Outdoor Advertising: Is it really worth it?

The concept of outdoor advertising is an interesting concept to me in the sense that the consumer is only exposed to the brand for, at most, 15-20 seconds. I sit here and try to recall some brand names I've been exposed to on highways and main roads and I cannot think of one. So, is it really worth the money marketers put into outdoor advertising? Are billboards and outdoor signage effective?

If there is one thing that we know about all humans is that they like being familiar to things. We like to be surrounded and exposed to things we are familiar to. This is when the mere exposure effect, a concept I learned from Professor Costanzo, comes into play. The mere exposure effect is a "psychological tendency that causes individuals to prefer an option that they have been exposed to before to an option they have never encountered." So basically, a consumer is more likely to favor a product they have been exposed to. But, how does this relate back to outdoor advertising? In terms of billboards, it seems that marketers want to target consumers who routinely drive on that specific highway. If those consumers are repeatedly exposed to the billboard, there is hope for brand recall. I feel as though marketers must be conscious of who their target market is when enduring in outdoor advertising. I do not think that a consumer who passes a billboard one time is likely to recall the brand name.

I have the perfect example of a lack in brand recall from a one time brand exposure from a billboard. My boyfriend and I were on our way to the Big E this past Friday. I decided to test his brand recall from a one time exposure of a brand on a billboard on the highway. I pointed out the billboard and said, "Oh, that's a cool advertisement!" This made him look at it and ten minutes later I would ask what the brand was of that outdoor ad. I asked and he had no idea. He couldn't recall the name of the brand, but he could recall the product. So, this example shows that outdoor advertising can be ineffective for one time exposures.

That example showcases how the mere exposure effect aims to do the opposite of one time exposure. The mere exposure effects strives to reach familiarity in the consumer. But, what happens when the consumer is exposed too much? Yes, I'm saying that to consumer needs to be exposed more than once for brand recall, but there's a potential problem that can occur when they are exposed to much. The problem is called the wear out effect. The wear out effect occurs when the consumers is so exposed to the brand that they tend to look past it after they're too familiar.

Outdoor advertising is a tricky thing. Consumers must be exposed more than once, but they cannot be exposed too much. So, is outdoor advertising really worth it? I think that it all depends on the company. For small companies, placement is important, but they probably cannot afford such placement. For bigger companies, I think if they can afford, why not? Outdoor advertising has its pros and cons, so I think it is up to the marketers to decide whether it is really worth it.