From iconic TV ads like the Budweiser Clydesdales to hosting entire pop-up festivals, the alcohol industry is no stranger to big, splashy ad campaigns that entice and inspire consumers
However, in an age where traditional advertising tactics can fade into the background, digital out-of-home (DOOH) offers alcohol marketers a unique way to stand out in a crowded market, dazzle audiences and generate tremendous buzz and demand for their products.
From bars and restaurants to liquor stores and sports stadiums, DOOH screens are everywhere — providing alcohol brands with boundless opportunities to surround consumers with relevant messaging at crucial moments in the shopping journey. In addition, the robust targeting and creative capabilities of DOOH open up an entirely new realm of possibilities for alcohol marketers to safely and effectively reach their audience with high-impact ads that resonate with consumers and drive results.
This article will discuss six key tactics alcohol marketers can use to create highly impactful LDA-compliant ads that reach consumers in the real world, when and where they are making their purchasing decisions.
1. Amplify tentpole buzz
By centering marketing efforts around tentpole moments throughout the year - such as concerts, festivals, sports games, product promotions, in-store events and holidays, alcohol brands can piggyback on the buzz surrounding an event and extend the reach of their existing sponsorships and experiential activations to amplify their message and reach a wider audience.
For example, a beer brand looking to tap into the excitement around a major sporting event like the Super Bowl could launch a DOOH campaign with football-related messaging and imagery before and during the big game. The brand could also selectively activate DOOH screens in venues sports fans are likely to visit to increase the likelihood its ads will be seen by its target audience.
2. Get specific with proximity targeting
Using point-of-interest (POI) targeting, alcohol brands can activate DOOH media within close proximity to specific POIs to surround key locations such as bars, restaurants, concert venues and casinos with their brand messaging. Additionally, by displaying targeted messaging around specific retailers and wholesalers, marketers can use DOOH to amplify their co-marketing initiatives, publicize brand partnerships or promote exclusive product offerings in the critical moments before consumers make their buying decisions.
To maintain LDA compliance, alcohol marketers can also use a DOOH demand-side platform (DSP) to easily exclude DOOH screens located near places like schools and churches to ensure their ads only appear in brand-safe environments.
3. Enhance relevancy with timely campaigns
Whether kicking back with an ice-cold beer on a hot summer day or warming up with a hot toddy in the winter, demand for specific alcohol types fluctuates depending on the season. By aligning their DOOH creative to match the seasons in which their campaigns will run, alcohol advertisers can tap into this demand and drastically increase the resonance of their ads.
Programmatic DOOH also allows advertisers to run their ads during specific times and days of the week — enabling them to drive the maximum value out of their DOOH campaigns by only showing ads precisely when their message will be most effective.
For example, a company could strategically activate DOOH media in the days leading up to and during the weekend — when consumers are probably more likely to purchase alcoholic beverages.
4. Go from heat waves to happy hours with weather triggers
It’s no secret that weather plays a big role in alcohol consumption. By using weather triggers within a DOOH campaign, advertisers can activate tailored messaging based on current local weather conditions. When the weather meets a campaign's pre-determined triggers, programmatic DOOH technology automatically deploys specific creative when and where it is most likely to influence behavior. This ensures that consumers will always see the most relevant promotions, imagery and messaging based on the weather conditions they are currently experiencing.
For instance, a spirit brand could build two creatives highlighting different products and showing different messaging and automatically run the most effective version depending on the weather — a warm weather ad with outdoorsy, refreshment-focused images and messaging that plays only when temperatures rise above a certain threshold and a cold weather ad that highlights warmth and coziness of the liquor when temperatures drop.
5. Increase immediacy with dynamic creative
Dynamic creative allows brands to pull in real-time elements like countdowns, live sports scores, local weather, nearest store location and more to change specific creative components in real time. Alcohol marketers can use dynamic creative to tailor their ads based on elements such as:
- Location of the nearest store where consumers can buy their products
- Countdowns to events like the Superbowl, Fourth of July or happy hour
- Regional promotions, sales, events, etc.
Leveraging dynamic elements within DOOH creative enables alcohol brands to drive home relevance, create a sense of urgency and encourage immediate response among audiences.
6. Supercharge e-commerce sales
In today’s increasingly digital world, some consumers have started to do their beverage shopping online through a grocery service or brand’s mobile app. In fact, the IWSR is predicting a 34% increase in e-commerce alcohol sales by 2026. With an estimated 66% of consumers reporting that DOOH encourages them to search online, this powerful channel enables marketers to capitalize on the growing trend of digital alcohol sales and encourage consumers to shop through e-commerce platforms or delivery services that sell their products.
Furthermore, new DOOH measurement solutions, such as online conversion studies, allow alcohol marketers to effectively measure the effectiveness of their programmatic DOOH campaigns across a variety of online KPIs after campaign exposure, including web conversions, app downloads, in-app activity, and more. These studies provide advertisers with in-depth insights into how their DOOH campaigns are driving cross-channel activity and engaging with target audiences in a digital capacity.
Alcohol brands + DOOH = the perfect cocktail
DOOH advertising provides alcohol brands with a brand-safe and effective way to grab consumer attention and surround shoppers with relevant messaging at crucial moments throughout the day.
Building strategic DOOH campaigns around events, seasons and retail locations allows alcohol advertisers to amplify the reach and effectiveness of their ad spend and generate significant excitement for their products. Furthermore, leveraging the ability to selectively activate screens around POIs, in specific regions and during certain times of the day or days of the week, enables alcohol marketers to ensure their messages will reach the right audience at the perfect moments. Finally, adding weather-triggered and dynamic creative components within DOOH creative helps drive home relevance and encourage immediate response from shoppers.
When brands combine the numerous benefits of DOOH with the fun and exciting nature of the alcohol industry, they will be positioned to reach buyers with targeted messaging when and where they are making their purchasing decisions – now that’s what we call the perfect advertising cocktail.
For alcohol marketers looking to “raise the bar” and take their ad campaigns to the next level with DOOH, check out the Ultimate Guide to DOOH for Alcohol Brands.