Hi everyone, welcome to another article on digital marketing trends. Today, we are going to talk about how Amazon, the e-commerce giant, is transforming the out-of-home (OOH) advertising industry with its innovative and data-driven solutions.
OOH advertising refers to any type of advertising that reaches consumers outside their homes, such as billboards, bus shelters, transit screens, digital kiosks, and more. OOH advertising is one of the oldest and most effective forms of advertising, as it can generate high visibility, awareness, and recall for brands and products. However, OOH advertising also faces some challenges, such as measuring its impact, targeting specific audiences, and integrating with other digital channels.
Why Amazon is Interested in OOH Advertising
Amazon is not only the world's largest online retailer, but also one of the top digital advertising players, competing with Google and Facebook for a share of the online ad market. Amazon has a unique advantage over its rivals, as it has access to a vast amount of customer data based on their shopping behavior, preferences, and purchase history. This allows Amazon to deliver relevant and personalized ads to its customers across various platforms and devices.
However, Amazon is not satisfied with dominating the online ad space. It also wants to expand its presence in the physical world, where it can reach more customers and influence their purchase decisions. Amazon has already invested in physical retail stores, such as Whole Foods, Amazon Go, and Amazon Books, where it can showcase its products and services. It has also acquired a stake in Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, one of the largest OOH advertising companies in the world, giving it access to thousands of OOH ad units across the US and Europe.
How Amazon Uses OOH Advertising to Drive Online Sales
One of the main goals of Amazon's OOH advertising strategy is to drive online sales by creating a seamless customer experience across online and offline channels. Amazon uses OOH ads to promote its products, services, and events, such as Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Video. It also uses OOH ads to showcase customer reviews and ratings, which can increase trust and credibility for its brand.
Amazon leverages its customer data to target OOH ads based on factors such as location, time of day, weather, and device usage. For example, Amazon can display ads for umbrellas or raincoats when it is raining in a certain area, or ads for sunscreen or sunglasses when it is sunny. Amazon can also use OOH ads to retarget customers who have searched for or viewed certain products online, or who have abandoned their shopping carts. By doing so, Amazon can create a consistent and relevant message for its customers across different touchpoints.
How Amazon Uses OOH Advertising to Drive Offline Sales
Another goal of Amazon's OOH advertising strategy is to drive offline sales by attracting customers to its physical retail stores. Amazon uses OOH ads to inform customers about the location, features, and benefits of its stores, such as convenience, speed, variety, and quality. It also uses OOH ads to highlight special offers and discounts that are available only in its stores.
Amazon also uses OOH ads to enhance the customer experience in its stores by integrating them with other digital technologies. For example, Amazon uses QR codes on its OOH ads that customers can scan with their smartphones to access more information about the products or services advertised. Amazon also uses NFC tags on its OOH ads that customers can tap with their smartphones to add products to their online shopping carts or wish lists. Additionally, Amazon uses facial recognition technology on its OOH ads that can detect customers' emotions and preferences and display personalized ads accordingly.
How Amazon Uses OOH Advertising to Build Brand Awareness
A third goal of Amazon's OOH advertising strategy is to build brand awareness by showcasing its vision, values, and social responsibility. Amazon uses OOH ads to communicate its mission of being Earth's most customer-centric company and its commitment to innovation and excellence. It also uses OOH ads to highlight its corporate social responsibility initiatives, such as supporting small businesses, empowering women entrepreneurs, reducing carbon emissions, and donating to charitable causes.
Amazon also uses OOH ads to create memorable and engaging experiences for its customers by using creative and interactive formats. For example, Amazon has used giant billboards that display real-time data on how many people are watching Prime Video at any given moment. It has also used digital screens that allow customers to play games or watch trailers of Prime Video shows using their smartphones. Furthermore, Amazon has used augmented reality (AR) technology on its OOH ads that allow customers to see how products would look like in their homes or on themselves using their smartphones.
