The Power of In-Office Advertising and How to Use It to Your Advantage

Digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world for a number of reasons. Current, contextually relevant content in the office setting is more than just a reliable source of information. It’s a way for brands to connect with their target audience while they’re most likely to engage with the content.

But the point isn’t just to reach the intended high-value professionals. Office workers often make purchases during the workday, making in-office advertising an ideal place to convert interest into sales. Content curated with the professional’s lifestyle in mind will have a considerable edge, offering a reason to tune in on elevator rides and stops in office common areas. The result is excellent brand engagement built upon value and convenience.

Taking advantage of this trend is one of the best ways for advertisers to tap the benefits of DOOH. When combined with strong content, digital screens turn into points of influence that positively affect business and personal purchase decisions. But how can you maximize the impact of in-office advertising in the modern-day work environment?

How Digital Screens Are an Ideal Fit for the Office

The human attention span can waver the moment that a piece of content or information doesn’t appear to be directly relevant to their life. Cookies based on personal search parameters were once the answer to this puzzle, but advertisers have shifted gears. Contextually based advertising is on the rise for both practical and psychological reasons—it not only fits the new advertising landscape but serves as an icebreaker for the human attention span. One study showed that relevant ads lead to a spike in neural engagement—while more than doubling a viewer’s recall.

Advertisers have taken note, but finding the right environment to facilitate engagement and recall is still a challenge. Contextual advertising for viewing on personal devices – while still a necessity for most brands – brings other obstacles as we transition away from behavioral approaches. This leaves advertisers looking for ways to narrow their audience with a more targeted model.

With offices thriving, as full-time remote work declines, the office is a natural place to reach high-net-worth individuals with the type of content that fits their lifestyles. In an office setting, content curators and advertisers have much stronger insights into the habits and buying power of viewers. Most importantly, the high-value targets they reach are in a position to make an immediate purchase after engaging with content. This allows agencies to pinpoint professionals and B2B decision makers with high levels of purchasing power.  

Related: OFFICE PULSE: Return to the Office Report

Digital screens are also placed where professionals have an opportunity to engage. More than just timely news stories, stock updates, relevant lifestyle tips, and travel tips, these screens create a meaningful experience that provides immediate value for advertisers. In this environment, viewers are primed for brand content that can be easily recalled when they return to their desks or devices. Because nearly half of office workers shop online during lunch breaks, this directly leads to higher brand recall and more same-day purchases.

Building Trust with Superior Content

Trust is one of the building blocks of modern advertising. Consumers rank trust as one of the key factors in making decisions about a brand, and advertisers must remain focused on prioritizing brand trust. Along these same lines, advertisers must look to content networks that offer brand-safe environments, which can be another challenge for DOOH. Office media networks that showcase carefully selected and professionally curated content create a brand-safe backdrop that consistently leads to high-quality impressions. 

To spur that engagement, content needs to cater to the viewer’s busy life. Real-time weather updates, traffic reports, local events, business tips, breathtaking travel destinations and quality news stories are types of informational content that can spark engagement while viewers are on the go. Viewers who perceive direct value can begin to see a digital-screen network as a meaningful oasis within a busy day. When they trust the content will add value to their lives, high-value viewers see the corresponding brands in a positive light and are motivated to follow up. 

The right approach creates trust by fitting the content to the target audience and generating that personal connection. Research shows that advertising resulting from personalization can generate 40% more revenue than impersonal ads. High-value decision makers are then motivated to seek more information about the brands trying to gain their attention, opening the door to immediate sales. 

Starting an Office Conversation

With a layer of trust due to high-quality, value-rich content, advertisers can focus on driving engagement and encouraging office workers to keep the conversation going. These moments connect coworkers and spread brand awareness, which can help advertisers benefit from some of the most important trends in marketing. Peer-to-peer recommendations account for as much as 50% of purchasing decisions, by some estimates, making those mutual moments excellent opportunities for marketers to go beyond social-media strategies.

Workers who operated remotely during the pandemic even listed conversations with colleagues as one of the aspects of office life they miss the most. The right digital content strategy can guide the conversation as coworkers return to a normalized office environment. While a good ad in the right context can lead directly to a purchase, busy professionals are even more likely to buy a product or service with a recommendation from a friend or colleague.

Word-of-mouth is valuable when targeting hard-to-reach professionals – specifically those with major purchasing power. High-level office workers with B2B buying power, for example, are much more likely to consider a new IT solution after talking with a colleague who recommends it. The same goes for personal shopping for high-net-worth individuals. When a brand reaches the right audience, it can encourage productive conversations with other colleagues in a position to make a purchase. 

The right content can also be a built-in foundation for workers who might not know each other on a personal level. Appropriate, entertaining stories and accompanying ads create a shared experience that can spark a conversation. The modern water-cooler conversations get moved to elevators and break rooms, with dynamic digital content helping colleagues find common ground without diminishing their professionalism.

