Top 4 Reasons Why Out-Of-Home Advertising Needs To Be In Your Recruitment Arsenal

OOH advertising can help you stand out in today’s ultra-competitive hiring market

In today’s ultra-competitive hiring market, many industries are facing significant, often dire, labor shortages. Time is money and the longer recruitment takes, the more it costs a business in lost opportunity and productivity. This begs the question: for companies looking to find, recruit, and hire new employees, what’s a way to stand out from the crowd outside digital job board postings and search campaigns? Simple – out-of-home (OOH) advertising. 
 

OOH advertising – commonly known as outdoor advertising – is visual advertising media found outside the home (think billboards, bus benches, wallscapes, and the like). According to research commissioned by the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), the pandemic led to a rise in digital burnout – and an increase in consumers taking notice of outdoor advertising. More specifically, since September 2020, GenZ and Millennial consumers report noticing OOH “much more,” while nearly one-quarter of the general public report learning about new brands or businesses through OOH. 

With the pressure on companies to get noticed and attract talent, it’s time for recruiters to shift some of their efforts away from job boards and to OOH advertising. Here’s four reasons why:

#1 - OOH Reaches Commuters 

Commuters are a great audience because you have their attention when they are waiting in traffic. According to the Statista Consumer Survey, more than one-in-five Americans have a commute that’s longer than 30 minutes one-way. To get started, target the most traveled routes to reach a large number of commuters each day along their treks. Another bonus is repeated exposure. Commuters will see your ads multiple times throughout the week or month as they drive past it, making it easier to remember and act on. 

#2 - OOH Ads Are a Cost-Effective Way to Recruit

Out-of-home advertising offers the lowest CPMs of any traditional medium and can beat digital advertising pricing too. With any budget in mind, OOH offers an effective way to reach a greater number of potential candidates that otherwise might be missed using traditional means of recruitment. Reaching the right candidate with the right message at the right time and place has tremendous power. 

#3 - OOH Provides a Fun and Creative Avenue to Promote Your Company Culture 

Unlike typical word-heavy job postings, OOH ads offer companies a creative way to showcase their company culture in vibrant, fun, innovative, and engaging ways. Companies have a big canvas to work with and can use that to make an impression.   

#4 - OOH Can Be a Great Asset to Your Other Recruitment Efforts

OOH has been found to be the leading traditional (offline) advertising medium that drives viewers online. In fact, OOH is capable of delivering up to four times more online activity per dollar spent versus TV, radio, and print. In other words, your ROI could pan out to more eyeballs on your job posting, leading to a higher number of potential candidates for the job. 

#5 - OOH Is the Best Way to Show Brand Trust in a Community

OOH advertising lends a cachet that digital ads lack. Prospective employees want to work at companies they’ve heard of –– but not every brand can be a household name. Because OOH is embedded within the community, it is viewed as more authoritative than digital advertising, and it is uniquely positioned to help convey trustworthiness. OOH advertising, in other words, has a legitimizing effect that is especially valuable for young or niche brands.  

Getting started...

So, if you’re sold on OOH, how do you go about implementing it into your recruitment arsenal? To drive the biggest impact possible, consider optimizing your OOH ads with these tips: 
 

• Location targeting: A useful tactic to reach potential candidates is to place ads along popular commuting routes or near the office location. Look for an OOH buying platform that offers a map-based interface so you can see the exact placement of potential ad units. This makes it easy to pinpoint ads that are perfectly positioned to reach likely candidates. Some even offer pictures of the billboard and surrounding area for a glimpse of the ad’s context.

 

• Candidate targeting: If you’d rather find the perfect candidate, and location isn’t as much of a factor, consider targeting your ad to areas where the best potential candidates are located. If you have an ideal candidate profile in mind, brainstorm where they might reside and the kinds of places they are likely to visit. Would they prefer the suburbs or a more urban environment?  Are there specific points-of-interest that align with your brand persona? For example, prospective candidates for a sporting goods retailer are likely to visit sports venues.  

 

• Engaging ads: In order for your ad to drive candidates to apply for the job, it needs to be engaging. Consider your company branding and what makes your company a great place to work. Does your ad scream your company? Don’t forget a simple yet compelling headline message, a clean and clutter-free layout, and a bold call-to-action.

If the struggle for getting new candidates to apply to your open positions is affecting your company’s growth, why not try a new medium to target a broader array of job seekers in today’s digital world? OOH ads could be the winning approach you’ve been looking for. 

Matthew O'Connor is the CEO and Co-founder of AdQuick.com.