Using Out-of-Home Ads to Reach Holiday Shoppers

As the festive season approaches, businesses can reach holiday shoppers through strategic Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising. Leveraging OOH media effectively during this period can create memorable experiences for shoppers who are out and about, eager to engage with brands that are top of mind.

This article explores how OOH ads—particularly when paired with innovative technologies like Augmented Reality (AR)—can maximize brand impact during the holiday rush.

1. The Power of OOH During Holiday Shopping Season

Holiday shopping is a hectic, multi-channel experience that begins well before Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The key to reaching shoppers in this window is visibility—and OOH advertising is a powerful way to achieve that. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), OOH media is widely trusted and remembered better than other types of advertisements​. This medium's ability to command attention and drive purchasing intent is unmatched during the holidays when streets, malls, and transportation hubs are bustling with activity.

From billboards to transit ads, OOH advertisements offer brands a chance to influence potential customers during peak travel this holiday season. The Harris Poll indicates that many Americans plan to travel during the holidays, whether to visit family or for vacation. This surge in mobility makes OOH a vital channel for brand engagement, allowing businesses to connect with audiences at multiple touchpoints on their journey.

2. Creating Memorable Experiences with Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) has revolutionized how brands use OOH to connect with consumers. An augmented reality billboard, for example, can transform a typical ad into an immersive experience, delighting audiences and encouraging interaction. Imagine a holiday shopper walking by a billboard that uses AR to animate gift items or snowflakes, creating a festive and engaging experience that they can share on social media.

The benefits of AR are clear: enhanced brand visibility, greater engagement, and the ability to create an emotional connection with consumers​. By leveraging QR codes, shoppers can interact in real time with the ad, unlocking special offers, games, or additional brand content from their smartphones.

This kind of interaction doesn’t just capture attention; it also creates valuable data points about user engagement—data that can be utilized to optimize future campaigns.

3. The Impact on Retail Foot Traffic

OOH advertising can significantly boost foot traffic to brick-and-mortar stores during the holidays. Despite the growing dominance of e-commerce, a large portion of holiday purchasing still occurs in physical stores, especially during promotional events like Black Friday. Shoppers often plan their purchases based on what they see during their travels—making strategically placed billboards, transit ads, and posters instrumental in guiding shoppers to specific retail destinations.

With technology integration, even traditional OOH ads can be transformed into dynamic call-to-actions. By adding QR codes, consumers can quickly receive directions to the nearest store location or view in-store holiday offers. This seamless connection between physical advertising and digital interaction ensures that holiday shoppers are directed toward making purchases, whether online or in-store.

4. Enhancing OOH Campaigns for Holiday Effectiveness

To maximize OOH advertising during the holiday season, brands must strategically plan campaigns that resonate with holiday shoppers’ motivations and movements. Here's how:

• Target Peak Moments: The holiday shopping season has clear peaks—Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the week before Christmas. Brands should focus their OOH campaigns around these critical dates to capitalize on high consumer traffic.
• Embrace Local Insights: Understanding local culture and behavior is crucial. For instance, airport travelers or bus stop commuters represent a captive audience looking for meaningful distractions. A Harris Poll noted that many shoppers plan their activities during travel, making transit ads ideal for guiding decisions on gifts or holiday experiences.
• Incorporate Festive Themes and Nostalgia: The holidays are about nostalgia and traditions. Effective OOH ads should evoke these feelings. Using seasonal visuals and interactive elements, brands can create campaigns that spark emotions and encourage action. Augmented Reality for OOH advertising can amplify this experience by allowing viewers to visualize products or become part of the festive story.

5. Connecting with Holiday Shoppers Across Channels

The true strength of OOH advertising lies in its ability to complement other channels in a broader, multi-platform strategy. Brands that use OOH to reinforce their messaging across digital, social, and in-store environments are more likely to be at the top of shoppers' minds when they’re ready to buy.

For example, a holiday shopper might see a digital billboard featuring a discount and use the included QR code to explore the brand’s website for additional deals. When they return home, they could receive a follow-up offer via email that encourages them to complete their purchase online or in-store. Such integrated campaigns make the shopper journey more cohesive and engaging, enhancing the overall impact of holiday advertising.

6. Why OOH Works Well for Holidays: Proven Engagement

OOH advertising is not just effective—it’s also increasingly sophisticated. Data-driven approaches allow brands to deliver dynamic creative based on real-time weather, traffic conditions, and social trends. This level of personalization helps ensure that advertisements are relevant, timely, and impactful during the busy holiday season.

As highlighted by the OAAA, outdoor advertising has one of the highest recall rates across media channels, which is crucial during a period as competitive as the holidays. To further boost engagement, incorporating AR into OOH advertisements can create shareable content on social networks, amplifying the reach of each campaign organically. This tactic essentially turns each consumer into an ambassador for the brand—sharing their AR experience with friends and family.

7. Embracing the Future: The Role of Technology in OOH Advertising

Technological advancements have been reshaping the advertising industry in the past few years, with OOH at the forefront. From dynamic digital screens to AR integration, technology makes OOH more flexible, measurable, and responsive than ever before. The rise of tools like BrandXR’s no-code AR platform has made it easier for brands to create and publish AR experiences without the need for extensive technical knowledge or huge budgets​.

OOH campaigns that use AR, data integration, and dynamic content are more captivating and capable of providing real-time feedback on campaign performance. Using sensors, QR codes, and location-based data, brands can optimize their OOH advertising strategies on the go, ensuring that every ad dollar is spent effectively and efficiently.

Conclusion

Out-of-home advertising remains a robust tool for reaching holiday shoppers, providing a physical presence that guides consumers as they shop, travel, and celebrate. By combining classic OOH methods with cutting-edge technologies like AR, brands can enhance visibility, drive engagement, and create memorable, shareable experiences that resonate well beyond the holiday season. As the holiday shopping frenzy heats up, those brands that effectively integrate OOH into their omnichannel strategy will find themselves at the top of shoppers' lists.

Whether you’re looking to boost foot traffic, build brand recognition, or simply capture the festive spirit, OOH—empowered by AR—can make all the difference this holiday season.