Driving Success

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In today’s competitive advertising landscape, businesses are constantly seeking innovative ways to capture consumer attention. One of the most effective strategies emerging in recent years is the use of digital billboards combined with location-based data analysis. A recent study conducted by MIRA, the attribution arm of Reveal Mobile, on behalf of a local automotive dealership, shows just how powerful this approach can be.

The Campaign at a Glance

In November 2023, a local automotive dealership launched a 4-week campaign using 13 digital billboards across southeast Michigan and Lansing. Each location displayed a single advertisement, and the campaign reached full market penetration, generating over 16.9 million impressions during its run. The billboards were strategically placed to cover major dealerships, including their sectors of Chevrolet, Kia, Hyundai, and Ford, ensuring the ads reached the right audience.

To gauge the effectiveness of the campaign, MIRA used a combination of location intelligence and detailed measurement techniques. The study measured the exact time and location that the digital ads were shown, allowed for precise tracking of people who were exposed to the ads.

Key Insights from the Study

One of the standout aspects of this study is the method used to assess the campaign’s effectiveness. A test group of individuals exposed to the digital ads was compared to a control group that likely encountered other forms of the dealership’s advertising but did not pass by the billboards. This control group was carefully matched to the test group in terms of demographics and geography, ensuring an accurate comparison.

The data was analyzed across three phases: pre-campaign, during the campaign, and post-campaign. Notably, the post-campaign phase only included visits recorded within 14 days of the campaign’s end, providing a clear snapshot of how quickly the campaign impacted consumer behavior.

Impressive Results: 36% Increase in Dealership Visits

The study found that individuals exposed to the digital billboards were 36% more likely to visit a Feldman dealership than those who did not see the ads. Furthermore, in-store conversions from the billboard test group increased by .66%—a 27% increase compared to the control group, which actually experienced a 9% decrease in visits.

These findings highlight the unique power of digital OOH (Out-of-Home) advertising in driving tangible consumer action. By targeting the right audience with real-time ad delivery, the dealership was able to generate a significant lift in dealership visits, proving that digital billboards are a high-impact advertising tool.

Why This Matters for Advertisers

The success of the dealership’s campaign underscores the growing importance of location-based advertising. Digital billboards offer an unparalleled level of flexibility, allowing businesses to adjust their messaging in real-time and track the exact moment and location that their ads are viewed. This precision enables advertisers to measure the direct impact of their campaigns with a high degree of accuracy, making it easier to demonstrate ROI.

For industries like automotive sales, where in-store visits are critical, digital billboards offer a powerful way to convert interest into action. By combining location intelligence with compelling creative content, businesses can increase foot traffic and engage potential customers at key moments in their daily routines.

Conclusion

This local automotive dealership’s case study is a clear example of how leveraging digital billboards and precise location data can drive measurable results. With a 36% increase in dealership visits among those exposed to the ads, this campaign demonstrates the potential of digital OOH advertising to engage consumers and boost sales. As more businesses adopt this approach, the future of advertising will undoubtedly involve even greater integration of location-based insights and real-time measurement.

For advertisers looking to maximize their impact, digital billboards represent a dynamic and data-driven solution that can deliver significant results.

How Data Plays a Role in Billboard Advertising

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With the emergence of big data, new methods of collecting consumer information has greatly benefited corporations by enabling them to target consumers based on their interests, characteristics, and traits. The digitalization of billboards has further enhanced this process, introducing a data-driven approach to ad delivery. The transformation of data usage, along with the integration of billboards and data collection, has led to billboards becoming more precise in targeting, more measurable in results, and more impactful than before.

Credit: bMEDIA

Precise Targeting Through Data

In the past, billboard placements relied on demographic assumptions about locations. For example, a billboard in a college town might feature products and services appealing to students. Today, data analytics allows advertisers to know exactly who sees their billboards. By using GPS devices, social media, and mobile apps to analyze traffic patterns and demographic information, advertisers can find the precise audience segments that pass by their billboards, including age, gender, interests, and even purchasing behavior.

Data also plays a critical role in selecting billboard locations. By tracking traffic patterns and using heat maps to identify high-traffic areas, companies can choose billboard placements based on the impressions they want to generate, making the process more accurate and data-driven.

This precision is further enhanced by geofencing, a technology that triggers ads on consumers’ mobile devices once they pass a certain billboard. Geofencing constantly collects data, tracking the demographics and characteristics of people passing through specific areas. Without collecting any personal information, this data is distributed to advertisers, enabling them to create comprehensive ad campaigns tailored to the audience passing by their billboards. Additionally, by delivering ads to mobile devices, billboard advertising is elevated to a new digital level.

Measuring effectiveness through impression data and mobile tracking makes it easier for advertisers to see clear results from billboard campaigns. Mobile tracking analyzes movement patterns to determine whether exposure to a billboard leads to increased store visits or web searches. Advertisers can also retarget individuals exposed to a billboard ad with online ads, reinforcing the message and increasing brand recall.

Benefits of Data-Driven Billboard Advertising

Data-driven billboard advertising offers several benefits, including enhanced targeting that ensures the right message reaches the right audience at the right time. This leads to improved ROI, as optimized ad placement results in increased engagement and sales. Comprehensive insights from data analytics provide a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and preferences, allowing campaigns to remain effective by making billboards measurable and leveraging the digital aspect to each company’s advantage. This means advertisers can tailor each campaign to their target audience, enhancing its effectiveness and impact.

The Role of Geopath

Geopath is a non-profit organization that provides audience location measurement, insights, and analytics for out-of-home (OOH) advertising, including billboards. It has become a leader in providing data that enhances the effectiveness of OOH advertising. Geopath’s mission is to provide advertisers with accurate data and insights, enabling them to make informed decisions about their OOH advertising strategies. They aim to enhance the credibility and accountability of OOH media through standardized measurement practices.

Geopath uses a combination of data sources, including mobile data, traffic patterns, census data, and GPS information, to provide a comprehensive view of audience demographics and behavior. This data allows advertisers to create detailed audience profiles, enabling precise targeting based on factors such as age, gender, income level, and lifestyle preferences. Geopath’s data includes impression metrics that measure the number of people who have the opportunity to see a billboard, allowing advertisers to evaluate the reach of their campaigns.

International Outdoor uses Geopath to install geofencing and collect data on Metro-Detroit’s commuters. With this data, we direct our clients to which boards, locations, times, and periods would suit them best.

Credit: Geopath Insights Suite

A Marketing Powerhouse

Data has undeniably transformed billboard advertising from a static medium into a dynamic and data-driven marketing powerhouse. By leveraging data analytics, advertisers can achieve unprecedented levels of targeting, measurement, and engagement, ensuring that their messages resonate with the right audience at the right time. As technology continues to evolve, the possibilities for data-driven billboard advertising are limitless, promising a future where advertising is not only more effective but also more personalized and impactful.