Did you know that you could run DOOH advertising campaigns with only GIFs? What, GIFs? Those animated images that just play on repeat? That's right.
We all love a good creative advertising campaign that plays with hi-tech. There are so many great out-of-home (OOH) examples out there that make use of augmented reality, hidden cameras, motion-tracking, etc. But let's get real. Unless you have a massive budget and a world-famous creative agency on retainer, these advertising stunts are completely out of reach. The good news is that ultimately you don't need big bucks to make a big impact.
A lot of people think that fancy digital OOH (or DOOH) ads come with high production costs, but actually the opposite is true. If you're curious about DOOH but aren't willing to take on an expensive video production, you might be surprised by just how well GIFs can do the trick. Simple animations and short clips can be just as effective as video productions, but by comparison are much easier and cheaper to produce. Most DOOH ad spaces support GIFs, and their location in the real world gives you more than enough room to get creative with your marketing.
Netflix may be the world's largest online streaming platform, but they definitely don't consider themselves above offline advertising – or GIFs! In this advertising campaign, Netflix opted for 100 different GIFs plastered across digital billboards in Paris. By combining short clips from Netflix series with simple relatable copy that addressed daily life and current events, they enticed viewers to tune in. Tired after work? Finally the weekend? Sad that France lost the World Cup? Tune in. There's literally no reason in the world why Netflix shouldn't have used videos, but this just proves that simple visuals and clear messaging are really all you need for great advertising.
We don't all have a library of amazing videos to turn into clips the way Netflix did. But the most effective DOOH ads actually make use of a very simple visual trick: Subtle motion. Big splashy animations may be eye-catching, but photo-realistic ads are very effective and cost much less than producing a full-motion video. Subtle motion ads are usually based on very simple tactile ideas: A bubbling champagne glass, ice-cold beer with condensation droplets running down the glass, a sizzling steak, a steaming meal...
Source: StackAdapt
Did that get your attention? No surprise. Generally, animated ads out-perform still ads. We're so bombarded with visual information nowadays that still images and busy videos rarely do the trick anymore. It takes something subtle and unusual to catch and hold our eye. Just compare the effect of the images below:
Source: StackAdapt
Wait, did he just move?! This ingenious campaign by Mattel surprises passersby in Canada by making a human model seemingly come to life. I really like this one, as it starts out by pretending to be a traditional billboard with back-lit stills. Only after you pay a little more attention do you realise that it's much more technically advanced than that. As you can see, you can quite easily achieve this effect with a GIF. The surprise factor is just as effective as any fancy video.
When Season 5 of the Walking Dead came out, Sky decided to give viewers in Vienna a good fright by placing zombies right into the streets... virtually! By using a background that looked almost identical to the street and very sudden movement, people at the bus stop were led to believe for a split-second that the zombie apocalypse had really arrived. Again, totally possible with just a set of GIFs. And with DOOH, you can cycle through numerous GIFs so that it never gets boring. Check out this video for how many different zombies made an appearance...
Of course, you can always run an effective DOOH campaign with static images. The key to good advertising will always come down to targeting by time, location, and messaging. And thanks to the flexibility and intelligence of DOOH ad spaces, you have the power to do all of the above. I hope these ideas gave you some inspiration!