How is OOH reach calculated? And how to increase it

In case you advertise OOH, you might be curious about your ad’s performance.

Measuring out-of-home (OOH) advertising is definitely not as straightforward as it would be for traditional marketing.

Thus, advertisers are searching for effective ways to perform this process, in order to determine if the ad is bringing results and if it needs to be improved.

For instance, reach is one of the metrics that can be measured in OOH advertising. For more information, continue reading. So, let us take a look at what OOH reach is and how you can increase it.

What is the OOH reach?

In advertising, reach refers to the percentage of your target audience that sees your message at least once during your advertising campaign. This also applies to out-of-home advertising.

How is OOH reach calculated?

As OOH does not have digital data on clicks, views, scrolls, etc., it is calculated differently.

The reach of outdoor advertising is determined by traffic statistics, consumer surveys, and experiments.

Marketers typically use two methods for calculating the OOH potential reach:

  • Daily Effective Circulation (DECs). DECs represent how many people pass by an ad on average. A major drawback of this metric is that it only shows how many followers may have seen your ad, not how many likely did.
  • Variable Adjustment Index (VAI). According to DECs’ rough estimates, advertisers conducted eye-tracking studies to determine where drivers looked while driving. The studies allowed them to determine what percentage of traffic actually looks at the ads as they drive by. This data is then applied to DECs in order to calculate the variable adjustment index, or VAI, which allows for a more precise calculation of reach.

How to increase OOH reach?

You can improve your OOH reach in a number of ways. We have outlined a few tips below that will assist you in achieving this goal.

1. Consider digital billboards as another format

Maybe the format you’re using does not attract passersby and drivers’ attention enough. Perhaps you’re using a poster format or are displaying it in a small size. If so, your ads become difficult to notice if there are other ads placed therein.
In light of these reasons, you might want to consider other OOH formats to increase OOH reach, such as digital billboards. They usually display vivid colours and animations that can easily catch people’s attention.

2. Place your ad in a different location

Aside from the format, you should also take into account the location of your advertisement. It may be located in a place where it is hard to notice, or maybe the people passing by there aren’t your target audience, so they won’t be drawn in.

In order to maximise the reach of your OOH advertisement, you might want to consider placing it where it is likely to be seen by more representative demographics of your target audience.

3. Try a different design

Apart from the format and location, you also have to consider the design of your advertisement. You may find the colours, shapes, or images aren’t appealing to the eye, and hence do not produce the reach results you desire.

As a result, you may wish to change it, perhaps adding more vibrant colours, high-quality and captivating imagery, or applying other original designs.

Wrapping up

Measuring the effectiveness of your outdoor advertising is essential because it tells you whether it is achieving the results you want.

In terms of metrics, OOH advertising differs from traditional online advertising, making measurement a little more difficult, but not impossible.

We have seen throughout this blog post that it is possible to measure OOH reach with alternative metrics and determine whether or not it needs to be improved. In addition, the tips provided will make it easier for you to improve your OOH reach.

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