Outdoor Advertising Using The Aida Model Media Essay

Outdoor Advertising Using The Aida Model Media Essay When using the AIDA model to explain the reasons behind the proliferation of outdoor advertising, among Awareness-Interest-Desire-Action, it is clear that an outdoor ad on billboards, e-displays serves to generate any or all among Awareness-Interest-Desire. Global or local? Globalization has of late become ubiquitous with most people viewing it as a panacea for all ills ailing future world economic development, a process that is in itself inevitable and irreversible. It can also be considered an economic phenomenon, involving integration of economic systems through growth in international trade, investment and capital flows. In his popular book,  The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century,   Thomas L. Friedman writes that the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. What Friedman really means by  flat  is connected. The rapid and sustained consolidation of media properties over the last decade, particularly within the outdoor segment, is leading toward simplified buying for advertisers across multi-media platforms. An infusion of capital into the outdoor industry has fostered the propagation of vital marketing studies, pioneered the research development of new outdoor formats and has encouraged savvy entrepreneurs to explore new approaches to the worlds oldest medium. Multi-national media companies are investing serious dollars into the outdoor industry and the investments are beginning to pay off in spades with improved infrastructure and expanded services for advertisers. The outdoor advertising industry has been among the  first media channels to successfully craft a global footprint to connect people with concepts. The far-reaching conductivity of companies like Clear Channel, JCDecaux, and Viacom is evident. But, the flattening of the outdoor medium worldwide has even broader implications as global buying groups emerge, consistent measurement systems and standards are developed, and common cultural brands become a part of everyday life. At the 2005 AAAA Media Conference in New Orleans, David Verklin, the Chairman of Carat North America, suggested that outdoor will be the first globally bought and sold medium. His prediction has been proven true with WPPs Kinetic business unit emerging as the first global outdoor buying group, matching the international scope of outdoor operators already consolidated. The fusion of both global outdoor buying and selling units requires common currencies of evaluation and consistent business standards. Industry leaders from around the world are searching for the best approaches for developing a measurement currency for the global outdoor industry. The annual WAM (Worldwide Audience Measurement) research conference provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the enormous strides being made in outdoor measurement. The meeting also underscores the critical need for the development of consistent systems worldwide. The ability to execute global outdoor campaigns will necessitate a widespread business language. Outdoor advertising is ideally suited to global communications since the medium conveys ideas through visual expression. Outdoor is less encumbered with the translation of languages, compared to television and radio which rely heavily on verbal communications or print which requires written translation. Its often said a picture is worth a thousand words. It can also be said that the Coca-Cola brand is elegant on any billboard, in any country. While the notion of a truly global industry is intriguing, the intrinsic local nature of the outdoor business is inescapable. Anyone who has visited Tokyo or Hong Kong, Zurich or Buenos Aires, New York or San Francisco will attest to the fact that every market has unique geographic and demographic characteristics. The composition of outdoor plants found in those places is as different and diverse as snowflakes. The challenge for the outdoor industry is to think globally, but act locally. Most evolutionary changes occur slowly over many years, so its almost impossible to see these changes coming. But in the evolving arena of global outdoor advertising, changes are coming swiftly. Upgraded infrastructure and the innovation of new outdoor formats is changing the industry before our eyes. Many global outdoor companies have begun investing heavily in the development of high-style products and hi-tech display technologies leading to completely integrated product packages across countries and continents. Likewise, cities are partnering with outdoor companies to incorporate impressive outdoor districts into massive reclamation and urban renewal projects, such as the Hollywood and Highland project in Southern California or similar projects in Asia Media fragmentation has had a profound impact on the way media is consumed in the United States and the fallout will undoubtedly reach its distant shores in the years-ahead. Over the last twenty year the proliferation of new television and cable options, radio stations, magazine titles and the birth of the Internet has permanently reshaped the US media landscape. Include the development of on-demand technology, and the mounting challenges faced by advertisers trying to reach their audiences, becomes crystal clear. There are too many media choices. Outdoor offers a means to cut through the clutter of daily life by reinforcing messages that intercept consumers consistently throughout the course of daily routines. Outdoor impacts time-stressed consumers with targeted reach, frequency and continuity when other media struggle for an audience. Outdoor reaches beyond the front door of homes to provide a constant reminder that a brand is a good choice when consumers are mobile and most receptive to advertising messages. From roadside signs that spackled the American highways at the dawn of the automobile revolution, to the promise of hi-tech channels of communications, the outdoor industry has continued to evolve over more than a century. The commitment that the outdoor business offers advertisers is now and has always been powerful presence in a marketplace. The times may change and the methods employed to reach consumers may evolve, but the fundamental principles of outdoor advertising remain the same: a simple idea can cut through the clutter and deliver a message that is powerful and relevant. That is the sustaining power of outdoor advertising and why outdoor is the global medium of the 21st century. Literature review Among the various articles that have been written on the subject, While studying the brand recognition when encountering a billboard, it was found that clear branding and new product information improved brand recognition, whereas large amounts of text, pictures of people, lengthy and large headlines, information cues, humour and images of women all delayed brand recognition (Meurs Aristoff, 2009). The difficulty of reaching out to people through other media, improvements in high resolution digital printing and emergence of electronic display units have contributed to an increase in the popularity of billboards, which has been accentuated by the availability of portable devices to measure billboard exposure (Lupez-Pumarejo Bassell, 2009). While suggesting that outdoor advertising did impact sales, it was emphasized that further research is warranted to conclusively establish a relationship between them (Woodside, 1990). A study on the sales response to outdoor advertising revealed that temporal, spatial and promotional effects were significant, and that outdoor media had spatial effectiveness when used as part of a multimedia campaign (Bhargava Donthu, 1999). In another study these authors have proposed that factors such as length of approach, angle of structure, speed of travel all constitute part of the visibility rating of a billboard. Advertisers aim to maximize this rating, and are heavily investing into it as the cost of this media is low, but the retention is comparable to other media (Donthu, Cherian, Bhargava, 1993).