Billboards look great in a presentation, but the real test is whether they stand out on busy streets. OOH campaigns have only seconds to capture attention, and guessing isn’t enough. In this article, you’ll learn how to pre-test outdoor creatives directly from your studio and see which designs actually get noticed.
OOH campaigns succeed or fail in seconds, with no chance for optimization once live. Many designs fail because they include too much copy or lack visual impact. Pre-testing allows teams to simulate real-world environments and measure stopping power before committing budget. Data-backed insights align creative teams and clients, speeding approvals and reducing media risk.
You’ve created a killer billboard concept.
Big visuals, bold typography, a clear message. It looks perfect on your screen, laid out full-size in the deck, clean and centered.
But then comes the real question:
Will it actually work out there? On the street, in the rain, at 60 km/h?
Out-of-Home (OOH) campaigns don’t live in slideshows. They live in the real world. On highways, in metro stations, on busy intersections and digital screens. And in that chaotic environment, you only have a second or two to catch someone’s attention.
For years, testing OOH creatives before launch felt nearly impossible. You’d either guess, or spend serious money on live mockups and field interviews. But today, you can pre-test your OOH concepts directly from your studio — without stepping outside.
Let’s explore how.
OOH advertising is a high-stakes medium. You can’t optimize on clicks or conversions. You’ve got one shot to stand out, and if your design doesn’t capture attention instantly, it might as well not exist.
That’s not an exaggeration. On the street, your ad is surrounded by cars, people, clutter, and chaos. If someone glances in your direction and doesn’t feel pulled in immediately, the opportunity is gone.
And yet, many OOH designs are created like print ads, too much copy, not enough contrast, visuals that don’t command attention.
The worst part? You often don’t find out it didn’t work until it’s already live and paid for.
This is where Brandpulse comes in. Using our platform, creative teams can now test OOH concepts in simulated real-world environments, using real human attention data to determine what gets noticed.
We call it measuring Stopping Power, the ability of a design to immediately grab attention.
You simply upload your visual, Brandpulse does its job and in no time you get a Stopping Power Rating (SPR). It’s a clear score that shows how quickly and how strongly people engage with your creative.
No guesswork. Just data.
Stopping Power refers to the ability of an outdoor ad to capture attention instantly in busy, distracting environments. Unlike digital ads, OOH creatives are harder to measure because they cannot rely on clicks or direct engagement data. Measuring Stopping Power upfront helps identify which designs are most effective at pulling in viewers at a glance.
Drivers take in billboard messages in about 6 seconds on average, making clarity and visual impact essential.
Pretty much everything that affects visual performance in OOH:
You can test different versions side-by-side and see which one stops people in their tracks.
An agency came to us with two OOH concepts for a new energy drink. One version had a big, bold claim with minimal imagery. The other was more image-led product-first with a stylized shot.
The creative team preferred the visual version, it felt slick and high-end. But when both were tested using Brandpulse, the bold text-first design had almost 50% more stopping power.
They went with the version the data supported. When the campaign went live, it achieved significantly higher recall in follow-up street interviews and the client was thrilled.
That’s the power of testing early. You save time, avoid endless internal debate, and go live with confidence.
This kind of testing doesn’t slow the process, it speeds it up.
You no longer need to guess which layout “feels stronger.” You don’t need to defend creative decisions with vague language. You can walk into a pitch and say:
“This version draws 32% more attention in our target context, with faster visual engagement. Here’s the heatmap to prove it.”
Suddenly, you’re not just pitching creative. You’re pitching creative that’s backed by evidence.
Clients love this. It makes approvals faster. It reduces media risk. And it positions you as a strategic creative partner, not just a design vendor.
Forget printing mockups or renting screens.
Forget waiting until a campaign is live to see what works.
Now, from your desk, you can:
All before a single dollar is spent on the media.
OOH is bold by nature. It’s large-scale, high-impact, and public. But bold ideas deserve smart decisions and with pre-testing, you don’t have to choose between the two.
You can create with freedom, then validate with data.
Because the best OOH campaigns aren’t just designed to impress the creative team — they’re built to actually get seen.
The best OOH campaigns aren’t designed for slideshows, they’re built to stop people in their tracks.
Join thousands of brands using BrandPulse to create high-performing content through the perfect blend of AI and human insights.
We provide clear insights into which image asset has the greatest stopping power
We provide clear insights into which image asset has the greatest stopping power
Start Now
We provide clear insights into which image asset has the greatest stopping power
We provide clear insights into which image asset has the greatest stopping power
Start Now
Arno is the founder of Brandpulse, where he’s on a mission to help creative teams make smarter decisions with real human insight. With a background in marketing and a sharp eye for what makes brands stand out, he created Brandpulse to close the gap between great ideas and actual audience attention. Arno believes that when creatives see how people really respond, they unlock their most impactful work.
