Psychology and OOH

What if everything you’ve purchased and every thought you’ve had was never yours to begin with? Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but the use of psychology really can affect your decisions. 

The exploration of psychology has unlocked countless research through studies and experiments, providing humans with crucial knowledge on our functioning. Humans do what humans do, and they took this information and redesigned it into the field of advertising, particularly out-of-home (OOH) advertising.

It’s not nefarious or malicious, but it’s actually pretty smart! We come across upwards of ten thousand ads in a single day. Some have a certain je ne sais quoi (fancy French word for “unique quality”) that keeps them stuck in your head and remembering them for weeks on end.

To bring things back to reality, consider the following: What types of billboards do you mostly see along highways? You’re right if you guessed auto-related ads, such as accident firms, insurance companies, and dealerships. Wondering why this is so? Well, who uses highways the most? 

Drivers! Drivers own the roads, and through an advertising and psychological standpoint, this audience is already thinking about cars as they drive, own one, are more likely to get into accidents, and are legally required to have car insurance. 

This real-world example shows precisely how human behaviors and thoughts can be leveraged for benefit. Now that we’ve got your neurons firing let’s explore some critical psychological principles that are used in some of the greatest ads.

Visual Power

Visual power covers many aspects, specifically size and color. The more visual power a given advertisement has, the more it will stand out, effectively reach target audiences, and encourage/discourage specific actions. 

Bigger billboards and ads have greater amounts of viewership. It’s pretty hard to miss a 650-square-foot ad across the side of a building. Size captures initial attention, but color influences how that attention is converted into action and how the viewer sees the message. Colors have general effects, such as green evoking feelings of health, healing, and nature; blue evoking peace, trust, and dependability and red evoking passion, caution, and energy.

OOH and the entire advertising industry delicately choose the colors of brands, messages, and visuals to coax the appropriate effect from its viewers. Many food ads forefront the colors of yellow and red as they are the most attention-grabbing and powerful in their hunger effects.

Color may be simple and unimportant to many. Still, the effects in the advertising industry are proven, and many, even just a difference in shade, can determine success. Appropriate color and size are quintessential to any good ad, but the best use emotions, which is another area of its own.

Emotions 

The element of emotions takes advertising to a whole new level. Creating feelings within viewers, such as sadness, happiness, anger, and nostalgia, allows a special connection to be formed, one that creates valuable action.

The ability to evoke something deep and personal within another person often forms deeper bonds and, in the case of advertising, lasting positive associations between viewers and brands. 

Emotions hold vast power and influence. We favor those that make us feel deep positive feelings, which also applies to brands, and they have mighty actions.

Sadness can stir empathy within viewers and is often used in donation campaigns attempting to fundraise for a cause. Sadness is particularly effective for this sort of ad as viewers will be able to empathize and are more likely to donate to support the cause.

Happiness can lift spirits and complement one’s day. It can change the entire course of a person as one’s day can start with frustration and stress, and all it takes is one joyous ad to spark happiness into one’s life again.

The right emotions will build loyal followers within a brand and encourage them to take desired actions. This is invaluable for OOH, as immense billboards can convey this ability on a large scale, affecting thousands daily.

Wrapping It Up

Psychology and its knowledge continue to be furthered every day. Harnessing its power will make for great OOH ads. Such ads will build massive followings, create widespread action, and instill long-term recognition. 

Aimlessly placing advertisements will have its successes but will be severely limited when compared to those that employ psychological principles. It’s vital to be aware of this capability to be cautious when viewing and designing your own OOH advertisements that millions will see; ultimately, understanding there is a pattern to our functioning can be used to unlock massive opportunities.