In the wake of digital advertising, are billboards still a thing? Digital advertising engages target audiences in ostensibly simple and ingenious ways, the question about whether ‘Out of Home Billboards’ (OOH), achieve the same impact is an interesting one.
In today’s day and age – social media advertising is all about being on the lookout for the next big thing that will make audiences keep talking about, whether those are trending sound bites, the meme of the month, or leveraging micro trends and pop culture moments.
“BRAT summer”, “Demure Fall” or “Mob Wife Aesthetic” – all are some examples of small trends that started from one specific corner and blew up into respective corner of where they could be leveraged and sometimes even full fledge campaigns for various brands across social media.
However, the everchanging culture of micro trends and pop culture moments seldom last long.
Each trend’s life depends entirely on when there’s another trend that flows in and overpowers its predecessor.
The role brands play in the lifecycle of a trend is that of a catalyst, utilising trends to appeal to their target audiences in a timely fashion with the deep desire to resonate with their target audiences – its impact? The normalisation of the trend itself to the extent it dissipates into the world wide web, making no waves. Just existing.
The question is, if everyone’s part of the same trend; is there any room for novelty? Is there room for inspiration? If you’re not somehow using trends in a way that matters, and if you’re just part of the conversation for the sake of being part of the conversation – are you trending? Or are you sustaining yourself through said trend? It’s an interesting line of questioning. It is also a completely different tangent which we will not be exploring.
However, while in the digital world, brands attempt to take on various roles to keep up with the digital world moving at the speed of light; the world of Out of Home advertising showcases a stark contrast and stands its ground – let’s start at home, the city of lights – Karachi.
Kala Pul’s turning has always been a joy to cross, with a cluster of billboards one humanly read in one go, but somehow passers always register.
Love the synchronicity of the Mahay billboard and Shell Billboard – utilising the spaces horizontal design. While one reinforces vibrance and inclusivity (MAHAY), the other (Shell) resonates with the working class our country is built upon. Similar designs – and yet cater to two different target audiences all in one glance.
Similarly – right before you get onto the thick of Shahrah e Faisal you see the larger-than-life Shell Billboard.
If you know your routes like I do, you would know that: this intersection comes smack in the middle of two Shell pumps. One opposite Ayesha Bawani and the one right on your way back to Defense if you’re on your way there. Not only is this an excellent use of space, it truly reinforces brand presence like nothing else.
Some would say OUT OF HOME is just about the right placement – I’m not sure that’s entirely true… Let’s take the K&N’s Billboard for example.
K&N’s is an established brand – arguably a leader in its own league. Though the billboard has excellent placement (it’s on the route to Baloch Colony as you get off Ittehad) the billboard itself feels a bit uninspired. Not my favourite but I suppose the brand is effectively communicating what it needs to, and simultaneously reinforces brand presence.
And while not all billboards communicate something effectively… Sometimes, all a billboard really needs to do – is be kind to the eyes.
Not sure if this was planned or just divine forces at play – but look at how fun these two billboards look together!
The aesthetic, the placement, the colour being the same but definitely not blending in.
When I first saw this – I immediately thought of a father and his child. Two billboards catering to a family. Pretty cool, isn’t it?
While some billboards achieve peak glory by chance – some achieve it through great intention. This might be, by far the most intelligent billboard placement in Karachi I have seen. Utilising the rising sun behind it to create emphasis on the billboard itself.
It isn’t news that digital advertising is an ever-changing medium and relies on target audiences’ interactions to establish its efficacy. And yes, it can be more engaging, but to think digital advertising impacts out-of-home advertising or billboards and can somehow make them a thing of the past is makes it sound as though we live in a world where there can only be one. Digital Media and OOH are not mutually exclusive, and fortunately, neither is attention.
All in all – whether we like it or not, OOH is not going anywhere for the next few years, and we’re excited to see it!