Why Brands Still Use Outdoor Advertising

You'd think with everyone glued to their phones, outdoor advertising would be dead by now. But here's what's actually happening — OOH advertising revenue hit over 9 billion dollars in 2024, up 4.5% from the previous year. So clearly, brands aren't backing away from billboards and bus ads. They're doubling down.

The reason is simple. Outdoor ads own physical space — digital ads have to fight for attention. And that’s if you don’t just scroll past! For building real, lasting brand relationships, that difference matters.

It Builds Trust Like Nothing Else Can

Trust is everything in advertising, and outdoor advertising delivers it better than almost any other medium. Studies show that 56% of customers inherently trust OOH advertising. People just don’t trust social ads — they know they’re being targeted based on personal data.

But billboards or subway posters feel more real, more legitimate. It's not following you around the internet or popping up based on your browsing history. It's just there, confident enough to claim that space. And do you know what? It works. Big brands don't waste money on channels that don't work. When Apple spends 68 million dollars on outdoor advertising and McDonald's drops 61 million, consumers notice.

The repeated exposure builds familiarity too. You see the same McDonald's billboard on your commute for weeks, and it becomes part of your mental landscape. That's not annoying repetition — that's brand building at its finest.

You Can't Skip, Block, or Ignore It

Here's the brutal truth about digital advertising — people hate it. They install ad blockers, skip YouTube ads after five seconds, and scroll past sponsored posts without a second thought. But you can't install an ad blocker for the real world.

OOH advertising is always on and always visible. When you're stuck in traffic, you're looking at that billboard whether you want to or not. When you're waiting for the subway, those platform ads have your full attention— there's no skip button, no ad blocker, no premium subscription to make it go away.