Unlocking New Market Opportunities: Combining Content Marketing and Outdoor Advertising
Today’s advertising landscape is a complex ecosystem where content marketing and traditional advertising campaigns often take different routes. But imagine the incredible results achieved when you join these two forces! Yes, we’re talking about combining content marketing and outdoor advertising, promising a robust and comprehensive marketing strategy. By melting the realms of digital and physical marketing, you can create a memorable brand experience and stimulate stronger customer engagement. So let’s take a deep dive into understanding these two strategies and ways to intertwine them for maximum effectiveness.
Demystifying Content Marketing
Content marketing is the practice of creating relevant, consistent and valuable content aimed at attracting and retaining a clearly defined audience. It’s about telling a story that resonizes with your customers and offering benefits that solve their problems without the overt toll of marketing. Digital platforms have propelled content marketing to the forefront as businesses find innovative ways to engage audiences through blog posts, social media, videos, email newsletters and more.
In today’s hyper-connected era, customers demand more authenticity and value from brands and this has rocketed content marketing to the top of the priority list for many businesses. The Content Marketing Institute reports that 88% of B2B marketers use content marketing in their marketing strategies.
There are myriad successful content marketing campaigns to take inspiration from. One standout example is American Express’s ‘Open Forum’ campaign. American Express created an online hub for small business owners offering useful business tips, articles and resources for operation. This platform not only solidified American Express as a trustful brand for small business resources but also generated substantial web traffic and potential leads.
Capitalizing on Outdoor Advertising
Outdoor advertising or Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising encompasses any advertising that reaches consumers when they are outside their homes. This could be anything from billboards, business signs, to bus bench ads.
In an era of digital advertising, the timeless effectiveness of outdoor advertising can be easy to overlook, but bear in mind that a well-placed and creatively designed outdoor advertisement can make a huge impact. Nielsen reports show that outdoor advertising is still the most effective medium in driving online activity.
The ‘Fearless Girl’ statue campaign sprung up by State Street Global Advisors serves as an excellent example of outdoor advertising done right. The statue was installed overnight and literally stopped traffic in New York’s financial district driving conversation and engagement both online and offline, achieving the ultimate goal of an OOH campaign.
Synergizing Content Marketing and Outdoor Advertising
Are these two strategies polar opposites? Not quite. Imagine them as two sides of the same coin. A currency towards customer satisfaction and business growth.
Combining content marketing and outdoor advertising allows you to create a cohesive brand experience across different touchpoints. You can engage your audience online with interesting content and then reinforce that relationship via a physical advertisement they come across in their daily lives.
There are several advantages to this integrated approach such as extended brand exposure, elevated customer experience, and a unified brand message. This combination may also present a few challenges, such as execution alignment and measuring success metrics accurately.
But when the combination is done right, it paves the way for incredible results. Coca-Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’ campaign is a testament to this synergy between content and outdoor marketing. Online, Coca-Cola encouraged consumers to share stories and photos using the #ShareaCoke hashtag. Offline, they personalized their packaging with common names, making every Coke bottle a potential billboard.
Blending Content Marketing and Outdoor Advertising
Bridging the gap between content marketing and outdoor advertising begins with identifying your target audience and aligning your strategies to their preferences and behavior. Once this is established, create engaging content that can be translated in both digital and outdoor formats, providing a seamless brand experience for your audience.
Technology plays a pivotal role in executing this. For instance, by incorporating QR codes on an outdoor billboard you can create a direct link to your online content. Or integrate Augmented Reality (AR) technology into your outdoor ads to create immersive experiences that drive customer engagement.
The Future of Combined Content Marketing and Outdoor Advertising
As technology continually evolves, we can expect further sophistication in the blend of content marketing and outdoor advertising. Expect the rise of programmatic outdoor advertising, personalized OOH ads, AI-driven content creation, and innovative tech integrations for immersive outdoor ads.
Moreover, there will be advancements in tracking capabilities to provide more accurate metrics of the effectiveness of combined strategies. This leads us to the essential part of measuring success in this unique blend of advertising.
Measuring Success in Combined Content Marketing and Outdoor Advertising
Arguably, one of the most complex aspects of combining these strategies is how to accurately measure success. It requires setting relevant metrics for both digital impressions and physical engagement and then tracing the correlation between the two.
Geopath is a company that successfully tracks OOH metrics by measuring impressions, visibility, engagement, and conversions. For online content, Google Analytics is a reliable tool to track metrics like website traffic, the source of traffic, bounce rates, and conversion rates.
By combining these data from both online and offline marketing efforts, a comprehensive overview of campaign success can be drawn. This integrated success measurement method is used by many leading brands like McDonald’s and Salesforce to get the maximum ROI on their comprehensive marketing strategies.
Wrapping it Up
In conclusion, the merge of content marketing and outdoor advertising promises robust and comprehensive marketing strategies that enable brands to stand tall amidst the competition in today’s cluttered marketplace. The importance of creating valuable content online and enforcing a strong brand presence offline cannot be underestimated.
The evolution of technology and improved tracking capabilities will challenge advertisers to push the boundaries of creativity and the seamless blending of online and offline worlds. Further unlocking untapped market potentials and crafting more holistic brand experiences for consumers.
By exploring and daring to thread this path, you’re not just unveiling new advertising habitué. Instead, you’re unlocking more opportunities for brand growth and customer satisfaction waiting in the wings.