A Breakdown of Amazon's OOH Advertising Spend
To get a better idea of how much Amazon spends on OOH advertising and how it compares to other online retailers, we can look at some data from Kantar Media, a leading provider of media intelligence and insights. According to Kantar Media, Amazon spent $123.4 million on OOH advertising in the US in 2020, making it the second-largest OOH advertiser in the country, behind only McDonald's. This represents a 38% increase from 2019, when Amazon spent $89.3 million on OOH advertising.
The table below shows the top 10 OOH advertisers in the US in 2020, along with their spending and year-over-year change.
Rank
Advertiser
OOH Spending (in millions)
YOY Change
1
McDonald's
$155.1
-14%
2
Amazon
$123.4
+38%
3
Apple
$97.5
-23%
4
Geico
$80.6
-11%
5
Coca-Cola
$74.8
-16%
6
Netflix
$69.7
+3%
7
AT&T
$68.9
-18%
8
Anheuser-Busch InBev
$66.1
-18%
9
American Express
$64.9
-9%
10
Verizon
$64.4
-13%
As we can see, Amazon is the only online retailer in the top 10 OOH advertisers, and the only one that increased its OOH spending significantly in 2020. This shows how committed Amazon is to OOH advertising and how it sees it as a strategic channel to grow its business and brand.
FAQs About Amazon's OOH Advertising
What are the benefits of Amazon's OOH advertising for advertisers?
Amazon's OOH advertising offers several benefits for advertisers who want to reach and engage their target audiences in the physical world. Some of these benefits are:
Access to a large and diverse customer base: Amazon has over 300 million active customers worldwide, who shop for various products and services across different categories and segments. By advertising on Amazon's OOH network, advertisers can tap into this huge and loyal customer base and increase their brand awareness and recall.
Data-driven targeting and personalization: Amazon uses its customer data to target and personalize OOH ads based on factors such as location, time of day, weather, and device usage. This allows advertisers to deliver relevant and timely messages to their customers and improve their conversion rates.
Cross-channel integration and attribution: Amazon integrates its OOH ads with other digital channels, such as online, mobile, social, and voice, to create a seamless customer journey across different touchpoints. Amazon also provides advertisers with tools and metrics to measure the impact of their OOH ads on online and offline sales, as well as other key performance indicators (KPIs).
Creative and interactive formats: Amazon uses creative and interactive formats for its OOH ads, such as digital screens, QR codes, NFC tags, facial recognition, and AR technology. These formats enable advertisers to create memorable and engaging experiences for their customers and encourage them to interact with their brands.
Social responsibility and trust: Amazon uses its OOH ads to showcase its social responsibility initiatives, such as supporting small businesses, empowering women entrepreneurs, reducing carbon emissions, and donating to charitable causes. These initiatives help advertisers to build trust and credibility with their customers and align their values with Amazon's.
What are the challenges of Amazon's OOH advertising for advertisers?
Amazon's OOH advertising also poses some challenges for advertisers who want to leverage its potential and reach. Some of these challenges are:
Competition and clutter: Amazon faces stiff competition from other OOH advertising players, such as Google, Facebook, Netflix, Spotify, and Snapchat, who also have access to customer data and digital technologies. Moreover, the OOH advertising space is becoming more crowded and saturated, making it harder for advertisers to stand out and capture attention.
Privacy and regulation: Amazon's use of customer data and facial recognition technology for OOH advertising raises some privacy and ethical concerns among customers and regulators. Customers may not be comfortable with having their personal information and emotions tracked and used for advertising purposes without their consent. Regulators may impose stricter rules and guidelines on how Amazon can collect, store, and use customer data for OOH advertising.
Cost and ROI: Amazon's OOH advertising is not cheap, as it requires a significant investment in infrastructure, technology, data, and creative production. Advertisers need to weigh the cost of OOH advertising against the expected return on investment (ROI) and compare it with other advertising channels. Advertisers also need to consider the opportunity cost of not advertising on Amazon's OOH network, as they may lose out on potential customers who are influenced by Amazon's OOH ads.
How can advertisers get started with Amazon's OOH advertising?
