Hello Summer! 15 Outdoor Advertising Ideas For Memorial Day and Beyond

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer. Out-of-home (OOH) media offers the perfect opportunity to engage consumers while they're out-and-about, in a celebratory mindset, and planning their Memorial Day shopping trips.

Hello Summer! 15 Outdoor Advertising Ideas For Memorial Day and Beyond

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer, and many Americans fill this long weekend with road trips, family outings, and plenty of time soaking up the sun outdoors.   Out-of-home (OOH) media offers the perfect opportunity to engage consumers while they're out-and-about, in a celebratory mindset, and planning their Memorial Day shopping trips.    

Read on for a quick-and-easy checklist of OOH ideas to incorporate into your Memorial Day weekend sales campaigns – or your outdoor-themed campaigns all summer long.  

Reach Outdoor Celebrators

The quintessential Memorial Day celebration is packed with picnics at parks and outdoor gathering spots.  OOH ads can help you reach these outdoor celebrators.

Consider the following ad formats:

  • Billboards or wallscapes adjacent to parks and outdoor spaces
  • Wildpostings for urban gathering spaces outdoors
  • Street furniture, such as park benches or urban panels, in parks and recreational areas
  • Bike share station ads, like Lyft Bikes
  • Floating billboard boats to reach beachgoers or lakeside celebrators

Reach Road-trippers

Millions of Americans hit the road each year over the long Memorial Day weekend to visit friends and family, and pay tribute to our American heroes.  In fact, the Friday before Memorial Day was declared National Road Trip Day, and it serves as the official kickoff of the summer road trip season.

Consider the following ad formats to reach people on road trips:

  • Gas station TV, which reaches a captive audience while they’re en route
  • EV charging station ad networks, like Volta Charging
  • Roadside billboards along classic roadtrip routes, like the Pacific Coast Highway, Turquoise Trail, Historic Route 66, Colorado's Million Dollar Highway, and Florida's A1A. AdQuick’s intuitive, map-based UI makes it easy to find the most well-positioned ad units along target road trip routes.

Reach Parade-goers

Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year. Some of the largest take place in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.  OOH offers a great way to reach these consumers while they’re in a celebratory mindset.

Consider:

  • Billboards or wallscapes adjacent to parade routes
  • Rideshare car wraps or truck wraps, which are a great way to onsite gain presence if more traditional units are sold out

Reach Veterans and Servicemen & Women

Although many of us look forward to Memorial Day for the great sales, backyard barbecues, and summer kickoffs celebrations, it’s important to not forget what the holiday is really about: honoring the brave men and women who have died while serving in the Armed Forces.  If you’re launching campaign messaging in support of veterans this Memorial Day, make sure it reaches the right audience. Demographic targeting, persona-based targeting, and behavioral targeting can all help.  Point-of-interest (POI) targeting – which makes it possible to identify relevant audiences based on their visits to specific places in the real-world – is also helpful.  Think of it as the real-world corollary to online contextual targeting.  

AdQuick offers all of these targeting features and more. Here’s a short sample of relevant segments:

  • POI Targeting: Military bases and surrounding cities and towns
  • Audience Targeting: Personas > American Classics
  • Audience Targeting: Personas > Heartlanders
  • Audience Targeting: Personas > Traditional Times
  • Audience Targeting: Personas > Country Strong

AdQuick’s OOH Strategists Can Help!

Want more ideas?  Our OOH strategists are happy to help design the perfect OOH plan for your summertime campaigns.  Schedule a free 15-minute OOH strategy session today!