What Is an Omnichannel Strategy?
An omnichannel strategy is all about delivering a unified customer experience across every platform and touchpoint — online and offline. Whether someone encounters your brand through a mobile ad, a storefront, a social media post, or a billboard, the message, tone, and experience should feel connected and consistent.
Why Include Outdoor Advertising?
Outdoor (or Out-of-Home, OOH) advertising — billboards, transit ads, posters, digital screens — might seem old school compared to digital media. But here’s why it deserves a seat at the table:
High Reach Visibility: Outdoor ads capture attention during commutes, walks, and city explorations — moments when audiences aren’t buried in their phones.
Trust Credibility: Studies show consumers trust outdoor ads more than online pop-ups or emails.
Trigger for Digital Behavior: 66% of smartphone users have taken action after seeing an OOH ad (e.g., searching online, visiting a website, making a purchase).
How to Integrate Outdoor Ads into Your Omnichannel Strategy
1. Align Messaging Across All Channels
Your outdoor ad should echo the same message that’s being delivered on social media, your website, email marketing, and in-store promotions. Consistency is key.
Example:
If you're running a fall sale, your billboard should mirror the same offer, tone, and visuals as your Instagram and email campaigns.
2. Use Outdoor Ads as Entry Points to Digital Journeys
Modern outdoor ads often include QR codes, short URLs, or NFC tags that lead consumers from the physical world to your digital ecosystem.
Drive traffic to a landing page
Promote app downloads
Trigger an AR experience
Start a chatbot interaction
Pro Tip: Use UTM tracking or campaign-specific URLs to monitor results.
3. Leverage Location Data for Targeted Personalization
With digital billboards and programmatic OOH, you can change messaging based on location, time, or audience.
Show different ads during lunch hours vs. rush hour
Highlight local stores or events
Tailor language and visuals to the community
Bonus: You can retarget people online based on mobile data from areas where your OOH ads were displayed.
4. Integrate with Mobile and Social Campaigns
Outdoor ads can drive mobile engagement — but they also work in reverse. Use geofencing and mobile advertising to target users near your billboards with follow-up offers or reminders.
Example:
Someone passes your transit ad. Later, they get a mobile ad or Instagram Story with a discount related to the product featured.
5. Use Outdoor as a Creative Launchpad
OOH can be the spark that fuels conversations across other channels. If your ad is clever, emotional, or bold, it can go viral.
Encourage user-generated content (“Take a selfie with our mural!”)
Launch social media contests tied to the ad
Promote a branded hashtag for online tracking
Real-World Example: Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” billboard encouraged people to share personalized Coke bottles on Instagram — blending offline exposure with online virality.
6. Measure Impact Across Channels
To prove the ROI of your outdoor ad within an omnichannel strategy, track:
Website or app visits from QR codes or geofenced areas
Uplift in branded search volume during the campaign
Social media engagement or hashtag usage
Sales data in nearby locations
Cross-channel customer journeys using CRM or CDP platforms
Tools like Google Analytics, Geopath, StreetMetrics, and CRM dashboards can help close the loop between your outdoor presence and digital performance.
Final Thoughts
In an age of hyper-connected consumers, the best marketing strategies don’t silo offline and online — they merge them. Outdoor ads are no longer static billboards stuck in the past. When integrated into your omnichannel approach, they become dynamic, data-driven touchpoints that capture attention, drive action, and reinforce your brand across platforms.
