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4 Innovations That Are Rocking The Outdoor Branding Game

Branding is an essential part of a business’ success and carefully strategized branding always goes a long way in securing a firm establishment for the business in the market. No matter how much the brand is boosted across digital platforms, outdoor branding still remains the most effective strategy for a brand’s growth and development. Outdoor branding is to a brand, what food is to the human body - a requisite.

Here are 4 hot trends in Outdoor Branding that will take your Branding game to the next level, thereby establishing your brand on firm ground.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

At the very mention of Artificial Intelligence, the first things that strike our minds are naturally a robot that can think on its own or a car that can drive itself around. However, AI is more than just that; it is a vast sector of technology that has changed human life forever. With the onset of AI, even branding outdoor has moved onto the next league. This is because AI can process humongous amounts of data at a large and rapid scale. Therefore, it improves data analysis, predictions, market research and so much more for the business sector in terms of branding and advertising.

Two specific applications of AI in Outdoor Branding are: i) Dynamic Billboards and ii) Location Data Accuracy

STORYTELLING

The Human mind is designed such that it absorbs facts and opinions shared in a story format rather than a plain narrative. This is one of the primary reasons why the creative industry is always in demand. A product or a service if advertised in the form of a story, has shown to yield much better responses among target audience than when launched as a mainstream commodity. The latter method fails to give the opportunity for the consumer to differentiate it from other competitors.

How can this Storytelling aspect be incorporated in outdoor branding? It could be something as simple as a catchy tagline displayed on a billboard, or a video of how the brand came to be played in a popular location, or even just an impactful campaign in the outdoors. The choices are endless. It is time to rack up those brainstorms and let the creative juices flow.

Check out how these brands embraced storytelling along with Outdoor marketing and tasted immense success - https://www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/brands/these-outdoor-brands-are-turning-customer-stories-into-marketing-gold/

MULTI-CHANNEL INTEGRATION

The combination of digital and outdoor branding techniques has been immensely successful for brands in recent times. One such popular application of this approach is the use of QR codes for various branding strategies ranging from getting offers, promotions, freebies, feedback, and so on.

Thus, a multi-channel integration in outdoor branding has only been proven to amplify positive results for brands across industries, both B2B and B2C alike.

THE RISE OF DOOH

This is inevitably the age of digital media and so, to try and keep Outdoor branding conventional and exclusive from digital media is nearly impossible. Digital influence has penetrated deep into every nook and cranny of the Branding scene and Digital Out-Of-House Branding is only a resultant of all the buzz in the tech industry. The usage of digital elements partly or wholly has enhanced outdoor branding to a colossal extent especially in the current scenario that is engulfed by unpredictability and sporadic lockdown schedules.

DOOH is a rising and rapidly adaptive trend in the world of Outdoor Branding and the sooner brands adapt and incorporate it in their marketing mix, the better their growth will be.

Consumers of today are highly informed individuals who are well aware and conscious of what they consume. Therefore, it is time that brands and businesses level up their branding game to match the current trends of the market and keep themselves updated. These latest trends in the Outdoor Branding game have really taken OOH to newer levels of creating an impact and Brand awareness among consumers. Do apply them to your brand building process and see for yourself how much the growth graph goes up. Happy marketing!

ENGINEERING IN ADVERTISING - A CREATIVE PARADOX?

When the term ‘Engineering’ is mentioned, the first images that strike the mind are that of either mechanical or tech-oriented activities and objects. Not for a single moment do we associate something creative such as advertising with engineering. Truth be told, engineering is prevalent and necessary in every industry there is. Even advertising which is seemingly a creative industry with no correlations to engineering as such, needs some amount of engineering applied to it to make it effective and functional. How you ask? Here’s how..

10 WAYS ENGINEERING HAS ENHANCED THE BRANDING/ADVERTISING INDUSTRY

• The foremost advantage of Marketing engineering is that it instantly turns haphazard ideas to systematic approaches that are focused on the project’s main goal and keeps it from wavering in other directions.
• Engineering in advertising helps in market research and provides data more efficiently and accurately which can in turn, be used to generate revenue better.

