In 2025, it does not give up its positions even despite the rapid development of Internet technologies. Potential customers are used to it, it does not irritate or interfere, but is often perceived as “white noise”. To attract consumers’ attention, one needs to know how to use it correctly, in particular by applying DOOH technologies.

 

 

What is indoor advertising?

 

Indoor advertising is a separate direction in promoting goods and services. This category includes any announcements that a potential consumer sees inside a premises: a branded or multi-brand store, shopping center, partner point, etc.

 

A traditional example is a banner or poster, but there are other options:

 

– mobile roll-up stands;

 

– flyers distributed by promoters;

 

– audio advertising played through a speaker;

 

– video on monitors (digital signage).

 

Indoor advertising is placed on virtually any surface. Not only on the wall, but also on the floor, stairs, windows, shelves, doors, tables. Modern digital signage often uses video wall software, which allows creating impressive visual effects.

 

Indoor advertising is an offline promotion method. It is contrasted with outdoor advertising (Outdoor), which can also be printed or digital, like DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home).

 

 

Features of indoor advertising

 

To better understand how this type of advertising works, it is necessary to know its features. Usually, marketers choose targeting for pinpoint impact on the target audience, for example, setting it to a certain radius around a point of sale. But in advertising accounts, there is a minimum threshold for distance.

 

The advertisement will cover everyone within a radius of 500 meters. This sample may include “extra” people who are not representatives of the target audience.

 

Internal indoor advertising, placed directly at the point of sale or near it, will reach fewer people. But they are guaranteed to be potential buyers. Using a digital signage player allows flexible content management and adaptation to a specific audience.

 

The second feature is the impact on warm or hot audience. If people have already come to the shopping center, it means they are ready to make purchases. You need to direct them to the “right” store and give a call to action.

 

Finally, announcements in public spaces always affect customers. Unlike Internet advertising, they cannot be turned off or marked as spam.

Myths and stereotypes

 

Those businesses that are not yet using indoor advertising refuse it due to some prejudices and stereotypes.

 

The first myth is that indoor does not allow segmenting the audience. In fact, geographical targeting is developed in this marketing direction. After all, advertising is launched at a certain point in the city with a focus on those people who visit there.

 

For example, if the target audience for goods and services is students, then indoor materials should be placed in universities, fast food restaurants, nightclubs or libraries. If the products are oriented towards more affluent consumers, it’s better to consider placing them in luxury car showrooms, expensive fitness clubs, business centers, etc.

 

The second misconception is related to the location of the point in the city. It’s wrong to think that for high coverage and sales, advertising needs to be placed in central shopping malls. Modern pDOOH (programmatic Digital Out-of-Home) technologies allow optimizing ad display and increasing its effectiveness even in less crowded places.

 

 

Indoor advertising and its types

 

Indoor advertising can be classified based on its carrier or nature of reproduction. Modern technologies, such as Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) and video advertising, have significantly expanded the possibilities of this type of advertising.

 

 

Indoor advertising on static structures

 

The first group should include all POS elements in a store or shopping center. These are informational structures aimed at that part of the audience who is at least somewhat interested in the product. Then POS materials attract their attention and potential consumers can study the seller’s offer in more detail.

 

Indoor advertising will give a greater result if the advertised object is in close proximity to the advertisement.

 

Examples of static indoor advertising:

 

– Dummy Pack or jumbo. This is an item that completely copies a recognizable product, but is reproduced in larger sizes. For example, in a home goods store, there may be an advertising stand made in the form of a well-known battery;

 

– lightboxes. These are light boxes with advertising posters inside. Due to lighting, lightboxes attract more attention. They are used to advertise new products, promotional offers;

 

– mobile or banner. This is a large suspended structure that is often used either in shopping centers or in multi-brand stores. Its purpose is to inform visitors that a particular store/brand is represented in the shopping center. Interested buyers orient themselves by the mobile and go in the direction of the advertised store;

 

– shelf talker. This is a small panel that attaches to a shelf or grocery rack. Its task is to draw attention to a specific product – new item, promotion, limited collection;

 

– wobbler. Another element that attaches to the shelf;

 

– stopper. Vertical divider. Usually two dividers are used, between them is a product with one common property 

 

– from one manufacturer;

 

– neckhanger. Advertising equipment is used only for bottles. A paper element is put on the neck and distinguishes the product among all those standing on the shelf;

– promo stand. This is a branded stand for informing store visitors or conducting tastings;

 

– corner or brand corner. This is a separate retail outlet in a shopping mall, designed according to the brand’s corporate style;

 

– dispenser. Such a stand is equipped with pockets. Passers-by take brochures, leaflets or other printed advertising materials from them;

 

– roll-up – a vertical expandable structure with a fixed poster;

 

– table tent. A small structure made of transparent plastic, inside which a leaflet is inserted.

 

Some static structures have come to indoor advertising from outdoor advertising. They are rarely used in stores. More often used in shopping centers to indicate the direction to the store for visitors. For example, a sandwich board or panel bracket is used. In both cases, the brand logo is placed on the equipment. The bracket is attached to the wall or ceiling, and the sandwich board is installed on the floor. The area of the floor equipment is larger, so you can write an offer or promotion conditions on its surface.

