brand and business growth?
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Outdoor advertising – Should you or shouldn’t you?
Outdoor advertising is one of the most exciting platforms that have been taking in a lot of interest in the last decade or so. Advertisers and brand owners have been jumping onto this bandwagon because of several reasons.
A fast-moving wave
Outdoor advertising is not a new platform. It has been around for decades now but only grew in significance recently. Among the reasons why outdoor advertising have been growing in numbers are:
The decline in conventional media – The most obvious reason here is that people are no longer watching FTA (free to air) television channels or radio stations like they used to. They do not rely on those media for information because they have the internet. The popularity of traditional media like TV, Radio and Newspapers have dropped significantly.
Mobility – Consumers today are more inclined to be attracted to media that are outdoors. This is because they spend more time out of home these days. Mobility means they are susceptible and exposed to more outdoor media.
Affordability – Outdoor advertising is higher in numbers. Brand owners are not limited to spots on a particular channel. They have more options in outdoor media as they are all over the place in many locations. With volume, these media spaces are cheaper and more cost-effective.
Possibilities – The underlying concept of outdoor advertising is innovation. Media owners can create new structures, gantries or billboards that look different. Advertisers are not limited to just static billboards. They can be creative and come up with new ones.
Should you go outdoor?
Naturally, the idea of advertising relies a lot on timing. In recent months, outdoor advertising rates have dropped significantly. So, does that mean it is a good time for you to spend? YES, IT IS!!.
The main reason why outdoor advertising rates have dropped can be attributed by occurrences like the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Brand owners have to cut their expenditure and other overheads. There has been more supply than demand. That means you can pretty much pick and choose which media you prefer.
Ads that matter
One thing for sure, your outdoor ads will have high ad-views. It is all about gathering eyeballs and you can be certain to reach the target market for your ads.
Outdoor advertising will always have the impact you need. Unlike online advertising media like Google and Facebook, your ads get ‘lost’ with the millions of other ads. This clutter will only make your ad forgettable. Outdoor ads will always give you the ad-views at a specific location, to the specific target market.
Long-lasting – Even the top tech names like Google cannot guarantee brand recall the way outdoor ads do. Unless you have a lot of budgets to spend in flushing Google with your campaign, your ads won’t be remembered as much as a billboard can. You might not get that many ad-views but you get higher brand recall rates. This is GUARANTEED!
Traffic – Whether it is pedestrians or vehicles, outdoor media will always enjoy good traffic. Media owners normally choose locations with high volume of traffic so you can almost be guaranteed in terms of impressions. Since you are targeting viewers of a certain demographic, you get better returns.
Wrapping it up
The rule of thumb is to go 50/50 (which has been practiced for ages) in terms of your budget. You might not want to spend too much outdoor or otherwise but in comparison, outdoor ads will surely give you better returns per media. We can help you! You can now choose to work with Advertising.my to assist you in the entire booking, designing and approval process. Please check out our comprehensive billboard portal for billboard advertising in Malaysia.