• Strategies like SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Keyword Analytics have gained a steady momentum and have become an integral part of advertising and branding processes. This is solely due to the involvement of engineering in advertising since any analytical and statistical approach requires some amount of engineering knowledge to it.
• OOH – Out-Of-house advertising or Outdoor Branding as it is better known, requires engineering fabrications and installations to be set up and be an effective marketing tool for the brand or business.
• Engineering facilitates the very process of development in any advertising medium. For instance, a good website speaks volumes for a brand in the market. For a good website to be made, engineering has to be applied in is developmental stages right from encoding to programming to hosting it live and so forth.
• The world of digital marketing has taken over every business there is. Digital marketing is a vital part of a brand’s brand-building process. Digital marketing however, cannot thrive without engineering interventions in the area of tech development.
• Data-based decision making is another aspect of engineering being applied in advertising. Instead of shooting in the dark with probable hunches, now it is possible to research well into the data of a brand and then make informed decisions on moving ahead.
• Problem solving has become a lot more efficient with the intervention of engineering based approaches in advertising. With data statistics to back up, a problem gets solved right at the very root of it instead of whiling away time and resources trying to find it.
• It is true that Information is wealth. Therefore, with the advent of information technology, it has become all the more vital for engineering to be integrated into advertising strategies merely for the purpose of bridging the gap between conventional methods of advertising and adapting to the current trends.
• CRM – Customer Relationship Management is another area where engineering solutions have enhanced advertising. Maintaining steady communication with customers through periodic advertising material such as newsletters, emails, digital campaigns, social media campaigns and such is crucial to a brand’s establishment. This has been made easier and more systemic with the onset of engineering solutions in advertising.
• Thus. It is safe to state that engineering has seeped into the very areas that are integral to a business’s growth and development. Without engineering, advertising remains to be merely words and ideas but with engineering interventions, creative industries like advertising can reach even beyond the horizon in that they can work wonders for a brand’s growth.

AN IDENTITY CRISIS – PROFESSIONALS OR VENDORS?

Often, businesses employ the term ‘vendor’ collectively to anybody who associates with them outside their realm, on a professional basis. This applied to even Engineers and other professionals who are indeed professionals who need to be addressed primarily based on their profession and not merely stated as a vendor. This identity crisis has been existing for a while now and though subtle, invariably affects the industry that it prevails in.

To clear off this confusion once and for all, we have enlisted below, the salient features, qualities and other aspects that distinguish an Engineering Professional from a mere vendor status.

• First things first, educational qualifications definitely speak volumes in terms of professional prowess. A person’s educational qualification is the one aspect that will render true in-depth knowledge of the respective field and help them resolve crises with ease.
• The training that a person receives during their probation period in their career distinguishes them to a professional status. The kind of training that they receive will equip them for practical work on the ground.
• A Professional’s identity is also defined by the approaches and quality of work that they offer at the table. A true Professional’s work will definitely stand out from the rest and will be prompt, adequate and apt as per the requirement of the customer.
• A Professional goes by logical numbers and analytical data that is genuine and researched; no mere quotes and probabilities.
• Professionals are always distinguished by their ability to be updated and in tune with the current trends of the market.
• Professionals are all-rounders with a variety of skills to offer, but specialize in only one field that eventually becomes their mastery.
• Professionals express their utmost strength in their forte and refrain from delving into areas that are unfamiliar, so as to avoid further confusion.
• Engineering Professionals are usually qualified to cater to customers on higher levels in the corporate hierarchy. When an engineering professional is involved, it usually means that the project is in need of actual professional help.
• A Professional’s identity is marked by a combination of both their skills and experience.
• A Professional’s involvement is usually required for a project to be spearheaded towards the desired result.

Thus, there are certain qualities and aspects that are irreplaceable with regards to having professionals on board an organization versus outsourcing to vendors. While the latter is also quite important for an organization – that is, to maintain a good vendor panel so as to cater to customers on all degrees efficiently, it is vital for any organization to have equipped and qualified professionals on board, in order to stand the test of time and become a firm establishment in the market. What distinguishes a professional may differ across industries, but the core competencies remain constant and common throughout. Irrespective of the prevailing circumstances, the identity that a true professional requires has to be given with all due respect, so that the future is not tainted with confusion, especially in this era of machines replacing man.