How To Target Mobile Consumers With Out-Of-Home Marketing

Mobile consumers are consumers who make purchases straight through their smartphones. They’ll browse the web on their phones, scroll through social media, and buy things while on the move.

Out-of-home marketing refers to any non-digital marketing or advertising that takes place away from someone’s home. The most common example of this is a billboard advert; it’s shown to people outside their homes and promotes your business.

Now we’ve cleared that up, let’s tackle the main topic for today: how to target mobile consumers with out-of-home marketing. It’s an idea that sounds like it shouldn’t be possible. How do you run marketing campaigns using out-of-home tactics and capture mobile users? There’s a significant leap between your marketing material and getting the user to buy something on their phone.

Most businesses don’t think it’s possible, but there’s a clever strategy that will help you funnel users through your out-of-home channels and see an increase in mobile purchases.

Step 1: Find The Ideal Advert Placement

Capturing and impressing customers starts with a great advert. You must design something that grabs people’s attention and appeals to your target audience. It should encourage them to linger on your advert for a few moments, taking everything in.

That’s advertising 101 - but it’s also pointless if you get your ad placement wrong.

A successful out-of-home marketing campaign starts with great placements. You want to position your adverts in areas with a lot of foot traffic, yes, but also where they’re almost forced to engage with your ad for an extended period. That’s the crucial difference between a regular out-of-home marketing campaign and one directed at mobile users.

If we’re talking about the ideal ad placement, then London Underground advertising makes perfect sense. Put your adverts inside tube carriages and you present them to a captive audience. Tube ads are cleverly positioned within people’s eyeline as they sit or stand, which means they can’t help but stare at them for a few minutes. This allows your audience to fully take in your advert, see your offer, and then do the most important thing of all: interact.

Step 2: Encourage User Interactions

You’ve got your ad in the ideal place with loads of eyes on it. The ad itself is brilliantly designed to grab attention and leave readers wanting more. Now’s the time to encourage people to interact with your advert - and that’s where a QR code comes into play.

Make sure there’s a big QR code on your advert for people to scan with their smartphones. It’s the simplest way of turning an out-of-home ad into one that draws in mobile consumers. They’re already on their phone, scrolling away, so all it takes is one or two clicks to get the camera app open and scan your advert.

Again, this is why your advert placement is vital.

Billboard ads are cool, as are ones on the side of buses. However, neither gives consumers the opportunity to scan a code and interact with the ad itself. They’re more useful for building brand awareness, while a tube ad is perfect for capturing the mobile consumer market. It’s closely positioned to the user and won’t move out of view, so it’s easy for anyone to scan the code and take things from there.

Step 3: Develop Landing Pages That Convert

Ad placement gets eyes on your advert, and a well-positioned QR code encourages interactions. You’re two-thirds of the way from seeing campaign success - all that’s left is convincing users to buy something from your website.

You could argue this is the hardest part (and it is), but your chances of success improve with good landing pages for your adverts. A landing page is the page your QR code takes users to after they scan it. It could be their first ever interaction with your business, and it’s also what dictates whether the user goes on to make a purchase or leaves right away.

Making good landing pages is challenging, but there are some key rules you should follow:

• Ensure the page matches the message from your ad - for instance, if your advert promises a 50% discount on products, your landing page must reflect this.
• Make the page clear and concise, giving the user all the information they need.
• Focus on what the customer gains from making a purchase.

A wicked landing page will encourage the user to buy something after scanning your QR code. You’ve then successfully gone from an out-of-home advert to a purchase from a mobile consumer.

As you can see, targeting mobile consumers with out-of-home marketing makes more sense than most companies realise. It’s definitely an element of marketing that a lot of businesses miss out on, so consider adding it to your campaigns today.