Why Outdoor Advertising Still Works: How Billboards Drive Real Results for Local Businesses in the Digital Age

Insights from Maria Levchenko, a Professional Outdoor Advertising Marketer

Scroll through your phone. Ads everywhere — banners, pop-ups, reels you didn’t ask for. Feels like digital has swallowed the entire marketing world.

But walk outside. Highways covered with billboards. Bus shelters with posters. Storefront banners screaming at you in full color. Still there. Still working.

That’s no accident. And it’s not nostalgia. Outdoor advertising — old school as it seems — is proving itself every single day in the real world.

And if you want to know why, ask Maria. She’s been in this business for over eight years, running campaigns for names you definitely know.

“Digital is fast,” she told me. “But outdoor? Outdoor is real. You can scroll past an Instagram ad. You can’t scroll past a billboard you drive by every morning.”

From OMD to Global Streets

Maria Levchenko didn’t stumble into this industry. With a master’s degree in international economic relations, she built her career in advertising the hard way — inside one of the toughest agencies around.

At OMD, a global media network, she grew into the role of OOH Senior Buyer. Her job? Taking brands everyone recognizes and making them impossible to miss on the street.

Her portfolio runs deep: Porsche, Ford, Volvo, Land Rover, McDonald’s, Warner Bros., Henkel, Sony Pictures, Philips, Uber, Nissan, Infiniti.

But here’s the interesting part: every campaign taught her something different about how outdoor works.

With Porsche and Ford, she had to make global messages feel local. Same brand voice, but tuned for the people actually driving past those ads in Ukraine and beyond. High-visibility, high-pressure work. The kind of campaigns where mistakes show up on billboards 40 feet tall.

McDonald’s? A completely different game. This wasn’t just about brand image. It was about driving people into restaurants right now. Billboards near busy roads. Transit ads telling commuters where the nearest Big Mac was waiting. For Maria, that proved the point: outdoor isn’t just awareness. It’s foot traffic.

Then there were the big movie releases — Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures. Giant posters plastered across city centers, teasing premieres. Digital pushed trailers and hashtags, but outdoor made it unavoidable. Maria’s role? Making sure those massive visuals didn’t just look good but actually amplified everything happening online. That’s what integration looks like when it’s done right.

Recognition followed. In 2018 Maria Levchenko picked up the “Pride of the Profession” award. A year later, she joined the Ukrainian Marketing Association. She also wrote a book — The Art of Influence: How Outdoor Advertising Transforms Cities and Businesses — and built an online course, Local Traffic: DIY Outdoor Advertising.

Not bad for someone still in her 30s.

Why Outdoor Still Works

So let’s be real. Why is outdoor still here when Silicon Valley eats marketing budgets alive?

Because you can’t ignore it. Period.

Online, ads disappear with a flick of your thumb. Outside, they’re permanent. A banner on a busy intersection isn’t waiting for your click. It’s there. All day. Every day.

“Outdoor advertising hits people in motion,” Maria said. “Not when they’re hiding behind screens. That’s why it’s gold for local businesses — cafés, salons, gyms, dealerships. You’re right there, on their path.”

Think about that. You don’t need algorithms when your message is staring someone in the face on their daily commute.

Local Power, Real Impact

For small and medium businesses, outdoor can be a lifesaver.

New restaurant? One billboard on a major road tells thousands of drivers: we’re here. Salon opening next week? A bright banner across the street makes it feel permanent before the doors even open.

People trust what they see every day. That’s human psychology. You walk past the same ad ten times in a week, it sticks. You start to believe the business is real, stable, trustworthy.

Try getting that with a Facebook ad buried under memes.

Levchenko has seen it at every level. “If outdoor works for Porsche,” she told me, “it works for the bakery on the corner too.”

Outdoor + Digital: The Real Combo

Now, let’s be clear. Maria Levchenko isn’t saying outdoor will replace digital. That fight is pointless.

Her view? Integration wins.

“Outdoor starts the conversation. Digital keeps it going,” she explained. “You see a coffee shop billboard on your way to work. Later you look it up on Google. That’s how people actually behave today.”

That loop is where the magic happens. Big poster, first impression. Online follow-up, final conversion. That’s how campaigns work when you stop treating media as rivals and start letting them work together.

Signs of Life

But Maria Levchenko also sees outdoor as more than just ads. For her, it’s a cultural signal.

In her article “Post-War Revival of Cities Through Outdoor Advertising”, she argued that billboards are often the first sign a city is breathing again.

“When ads come back to the streets, it means life is back,” she said. “Shops open. People spend. Communities feel normal again.”

Think about that. To most people, a billboard is just an ad. To her, it’s proof that society is healing.

Practical Lessons for Entrepreneurs

One of the coolest parts of her work? She doesn’t keep the playbook locked inside agencies.

Through her online course Local Traffic: DIY Outdoor Advertising, she hands entrepreneurs the keys.

Her advice is simple:
• Pick the right spot.
• Keep the message clear.
• Choose a format that fits your budget.

“You don’t need millions,” she said. “You need relevance.”

For Maria, OOH is not a playground for global giants only. In fact, she argues local businesses often benefit the most. Visibility in your own neighborhood beats chasing clicks from strangers miles away.

A Medium That Refuses to Fade

Predictions of OOH’s death? She laughs them off.

Outdoor adapts. It integrates. But it doesn’t fade.

“Billboards don’t disappear with a swipe,” Maria said. “They stay. And that permanence is what makes people notice, remember, and act.”

Her career proves the point: global campaigns, industry awards, a published book, an educational course. More importantly, a clear message for business owners: outdoor advertising isn’t going away.

And here’s the truth: in a world drowning in digital noise, physical presence matters more than ever.

Visibility is power. And nothing is more visible than the sign you pass every single day.

About author:

Larissa Morton  is a business and marketing writer with a focus on outdoor and out-of-home (OOH) advertising. He explores how traditional media formats like billboards continue to impact local commerce in the increasingly digital-first world.