Have you given any thought yet to your brand’s Christmas DOOH campaign or creative? Sage+Archer is getting into the festive spirit by taking a look at some creative best practices to perfect your DOOH creative.
#1 Colours are most powerful in gaining consumer’s attention outdoors
Increase attention by using contrasting colours
Effective advertising needs to capture the consumer’s attention. Colour is a signal our brain can quickly read and automatically process, therefore is a simple but powerful way to grab attention.
The effect of a specific colour does depend on the contrast it is surrounded with. Neuroscientific experiments show us that visuals with a contrasting colour pattern will capture more attention, ie, the difference between yellow and orange is less impactful than the difference between yellow and black.
Using an unusual colour as a main or background colour in your creative can help it pop out in its surroundings, such as a bright pink or stark red, or contrast colours sharply together.
#2 Our brain prioritises personalised information
Localise content within Digital Out of Home creative
Our brain prioritises and remembers information that is important and relevant to us at that moment, and that capability can be maximised in advertising creative. Dynamic creative (html5) can be effectively used in programmatic out of home to localise and personalise messaging, whether speaking to the local area, responding to live triggers such as weather, updating price promotions, or capturing events.
#3 Video motion and animation in Digital Out of Home
How to grab attention in 6 seconds
Studies performed in the last 10 years have claimed that certain stimuli such as motion onset can attract attention, and therefore out of home advertising is a well-placed medium to engage the consumer with high impact, and full motion screens.
These studies indicate that the human brain has more sensitivity to objects that move towards them, rather than those that remain static or move away, reaction times increasing in rank from looming, to receding, to static.
Some OOH screens have a very short dwell time depending how long it takes the consumer to pass by, and many roadside locations are essentially static for safety reasons.
Considering the dwell time of the environment is key to an impactful message, and in many cases the permitted animation is just 6 seconds. Thereby an effective tip is to use that motion time most effectively with looming imagery and animation.
#4 Product images transfer messages effectively in OOH
Use an image or illustration to transfer the brand or product message quickly
OOH delivers high impact screens to grab the consumer’s attention, so it is critical to convey messaging quickly and efficiently in the space with a core brand or product message. Images rarely need to be interpreted and can be quickly processed and understood.
A team of neuroscientists from MIT found that the human brain can process entire images that the eye sees for as little as 13 milliseconds. Neuroscientists have also found that we process and store images into our long-term memory within seconds of exposure.
Integrating a clear image of your product or service not only helps with conveying a message quickly, but secures that message or product within the long-term memory, key for brand awareness and product recall.
#5 There is no such thing as too much brand!
Logo placement and positioning is key
There is a theory that says that high and ever-present usage of a brand can negatively impact messaging, making the consumer likely to look away from that core logo, however there is neither behavioural or scientific research to support this.
In actual fact, the converse has been proven in that if consumers are not able to recognise a brand or logo, they are less likely to engage, and therefore fail to connect with a message or brand.
A familiar logo can increase the attention and engagement consumers have with a creative message, we are more likely to look at information we are already familiar with. Brand inclusion and placement is key!
A Merry creative Christmas
We hope these recommendations and best practices help power your creative build and messaging! Most importantly, consider the screen environment and available technology, whether static or dynamic html5, in building the highest quality and most engaging creative for your brand.
References:
ttps://news.mit.edu/2014/in-the-blink-of-an-eye-0116
https://www.scielo.br/j/pn/a/VDmtz96hS9yVTyrtdh6DFMJ/?lang=en
https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2014-52358-020.html