Advertisers who want to get started with Amazon's OOH advertising need to follow some steps to plan, execute, and optimize their campaigns. Some of these steps are:
Define the campaign objectives: Advertisers need to define what they want to achieve with their OOH advertising campaigns, such as increasing brand awareness, driving online or offline sales, generating leads, or boosting customer loyalty. They also need to set specific and measurable KPIs to evaluate their campaign performance.
Identify the target audience: Advertisers need to identify who they want to reach with their OOH ads based on factors such as demographics, psychographics, location, behavior, interests, and needs. They also need to understand how their audience interacts with OOH ads and what motivates them to take action.
Select the OOH ad units: Advertisers need to select the OOH ad units that best suit their campaign objectives, target audience, and budget. They can choose from various OOH ad formats, such as billboards, bus shelters, transit screens, digital kiosks, and more. They also need to consider the location, size, frequency, and duration of their OOH ads.
Create the OOH ad creative: Advertisers need to create the OOH ad creative that conveys their message and value proposition in a clear, concise, and compelling way. They need to use eye-catching visuals, catchy headlines, and strong call-to-actions. They also need to follow Amazon's OOH advertising guidelines and best practices to ensure their ads are compliant and effective.
Launch and monitor the OOH ad campaign: Advertisers need to launch their OOH ad campaign on Amazon's OOH network and monitor its performance using Amazon's tools and metrics. They can track metrics such as impressions, reach, frequency, engagement, conversions, and ROI. They can also use Amazon's feedback and insights to optimize their OOH ad campaign and improve their results.
What are some examples of Amazon's OOH advertising campaigns?
Amazon has launched several OOH advertising campaigns for its products, services, and events. Some of these campaigns are:
The Prime Day campaign: In 2020, Amazon used OOH ads to promote its annual Prime Day event, which offers exclusive deals and discounts for its Prime members. Amazon used digital screens in various locations, such as Times Square in New York, Piccadilly Circus in London, and Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, to display countdown timers, product previews, customer reviews, and live streams of Prime Video shows. Amazon also used QR codes on its OOH ads that customers could scan with their smartphones to access the Prime Day landing page and shop online.
The Alexa campaign: In 2019, Amazon used OOH ads to showcase the features and benefits of its voice assistant Alexa. Amazon used billboards and bus shelters in various cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston, to display humorous and witty questions that customers could ask Alexa, such as "Alexa, what's the weather like today?" or "Alexa, how do I get rid of a spider?". Amazon also used NFC tags on its OOH ads that customers could tap with their smartphones to activate Alexa and get answers.
The Kindle campaign: In 2018, Amazon used OOH ads to highlight the advantages of its e-reader Kindle over traditional books. Amazon used digital kiosks in various airports, such as JFK in New York, Heathrow in London, and Changi in Singapore, to display messages such as "Kindle: No baggage fees" or "Kindle: No waiting in line". Amazon also used AR technology on its OOH ads that customers could use with their smartphones to see how Kindle would fit in their hand luggage or pocket.
Conclusion
Amazon is revolutionizing the OOH advertising industry with its innovative and data-driven solutions. Amazon uses OOH ads to drive online and offline sales, build brand awareness, and create memorable and engaging experiences for its customers. Amazon also offers several benefits for advertisers who want to leverage its OOH network, such as access to a large and diverse customer base, data-driven targeting and personalization, cross-channel integration and attribution, creative and interactive formats, and social responsibility and trust. However, Amazon's OOH advertising also poses some challenges for advertisers, such as competition and clutter, privacy and regulation, and cost and ROI. Advertisers who want to get started with Amazon's OOH advertising need to follow some steps to plan, execute, and optimize their campaigns. Amazon has launched several OOH advertising campaigns for its products, services, and events, such as the Prime Day campaign, the Alexa campaign, and the Kindle campaign.This concludes our article on how Amazon is revolutionizing OOH advertising. We hope you found it informative and useful. If you want to learn more about digital marketing trends and strategies, please check out our other articles on this website. Thank you for reading and have a great day! 😊
Video Reference : How Amazon is Revolutionizing Out-of-Home Advertising
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