What is digital outdoor advertising? It’s a fancy way to say digital billboards, and chances are you’ve seen more than a few.
Billboards are everywhere — dotted across hundreds of miles of interstates, along city roads next to shops and restaurants, back roads in the middle of nowhere, and even printed and hung on the sides of buildings. The medium has come a long way since its U.S. debut in the 1830s, and, with the help of improved mechanics and technology, the rise of digital signage began in the early 2000s.
The beauty of digital billboards lies in the ability to diversify and adjust the messaging as fast as the artwork can be created. Our client, Sharonview Federal Credit Union, is one of the many financial institutions taking advantage of this prime form of advertising.
Sharonview’s Success with Digital Outdoor Advertising
With 18 branches across the Carolinas, Sharonview maintains a year-round presence on boards near almost every location, keeping its communities informed and its presence growing. It has multiple service lines and rates that vary with each market, so its messaging stays on a rotation that ensures every opportunity is presented to the public as soon as possible.
A study was done to measure the success of clearly showing the offered rate versus simply stating that the services exist; the rate was the clear winner.
For example, we compared the impact of the two messages below:
Sharonview Federal Credit Union has Auto Loans as low as 1.99% APR
Sharonview Federal Credit Union offers Auto Loans
The option with specific rates was shown to further increase loan applications during the test period.
How Digital Outdoor Advertising Caters to Local Audiences
Local branches of any financial institution often aim to be involved in the community as much as possible to increase brand awareness and show how much its team members care for their neighborhood.
Using this model as a guide, Sharonview has used pictures of its employees on its billboards so that members and potential members can put a face with a name and feel more connected to their local representatives.
The Flexibility of Digital Outdoor Advertising
Sharonview cares so deeply for its communities that it has used the flexibility of digital billboards to decrease messaging in times of distress. When Hurricane Florence was approaching, it paused all outdoor advertising to leave room for weather and emergency-related news to be shown on the boards across all markets. Messaging was resumed without a hitch once the hurricane had blown through and emergency relief services were completed, something that would not have been possible with a vinyl billboard.
For an industry that is constantly changing, digital billboards are an easy and effective way to keep up with each shift in services or community events. It is something that can be tied in with a variety of other marketing tactics, and we are glad to have clients take advantage of this ever-evolving form of advertising.
