If you think that digital marketing is the way forward for businesses in 2025, think again. Many companies are luring customers back outside and finding that it is having a far greater effect on sales than banner ads or search engine optimization. But why is this? What is driving the desire for companies to get people out of their homes and back into the real world?
This is something that Excite OOH’s ultimate guide to out-of-home advertising explains. There is a clear trend underway, and many professionals in the industry are watching it with excitement. It isn’t clear how things are going to evolve next.
During the pandemic, many people stayed in their homes. But what was surprising to business leaders was how many of them remained homebodies. From that point onwards, e-commerce became the dominant retail channel, and consumers began craving the ability to buy goods with a single click instead of having to travel to destinations. It was a fundamental change in behavior.
Now though, things are changing again with malls being redesigned around experience rather than just shopping. The idea is to provide consumers with things like golf simulators or pop-up events that make going out of the house more exciting. What’s interesting though about this form of marketing is that it creates a step change in prospects’ days when they experience something completely new away from the screen, it has a greater impact on their willingness to convert.
Much of this is being driven by the global experiential retail market. This is worth more than $132 billion in 2025, but it’s going to be worth more than half a trillion by 2035, according to projections.
“This change in how agencies approach outdoor marketing is quite remarkable,” according to Excite OOH, an agency that offers out-of-home marketing services. “Consumers are finding that these experiences are more true to life and reflect their desire for real engagement with the products and services they want to buy.”
Despite the behavioural changes that occurred during the pandemic, though, many marketing experts and commentators now believe that “revenge spending” is a reality. During 2023 to 2025, people spent more money on dining events and travel than ever before, plus spending on food away from home drove more greater food expenditure.
Even getting into nature became an experience for a lot of people. Many wanted to go out and climb mountains and walk through beautiful forests for the first time in years. It was a way of escaping cities that had been locked down and really enjoying everything that the big wide world has to offer.
There’s also an element of consumer psychology underlying a lot of this change in behavior. For example, a lot of people now just want memorable and shareable moments that they can put on social media. It’s not so much about personal enjoyment but how their experiences represent their online brand and how other people perceive them. For this reason, there’s been a slight tilt towards premium experiences that are perfect for Instagram.
One of the areas where experiential marketing is seeing the biggest resurgence is in brick-and-mortar stores. Malls are adding more immersive experiences every month, like events and interactive displays that are improving the experience for consumers. There’s also the concept of gamified shopping, the combination of physical and digital store experiences and pop-up stores that make the retail experience less predictable and more surprising. Brands like Netflix are also bringing their digital presence into physical reality. They are offering experiences to customers that they can have with something that was previously just online.
Hospitality and the restaurant sector are following a similar concept. Restaurants and venues are embracing the idea of eatertainment, where they combine elements of themed entertainment with delicious food. There are all sorts of examples of this, ranging from community events to hybrid spaces. The idea is to turn a meal into a fully-fledged social outing and give it a more party-like vibe. This is driving what some believe is the highest share of spending on food away from the home since the 1930s, which is quite an achievement.
The travel and tourism industry is also experiencing a resurgence because of the inclusion of out-of-home experiential marketing. Many are focusing on immersive experiences like cultural tours, looking for hiking opportunities and unique stays. They’re also leveraging user-generated content to provide social proof that reveals the quality of their services. Campaigns are designed around must-have experiences that take tourists off the beaten track.
“We feel that this change in marketing was necessary because of the saturation of digital marketing in general,” explains Excite OOH. “The industry needed transforming along the lines of consumer preferences and the need to really make an impact. Everybody knows that real-world marketing is better, but only a few companies actually use it.”
Sometimes, even cross-industry strategies may benefit from experiential marketing. For example, companies can come together from a range of sectors to offer personalized events. They can also leverage each other’s expertise for things like tech integration and interactive activations, making the experience better overall.
Consumers and shoppers also want this change to occur in marketing. Around 60% of shoppers say they want more in-store engagement, and 75% of marketers say that this leads to more conversions. So the demand is definitely there. The issue at the moment is the cost of more redevelopment, but retailers need to find ways to tempt consumers away from their devices. And this could be a way to do it.
To wrap up, consumers are looking for ways to live instead of just having. They want to actually experience their engagement with brands rather than just obtaining more items for their home. This is why out-of-home marketing is such a big theme for 2025 and 2026 and beyond. With the advent of AI, it’s only likely to accelerate into the future. Looking forward, most consumers can expect more AI-powered personalization, hybrid events, and perhaps even a focus on more community activities to drive sales.