 

 

Digital formats of indoor advertising

 

The second type of indoor advertising is digital formats. This is video on any screens, both with and without sound. Advertising screens are installed not only in shopping centers, but also in stores. Then you can advertise a separate product, an entire collection or a brand using a video. LED billboards and software for LED screens allow creating bright and dynamic advertising messages.

 

Audio advertising is the reproduction of information via radio. Audio has an advantage over video. The video reaches only those who are near the screen and can physically see it. Audio affects all visitors to the shopping center. At the same time, music or announcements do not irritate people and do not interfere with their movement around the point of sale.

 

Using a digital signage player allows effectively managing content on different types of screens, providing flexibility and relevance of advertising messages.

 

 

Advantages and disadvantages of indoor advertising

 

Indoor advertising has many advantages:

 

– Materials are always where there is a large flow of target audience (TA) representatives.

 

– Bright promo materials (especially video advertising with constantly changing pictures or viral audio track) attract more attention from passers-by.

 

– It affects only the TA. After all, if people came to a certain place, it means they are interested in the goods and services sold there. They can be offered products from a related field or with similar characteristics.

 

– When located close to the point of sale, the chance that the client will make an impulse purchase increases.

 

– Equipment and printed posters are more durable. They are located in the building and are not afraid of bad weather.

 

– Potential clients take mobile materials with them. They study them again – this increases the likelihood of contacting the company.

 

– Combining several types of indoor advertising in one place, including Digital Out Of Home (DOOH), works better for brand recognition.

In addition to the listed advantages, promotion through internal promo materials also has disadvantages.

 

The main disadvantage is the difficulty of choosing a location. To get more sales, you need to choose platforms where many TA representatives pass. Using LED billboards and a digital signage player can help optimize this process.

 

Therefore, it’s worth choosing a place not by the number of people, but by the parameters of your target audience. For example, it’s not worth placing an auto service advertisement in a shopping center. Yes, your audience will be there among the other flow. However, its share will be small if you compare the effect of advertising and placement costs.

 

The second disadvantage is the difficulty of forecasting. When placing banners in busy places, it’s impossible to calculate how many target clients actually visit there. You can only make approximate planning. This can only be done by agencies that pay attention to analytics and have extensive experience working with software for LED screens and other digital advertising tools.

 

 

Comparison of indoor and outdoor advertising

 

Despite the advantages and disadvantages of indoor advertising, many entrepreneurs choose outdoor advertising. In fact, both promotion directions, including DOOH advertising, can bring brand recognition and new customers to the brand. The effectiveness of outdoor advertising is undeniable. You can choose what to use better only based on the TA and conducting tests.

 

To evaluate the effectiveness of indoor and outdoor advertising, you need to compare them according to basic criteria:

 

– audience coverage;

 

– duration of customer contact with the ad;

 

– technology, industry development and the emergence of new carriers, such as DOOH Display Solutions;

 

– possibility of navigational advertising;

 

– cross-marketing opportunities, i.e., cooperation with a partner;

 

– dependence on external conditions, for example, weather;

 

– presence of limiters;

 

– ways to measure effectiveness;

 

– criteria by which the client chooses the carrier;

 

– price per 1000 contacts.

 

To put it simply, base your decision on knowledge about your TA. For example, if your potential client spends a lot of time moving around the city, choose outdoor advertising. If these are regular visitors to shopping centers (for example, staff), choose indoor.

 

 

When to use indoor formats?

 

Indoor advertising is more profitable to use in such cases when:

 

– maximum contact with the target audience is important. Outdoor provides more mass coverage;

 

– immediate action needs to be stimulated. For example, for the client to spontaneously purchase a product now;

 

– promotion is carried out through a partnership program and the company’s products are advertised on the partner’s territory;

 

– the company competes with larger brands and it’s important for it to draw audience attention to itself;

 

– interaction with the TA already exists, but the number of contacts needs to be increased.

 

Preference should be given to outdoor if the company advertises consumer goods. It doesn’t matter to them what kind of people will see the advertisement – men or women, young or adult.

Indoor advertising and outdoor advertising – combining directions

 

When developing or planning an advertising campaign, entrepreneurs create a false impression that they can use only one type of placement. If you combine external and internal forms, including DOOH networks, you can reach more potential customers, warm them up, increase product recognition and get more profit.

 

Outdoor should be used for intriguing purposes. Bright visual effects, simple messages catch the reader. But then he should see an indoor carrier to learn more information about the product:

 

– availability of a promotion on the product;

 

– recommendations for use;

 

– place of sale.

 

Of course, there is always a certain budget and limitations. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the advertising placement locations responsibly so that the spent budget works as efficiently as possible. Using DOOH software can help optimize this process.

 

Without objections, Indoor advertising allows you to quickly bring a new product to market or heat up interest in an existing brand on the market. Promotion through banners, videos and installations inside premises provides wide coverage, introduces the audience to the products and the company. A centralized video management system can significantly increase the effectiveness of such campaigns.

Advision — Content Management System for remote management and media planning of video and audio content broadcast. We help offline businesses and advertising companies automate workflows and implement reliable Digital Signage infrastructure using our own software and hardware solutions.

 

Contact us and we will help you implement the most modern technologies to solve your problems!