If you want consumers to recall a brand, leave your static out of home (OOH) ad up for longer, preferably more than 18 months, a new study in Malaysia concludes.

Media agency OMD explored 40 different factors that determine effectiveness for brands using OOH in Klang Valley (Greater Kuala Lumpur), examining both static and digital displays.

They found that currently one-in-two (53%) OOH ads in the Klang Valley area are seen, but only 17% of the brands being advertised are recalled by consumers.

Researchers concluded that static ads left in place for a long time are effective at brand building, but tactical campaigns are more effective if a digital OOH format is used.

As digital ads rotate at an average of 10 to 15 ads every two to three minutes, they have a much lower visibility rate (14%) than static OOH (53%). But static ads only create significant brand recall if left in place for long durations, preferably more than 18 months, the study found. Digital ads, on the other hand, are more effective for short-term messaging.

Unsurprisingly, the bigger the ad, the greater its visibility; but billboards larger than 1,000 square feet get the highest visibility only when they can be viewed from at least 200m. The conclusion to this is that medium or even smaller-sized ads with the right visibility could achieve the same result as bigger ads.

Ad recall was also higher when there are fewer than three other billboards in view. Researchers further noted that consumer “blind spots” needed to be taken into account when considering duration.

“OOH ads wear out after a particular length of exposure,” they found, “with the exact rate of wear out depending on the length of consumers’ commutes. This is because audiences that travel 120 minutes a day on average, for example, have a higher propensity to form OOH blind spots in comparison to those who only travel up to 30 minutes a day.”

Creativity is also key to effective OOH – innovative formats and creatives can double brand recall, the research found. These include leveraging elements from the surrounding environment, like die-cut formats and adding 3-D to the creative.

In addition, the contents of the artwork, especially colours, the length of copy and language, even models used, and viewing angles were important for effectiveness. For example, ads aimed head-on to traffic were found to be 14% more effective than other positions.   

Sourced from OMD Malaysia