Outdoor Vs. Indoor Advertising: Which One Is More Effective

Advertising and Marketing is important for all types of businesses, regardless of their size. Since ancient times, different modes of advertising have existed. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century changed the face of advertising in Europe.

Printed advertising in the form of billboards, banner ads, road signs, wall murals, and others are now helping businesses promote their products to their target audiences. The best thing is that printed ads can be set up indoors and outdoors.

Here, we will take a look at the difference between indoor and outdoor advertising. After reading this guide, you can determine if indoor or outdoor advertising can help you reach your target market.  

 

What Is Outdoor Advertising?


Outdoor advertising can be placed in outdoor spaces, thereby gaining the attention of passersby. This advertising medium is designed to promote products or services in open spaces.

With outdoor advertising, companies can promote their products and services to people in public places or on the road. The advertising medium is placed at high traffic spots to ensure maximum visibility of the promotional materials.

Different Types Of Outdoor Advertising.

Various advertising materials can promote products outdoors.  Common spots for outdoor advertising include roll-ups, billboards, vehicles, walls, and benches. Here we will take a brief look at different outdoor advertising mediums.

Banner

Banners are a cost-effective outdoor advertising method. They provide a great visual impact on the target market. The advertising material can be used in fairs, stadiums, and other outdoor events. They are very ezi to install and portable. These banners are also know as easy signs or ezi banners as they are so easy to install and take off.

Billboard

Billboard can help in attracting the attention of a large number of people. The advertising medium offers great value for money due to a wider impact as compared to other types of outdoor advertising materials.

Billboards are typically placed in high traffic areas mostly along busy roads. The outdoor advertising material is also placed near motels and restaurants. They create a memorable impression on your target audience. Billboards need to be readable from a distance in a short time since most read them while driving at high speeds.

Flags

Flag advertising is also a type of advertising medium that offers great advantages. They come in different sizes. They can be customized to deliver the company message to the target audiences. The outdoor advertising material is portable and can be easily moved from one location to another. They can be of different shapes, including teardrop flags, rectangular flags, bowhead flags, and feather flags.

Car Stickers

Car stickers are also an effective outdoor advertising medium. You can put the advertising material on the entire car body or just certain parts of the car. Businesses usually place their contact information and logo on stickers. Car stickers are a cost-effective mode of promoting goods and services. The advertising material can be removed without damaging the car’s paint.

Public Benches

Outdoor advertisement also includes placing ads on park and bus benches. These benches are placed near bus shelters, telephone kiosks, and news racks. They are also commonly placed in subway stations and cars and near airport walkways and wrapped around vehicles.

Mural Advertising

Mural advertising is a type of outdoor advertisement. These murals are painted using different attractive colours. Then, a sheet of paper containing the graphic design is pasted on the walls. Film production companies usually use this outdoor advertisement method to announce new films. They are mostly projected to the people at the railway station, bus stand, parks, marketplace, and other crowded areas.

Advertising Boards

Advertising boards are a type of poster advertising. They are generally placed in places where people assemble frequently. The term is usually reserved for advertising hoardings that are seen at international football matches.

Painted Displays

Painted displays are a type of outdoor advertising where the advertising message is hand painted. The displays are placed in high-traffic areas. The painted displays are usually placed on the windows of retail stores.

Travelling Display

Travelling displays are small posters that are pasted inside buses, trains, vans, and tramcars. They are targeted at people who use public transport for their daily commute.

Leaflets

Leaflets are commonly used advertising materials that are generally distributed among people. They are distributed to nearby passersby. The outdoor advertising medium is generally used by small business owners due to its low cost.

 

Promotional counters can serve as an effective advertisement material in trade shows. They can be designed to display important information about a company’s products and services. Promotional counters are a great option to attract the attention of guests at trade shows and other events.

Is Outdoor Advertising Still Effective?

Although outdoor advertising is a traditional method, it is still effective today. Most adults spend the majority of their time outside. Travelling displays, for instance, command an audience of 35,000 to 50,000 people daily.

Creative outdoor advertising can help you to attract the attention of a huge target audience. Outdoor banners, posters, flags, wall murals, and other display methods are relevant still today.

What Is the Cost of an Outdoor Advertisement?

The cost of outdoor advertisements depends on the display type and size of ads. You can expect to pay anywhere between A$150 to A$5000 for the printing and installation of an outdoor advertisement material. For some outdoor ads like billboards and travel displays, you may have to pay rent for space.

What Is Indoor Advertising?

Indoor advertising displays the promotional message in enclosed spaces. The advertisement material is generally displayed in malls, cafes, restaurants, theatres, supermarkets, restrooms, airports, schools, and clubs. It is a more cost-effective advertising method since you generally don’t have to pay any rent. 

What Are the Types of Indoor Advertising?

Different types of indoor advertisement methods are available. Some of the outdoor advertisement materials, such as flags, posters, banners, and leaflets can also be displayed indoors. Here we will take a look at other indoor advertising methods used to attract the attention of the target market. 