Connecting with the Right Audience 

More advertisers are now focusing on quality content as the best path to establishing relevance and value with a potential customer – a trend that is especially important within an office building. But the quality of the audience is the true focus of in-office advertising. Advertisers want to know they’re reaching individuals with spending power who will be receptive to their messaging.

The key to establishing this relationship lies in understanding the audiences that have disposable income to deploy. Professionals from younger generations have rising purchasing power, but they also have different views on spending than their predecessors. Having a brand-safe environment is critical but so is piquing their interest with content that directly fits their lifestyle. Health and lifestyle tips, for example, often appeal to the next wave of high-value professionals, providing an excellent entry point for brand promotion. 

To craft and maintain a connection with the right target audience, content also needs to evolve alongside changing sentiments. Content that is curated to maximize engagement with a high-quality audience will have an edge with today’s professionals. By understanding how intended audiences work, live, and spend—and providing a valuable experience—in-office content can establish a relationship that will have long-lasting value for advertisers.  

The ‘Halo Effect’ of Contextual Relevance

Contextual relevance is a crucial element of any ad campaign. Studies show that the context of an ad has a direct impact on audience perception. Strong supportive content can lead to a “Halo Effect,” providing a 74% pop in approval for an ad. Not only are ads more likable in the right context, but the study also showed a 55% uptick in engagement. Driving engagement remains one of the core goals of nearly every successful digital marketing campaign.

Related: Comscore and Captivate Make the Case for Incremental Ad Spend in DOOH

On the other hand, a similarly negative effect can be observed when ads intermingle with low-quality supportive content. Almost 90% of consumers in the study were annoyed to see ads in a low-quality context, leading to a collapse in engagement. With this in mind, it’s clear that the creativity and quality of the ad itself is only one piece of the puzzle. An ad needs to be placed alongside content that is equally high in quality to impress and engage the intended audience.

This highlights the necessity of choosing a network built by professionals who understand your intended viewer. Informational content should demonstrate that you are attuned to the way your audience works, lives and spends. Data that offers familiarity with your audience’s lifestyle enhances the impact of your brand content and helps you fully harness the power of contextual advertising.  

Attribution and Measuring a Campaign

Agencies today have effective new tools to gain critical consumer insights. An advertiser can still quantify their campaign by measuring interactions and impressions, which provides a roadmap to consumer behavior. Customized brand studies and next-generation impression reporting keep advertisers in tune with brand perception and ad performance. Being able to correctly attribute consumer activity to an ad campaign remains just as important in today’s evolving world of advertising. 

Creating a Modern Atmosphere for the Active Professional

Digital screens in the modern office provide both aesthetic and practical advantages. High-quality lobby and elevator advertising screens are an organic fit for today’s tech-dominant world, helping to complete the look of an up-to-date office building. 

They can also provide real-time community messaging that creates additional value for employees. Timely messaging keeps all in-office personnel informed of any company developments, offering ample incentive to regularly keep an eye on the screens dispersed throughout the office space.

This is the type of office setting that today’s professionals expect. As automation and artificial intelligence become more pervasive, the efficient exchange of information is now an integral part of our daily routines. Agencies can leverage in-office advertising within buildings that utilize the full potential of digital technology. Offices that showcase eye-pleasing, up-to-date digital displays offer positive environments for ad placement.

With offices revamping in the wake of the pandemic, digital screens are an effective conduit for critical information, great content, and effective brand promotion. Quality content can help offices evolve with the times while adding value to the work experience. Professionals connect with coworkers in a modern way and are inspired to follow up with any content they engage with. Brands know they are reaching high-value audiences with immediate purchasing power, turning that engagement into sales and positive word-of-mouth through in-office advertising. 

Improving Campaign Reach with the Right In-Office Advertising Approach

With about 80% of workers expected to regularly spend time in an office over the long term, the office environment remains an excellent avenue for DOOH advertising. Digital screens have become a critical component of the most upscale offices’ infrastructure, creating a positive backdrop for agencies to promote their brands to a highly targeted audience. Advertisers looking for low-risk, high-value environments have an opportunity to reach valuable audiences in a space ideal for influencing both business and personal purchase decisions.

The best way to fully tap the benefits of in-office advertising is by working with networks that already have a proven track record of reaching today’s busiest professionals. Curated content hand-picked for the modern office worker can stimulate a viewer’s attention and increase engagement with a brand. By getting a professional’s attention with well-placed digital content, advertisers end up in the driver’s seat for spreading brand awareness to the exact customers they intend to reach.

Captivate’s network of over 14,450 digital screens in premium locations offers a brand-safe atmosphere for advertisers. Our high-value, curated content partners provide the rich content that serves as conversation starters for on-the-go professionals, adding value to their work experiences and enhancing overall engagement. Ready to get your brands in the mix? Contact us for more on how Captivate can help you maximize the potential of an in-office advertising campaign.