The IMGE Playbook · Out-of-Home Advertising
We've run millions of ads online. And they work. But at a certain point, digital alone isn't enough. When you need to break through, create urgency, or own a moment — you have to step into the real world. That's where out-of-home comes in.
The OOH Opportunity
Out-of-home lets us meet audiences on the streets, at events, in transit, and in the moments that matter most. OOH isn't just advertising — it's presence. It's the difference between being seen and being felt.
From traditional placements to experiential activations, the landscape is expansive — and that's just scratching the surface. There's a full ecosystem of formats: gas pumps, grocery stores, stadiums, rideshare networks, and more.
Format index · 07 families
The Landscape · 07 Format Families
Each format does a different job. Scroll through the seven we deploy most — what they look like, where they land, and the play they're built for.
01Aerial Banners
A small plane towing a long banner over high-traffic beaches, stadiums, or festivals. Built for high-impact disruption — the kind of moment people photograph and share. Highly weather-dependent; always with a backup day.
02Mobile Digital Box Trucks
A digital screen on the side of a box truck, routed past your audience for hours at a time. Our workhorse for influence moments — outside a state capitol during a key vote, a regulator's office, or a stakeholder event. Routes adapt around closures and security.
03Beach Activations
Aerial banners, sand stencils, and floating boat billboards layered into the audience's day. Best for cultural moments and brand introductions — high-impact news, new offerings, summer launches. Designed to read at a distance and photograph well.
042D Projections
Large-scale projections cast onto buildings and landmarks after dark. Reserved for high-impact disruption — generating earned media when paired with a clear, single message. Night-only and permit-bound, but unmatched for cultural breakthrough.
05Billboards & Wallscapes
Highway billboards, urban wallscapes, and window messaging priced by audience reach. The backbone of saturation and momentum campaigns — coordinated buys across commuter routes that own the daily drive into a market.
06Transit & Airport Takeovers
Full-bus wraps, transportation station takeovers, and airport terminals — moments when audiences stand still and screens travel with them. Best for cultural and high-attention moments. Note: airports and many transit systems restrict political messaging.
07Wildposting & Sidewalk Decals
Posters slapped on plywood, decals stamped at intersections, signage that meets pedestrians at eye level. Cost-efficient at scale and ideal for saturation plays — making support feel widespread, organic, and unavoidable.
How We Think About OOH
We have four favorite plays for OOH. Each has a different goal, a different format mix, and a different definition of success. We start by asking which one you're running.
OOH becomes a pressure tool. It creates visibility not just with the public, but with the people making the decisions.
EXAMPLE
Stationing digital box trucks outside a state capitol during a key vote — ensuring legislators, staff, and press cannot miss the message as they enter and exit.
OOH amplifies what people are already paying attention to, and inserts your message into that conversation.
EXAMPLE
A full city "takeover" during a major event or milestone — transit, airport, rideshare, and street-level media combining into a message in surround-sound.
OOH works well when stacked. Repetition across markets builds credibility and reinforces digital messaging.
EXAMPLE
A coordinated billboard campaign across key commuter routes into a state capitol — owning the daily drive for thousands of workers and policymakers.
This is where OOH becomes newsworthy. Aerial banners over high-traffic beaches. Sidewalk decals outside major sporting events. Projections on iconic buildings at night. These aren’t just ads — they’re moments people photograph, share, and talk about.
EXAMPLE
A bold ad for your product on digital billboards directly across from a competitor’s launch event.
Execution Realities
OOH is powerful, but it's not plug and play. Execution matters — and the difference between a campaign that lands and one that stalls is almost always logistics.
Behind the scenes, OOH planning can be complex — vendor coordination, placement strategy, contracts, and trafficking all require tight execution. That's why working with a partner like IMGE, who streamlines the process, is critical.
Pricing · The Reality
OOH pricing is set by audience size and scarcity. Mobile formats run leaner; flagship placements price for the eyeballs they deliver.
Exact rates depend on market, season, and lead time. We'll quote specifically once we understand the play you're running.
How We Measure Success
The strongest OOH campaigns generate outcomes a CPM never captures — news coverage, social conversation, organic pickup, and lift across the digital channels they reinforce.
When paired with digital tactics like geo-fencing or retargeting, real-world exposure connects directly to measurable outcomes. OOH is earned media's best friend.
What successful campaigns generate
Frequently Asked
What clients ask before launching OOH — answered straight.
OOH (out-of-home) advertising is any messaging shown to people outside their homes — billboards, transit ads, posters, decals, banners. DOOH (digital out-of-home) is the subset that uses digital screens: mobile digital box trucks, programmatic billboards, transit screens, and 2D projections. Both work by meeting audiences where they actually are: on streets, at events, in transit, and in the moments that matter most.
Costs range widely by format and market. Mobile digital box trucks generally run in the low- to mid-thousands per day. Nighttime 2D projections sit in the mid- to high-thousands per night. Traditional placements price by audience reach — prime locations like major intersections, transit hubs, and airports command premium rates. Small-market wildposting and sidewalk decals can be highly cost-efficient.
Mobile digital box trucks are the workhorse for influence moments — stationing them outside a state capitol, regulator, or stakeholder event puts the message in front of decision-makers. Coordinated billboard buys along commuter routes signal scale for advocacy pushes. Aerial banners and 2D projections create earned-media moments. Note: airports and many transit systems restrict political messaging, so they’re typically reserved for advocacy or branded campaigns.
OOH measurement starts with impressions and reach, but the strongest campaigns generate national and local news coverage, viral social moments on Reddit, TikTok, Instagram and X, and organic influencer pickup. When paired with digital tactics like geo-fencing and retargeting, real-world exposure connects directly to measurable outcomes — site visits, conversions, and lift.
Box truck routes can be impacted by road closures and event security perimeters. 2D projections are night-only and depend on suitable architecture and permits. Aerial banners are highly weather-dependent — always have a backup plan. Billboards give you about three seconds to capture attention, so creative simplicity is non-negotiable. Behind every successful OOH campaign is tight vendor coordination, placement strategy, contracts, and trafficking.
Mobile box trucks and aerial banners can be deployed in days when permits and routes allow. Digital billboards on existing networks can go live within a week. Traditional static placements typically require 2–6 weeks of lead time for production, vendor contracting, and trafficking. Projections require site permits and architectural scouting that can extend timelines.
Call to Action
Real-world execution requires real-time coordination, smart planning, and the ability to move quickly. That's where we come in.