Roll-up Advertising

Roll-up advertising is a type of indoor advertising that has various applications. The advertising material is generally used in presentations, exhibitions, publicity campaigns, fashion events, and retail spaces. It is an affordable advertising medium as it is easy to carry around, portable, and removable. The print advertising medium can be easily moved from one place to another.

This indoor advertising medium is perfect for companies with a small advertising budget. But the advertising medium provides great value for money since it can be used repeatedly.

X-Banner Stands

X-banner stands are generally used in retail and trade show presentations. The banner gets its name because the frame appears like the letter X. They are an excellent choice for banner stands due to their dimensional stability.

Retractable Banner Stands

Retractable banner stands are a popular type of indoor advertising material that retracts into the base using a mechanical spring. The spring keeps the banner in an upright position. Moreover, it pulls the display stand around a roller for storage.

Brochures

Brochures are advertising material that is in the form of a small book. The advertising material can be folded into a leaflet or pamphlet. It is an informative document that is primarily used to inform customers about the benefits of the products or services. Moreover, brochures also introduce the company to the target market.

Well designed brochures can help in gaining trust and brand recognition. Standard printed brochures sizes include 11x25.5, 11x17, 8.5x14, and 8.1x11 inches. You can select a brochure size that meets your requirements.

You should select a small size brochure for event promos, trade shows, and take-out menus. A large fold-out brochure is recommended as a product catalogue. A large brochure of 11x17 inches can fold into four pages of 8.5x11 inches that contain colourful graphs, images, and text. 

Brochures can be folded in different ways. Some of the common fold types for brochures include half-fold, tri-fold, gatefold, double gatefold, Z-fold, parallel fold, accordion fold, and roll fold. However, the most common types of brochures include the half-fold, tri-fold, and letter fold. Flyers

Flyers are an inexpensive advertisement medium. They are printed on a single sheet of paper. Companies distribute flyers for informing the target market about special sales, new or promotional products. They are also created to introduce the company to the target market.

Standard flyer sizes include 8.55x11, 8.3x5.8, 5.8x4.1, and 8.3x3.9 inches. The sizes you pick for the flyer depends on the content you want to print on it. The cost of printing the flyer will depend on the size and graphic content.

Pamphlets

Pamphlets are a type of brochure that is small in size. Some people use the terms pamphlets and brochures interchangeably. But the two are slightly different advertising forms. Pamphlets contain fewer pages but more words. Brochures on the other hand have more pages and more images.

You can consider pamphlets as a small booklet. The pamphlet is a single subject handout that introduces the products or services to the target market. A typical pamphlet contains different sections.

Printed T-Shirts

Printing T-shirts are a unique way of advertising products and services. Companies distribute free t-shirts as promotional material to customers or employees. The printed material serves as a cost-effective means to introduce the company. 

Corflute Signs

Corflute signs are popular advertising material use in event shows and retail spaces. Corflutes are durable, ribbed plastic material available in different thicknesses and sizes. The advertising material can be printed in full colour with text and images.

How Do I Use Indoor Advertising?

Indoor advertising materials are used to promote products and services inside buildings. When designing indoor advertising material, it is best to focus on displaying maximum information and minimum images.

It is also important to strategically place indoor advertisement to capture maximum attention. The best places for indoor advertisement include fitness centres, airports, cafes, event shows, and retail spaces.

Moreover, it is also important to pick the right size of indoor advertising material. The cost of the advertising material will depend on the size. For maximum effect, it is important that you should go with the biggest size of indoor advertising material that you can afford.  

Indoor Advertising vs. Outdoor Branding: Which One Is Better?

Indoor advertising is a cost effective way to reach the target market. The advertising medium reaches the audience when they are in a relaxed mood. The target audience will be more receptive when they receive the message through the indoor advertising media.

Outdoor advertising mediums such as billboards are generally more expensive as compared to indoor advertising. But the advertising method results in greater exposure to the marketing method as compared to indoor advertising.

Thousands of people commute to work or go to other places in private or public transport. The advertising medium is effective for people that want to create immediate brand awareness. It is ideal for reaching people who go out to public spaces or commute to work.

Depending on the aim of advertising, both advertising medium can offer great value. If the purpose is to reach a specific target market, indoor advertising probably offersss more value for money. In contrast, if 

the purpose of advertising is to advertise the product to the mass market, the outdoor advertising medium will have the best effect.

Whatever advertising method you choose, the advertisement media must be positioned in a strategic manner. It should also be designed in a manner that conveys the message to the target customers effectively. The indoor advertising medium should contain more text while the outdoor advertising medium should be more visual.

In a Nutshell

Advertising is critical for the success of your business. Most businesses combine indoor and outdoor advertising methods for maximum effect. The decision, in the end, will be based on the marketing and promotional budget.

The guide will help you in deciding which mode of advertising to allocate more resources to promote your business.

Contact us for professional indoor and outdoor advertising design services. We offer print advertising services, including banners, posters, signs, flags, stickers, and many different outdoor advertising mediums. You can browse through our sample of graphic design solutions that we offer all over Australia. 

 

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