Aaron Poole, marketing executive, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home
McVitie’s Launches True Originals Brand Platform
McVitie’s have thrown down the biscuit gauntlet with the launch of a new masterbrand campaign.
Highlighting their product line as the gold standard of the biscuit world, ‘True Originals’ sets out to position McVitie’s as the de facto biscuit choice in the minds of consumers.
Throughout its 180+ history the brand has solidified itself as a market leader across UKIE. However, the brand has recently recognised the need to innovate to stand up to copycats in the snack aisle, sparking the need to generate mental availability when it comes to staying top of the mind for biscuit buyers.
“We want consumers to be talking about the brand,” notes James King, McVitie’s UK marketing director, “we want them to be thinking about the brand more than they do today.”
Planned by PHD and Source out of home, the ‘True Originals’ Outdoor campaign is live targeting consumers both near the point of purchase and while on-the-go. Featuring a range of iconic products that have become biscuit tin staples in the Irish market – namely Chocolate Digestives, Jaffa Cakes, and Hob Nobs.
“We’re thrilled with the campaign,” notes Alexandra Jakljusina, Senior Account Manager at PHD, “it’s a robust and cost-effective activation that seamlessly integrates a variety of formats, from bus T-sides and bus shelters to DOOH in shopping centres and the premium Tallaght DX Screen, reaching a nationwide audience across retail, transport, and roadside locations.”
The campaign’s creative, from agency Pluto, has been a core element of why the campaign has been so noteworthy. Featuring a variety of messages with playful copy, the standout colours and easy-to-understand messaging are in alignment with our 2023 Touchpoints reinforcing the importance of creative in ROI.
“We noticed the artwork all over Dublin and we can’t wait to see the impact it makes,” adds Jakljusina.
OOH fuels Guinness Jazz Weekend
The streets of Cork are set to jump, jive and wail once again this bank holiday weekend as the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival gets underway.
The festival, now in its 45th year, sports its biggest lineup to date. Stellar international headliners include Macy Gray, Morcheeba and Corinne Bailey Rae, while popular Irish acts including The Scratch, Jenny Greene and Pillow Queen also dot the lineup.
In anticipation of Thursday’s kickoff, lead sponsor Guinness have decorated Outdoor networks across the rebel county with promotional creative displaying across large roadside, retail and transit networks locally. Planned by PHD and Source out of home, with creative from Tenth Man, the trumpet-clad copy features Guinness’ popular tag ‘It’s Guinness Time’ replaced with ‘It’s Jazz Time’.
Commenting on the 2023 festival, director Mark Murphy said: ‘This year we’re bringing in bigger acts, we have more venues and more ticketed shows at each venue.
‘We’re also extending the Guinness music trail throughout Cork City’s vibrant venues, bars and restaurants, which provides a platform for local artists and an immersive experience for festivalgoers. ‘
Tickets and information for the festival can be found at guinnesscorkjazz.com.
The Medium is the Message
There are many ways to deploy OOH media to create impact and stand out from the pack. The effectiveness of special builds which incorporate 3D elements or special lighting has been well documented on these pages in recent years. Similarly, using dynamic elements such as weather or location to enhance digital OOH content adds context and relevance and can make a broad reach campaign seems much more personal.
One of Outdoor’s many strengths is its physicality. It inhabits space in the real world, in locations and environments that are part of our everyday lives. So, when brands use that space in a slightly different way, it makes a real impression on the audience. A good example from this current cycle is how Disney+ have used the Gallery space in Pearse Street station to promote new autumn streams on the platform.
Digital has been transformative for OOH in that it offers so much flexibility for content but classic also offers brands the opportunity to be playful with the medium and to use the space to convey the creative concept in a different way. An effective method of doing this is displaying the message across parallel panels and involving the audience in following the message from one panel to the next. McDonald’s and Rockshore employed this strategy to great effect this year.
Use of consecutive panels to reinforce a message or take ownership of an area or environment also works so well. One such example is the use of the ‘Digishelter corridor’ on O’Connell Street, shown below with a Guinness Storehouse example.
While we speak about data, optimisation and automation, as an industry we have perhaps been guilty of neglecting creativity and fun. We’re an industry of privilege, in that we are paid to build real-world emotional responses between brands and people. Great creative thinking is what decides the winners in this business of brands so it’s great to see these great brands applying more creative thinking in the quest for solutions that resonate with real people.
Planet OOH: Don’t Put Organ Donation on Ice
On World Organ Donor Day, Transplant Québec unveiled a huge silicone heart frozen in a 2.4-metre-high ice wall near Quebec City’s famed Fontaine de Tourny. The impressive installation, on display in the heart of the Old City until October 19th, will raise awareness about organ donation. On-site communication pieces invited the public to visit the organisation’s website to learn more about its mission and critical role supporting patients awaiting an organ transplant.
September OOH Showcase
What a month of activity September was on Outdoor!
Mixed in between new brand launches and tactful events marketing were messages driving sustainable action, support amidst Ireland’s World Cup campaign, and an overall drive to be mentally available for consumers.
Our monthly reel showcases some of the great work that can be achieved when the medium is leveraged effectively, delivering many different strategic objectives for brands.
