Local vs. National OOH Advertising: How to Scale Campaigns the Right Way
When you’re planning an advertising campaign, one of the most important things to consider is the scale.
There’s a massive difference between a huge national campaign that rolls out across a whole country or even further, and a campaign that targets a very small area or a specific demographic. So, how do you know the best option for your campaign?
The Differences Between Local and National Campaigns
Before you can properly scale your campaign, it’s important to understand some of the biggest differences between the local and national campaigns, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. While you might think bigger is always better, some local campaigns can be incredibly successful, so you could get more bang for your buck.
Cost
For many brands, especially smaller brands, cost is the most limiting factor. As a general rule, larger campaigns are much more expensive than smaller ones, because you have to invest more to have a larger reach.
If you want to grow your business but simply don’t have the funds to justify a massive campaign, focusing on a small area could be the more cost-effective option. But you do have to bear in mind that costs can scale to favor larger purchases, so if you can invest more, widening your reach could be a worthwhile investment.
Geography
The most obvious difference between local and national campaigns is geography. This is also where national campaigns shine.
There are some industries that benefit more from locally focused campaigns than national ones. Service-based businesses have a limited scope and can only serve customers who come to them, so focusing on your local market will be more effective. However, in the age of online shopping, you can sell products to people from much further away, and national campaigns spread your market far and wide.
You can also choose how local you want your campaign to be. A local campaign could mean only focusing on a specific town or village, or it could spread out to cities and towns in a certain area.
Relevance
As a general rule, the more local your campaign is, the more you can personalize it to a very specific market. National campaigns are great for overall coverage and reaching as many people as possible, but with a local campaign, you can craft a campaign that is laser-focused on people’s concerns and specific pain points that might not apply to a wider audience.
You can capitalize on people’s sense of pride about living in a certain area and solidify your brand as a local one. Some customers are more willing to support brands that they see as part of their community, and local campaigns can capitalize on this community feeling.
How to Scale a Campaign for Your Brand
As we’ve established, there’s not necessarily a “better” option for every business, but there could be better ways to scale your campaign specifically.
If you have limited funds, it could be better to create a thorough local campaign rather than a sparse national campaign that will be forgotten. Remember that you’re competing with other brands for attention, and if your national campaign is limited enough, it can just go forgotten.
You also need to consider the type of industry your business is in, as well as the message you want to put across. If you’re a hairstylist or a landscaper, then keeping it local could be better, as you can’t necessarily benefit from someone who lives 8 hours away.
Campaigns spread a message, and they will build a reputation for your brand. Local campaigns can be much more focused and effective for a specific audience, even if they won’t reach as far. National campaigns have the obvious advantage of reaching far more people, so even if they might not resonate as much, the message still gets out.
How The OOH Squad Creates Targeted Campaigns
The OOH Squad specializes in using some traditional and nontraditional advertising methods that are ideal for large and small campaigns alike. These include billboard mobile advertising, where instead of using stationary billboards, you rely on billboard trucks to drive around in traffic, advertising your brand.
Each campaign starts in the planning phase. This includes the scale of the campaign, which informs how specific we can be when designing messages for your brand. From there, we can design a campaign that puts across your intended message, as well as working out the logistics of a large or small advertising campaign.
Finally, we excel in executing advertising campaigns, with multiple advertising methods that can make your brand impossible to forget.