Aaron Poole, marketing executive, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home
Let it SnOOH!
With the advent of Black Friday as the unofficial launch of holiday shopping for 66% of consumers (iQ), brands are gearing up for the push to capture consumer attention leading into the Christmas countdown, driving spend for the holiday period.
With the holiday spirit in full swing, there’s no better medium than Out of Home to communicate festive fervour to your audience and seize the opportunity the season provides. With the average household budgeting around €1,200 for festive expenditure (Kantar), OOH formats quite literally illuminate the path to purchase while generating mental availability, aligning brands with the cheer and warmth of the season.
Here are some brands who are leading the charge.
Pepsi MAX
While some brands lean on the Christmas narrative, others let bold visuals and simplicity do the talking. Pepsi MAX, planned by OMD & Source out of home, exemplifies how to use OOH to marry the seasonal charm with strong brand identity. Through smart, vibrant creative from eg+WW, their tongue in cheek campaign that embraces festivity and captures consumer attention amidst the holiday hustle.
Tanqueray
At Christmas, urban landscapes become the canvas for advertisers to capture audience attention. With Irish adults flocking to shopping centres, high streets, and entertainment venues, OOH advertising’s role is magnified. Planned by PHD and Source out of home, Tanqueray want to capitalise on that by seeding a ‘moment of magnificence’ to be had while sitting around the table on the 25th, setting the scene early to keep top of mind when it comes to the seasonal drink buyer.
Cadbury Secret Santa
The pre-Christmas window is bustling with opportunity for brands. 46% of gift buyers commence their planning in November, and OOH is poised to influence the 47% who prefer in-store purchases (Kantar). Tapping into the sentiment of these gift buyers is Cadbury Secret Santa – planned by PML and Spark Foundry – returning after a successful 2022 campaign. Driving IRL to URL in retail environments where gift buying is top of the mind, the copy from VCCP prompts viewers to search ‘Cadbury Secret Santa’ to secretly send chocolate to that someone special.
Kildare Village
Data from Kantar notes €1.3 billion was spent last December on holiday shopping. With such considerable activity, the strategic placement of OOH for retailers becomes paramount to maximise visibility and impact. Returning to large commuter and roadside and formats is Kildare Village, prompting onlookers in transit and on the street that the conventional Christmas shopping experience can be amplified, planned by Javelin and Source out of home.
Rockshore
OOH shines brightest at Christmas, transforming streets into stages for brand performance. Our iQ research noted over 80% of Irish individuals plan to hit shopping centres and high streets. While they’re there, the urge to indulge in a seasonal libation might arise more than once. Recognising the opportunity with increased footfall, Rockshore’s punderful copy reminds of-age consumers that it is indeed the ‘Most Wonderful Time for a Beer’, planned by PHD and Source out of home with creative from M&C Saatchi.
Our Media Impact Study underscores OOH as a key player in enhancing brand presence during the most wonderful time of the year. As consumers embark on their festive shopping sprees, billboards and bus stops were noted as the two most effective forms of advertising in prompting purchases during seasonal events. OOH is not merely a touchpoint—it’s a cornerstone of the communal holiday experience. By harnessing the strategic placement and creative potential of OOH, brands can effectively capture consumer attention and drive Christmas spend when the season is top-of-mind in the eyes of consumers.
Dorito’s directs attention at Gamer Audience
According to Doritos research snacking and gaming have become synonymous, with 86% of gamers claiming they tuck into a snack whilst playing. However, 35% of gamers claim the sound of someone snacking frustrates them when playing, and 18% say the sound makes them want to log off.
To cement Doritos as a top choice for gamers by allowing them to enjoy the crunch without distracting fellow players Doritos and agency Sips & Bites have created the first ever “silent” variety, delivering the same crunch but with no sound.
Planned by OMD and Source out of home, with creative from eg+WW, the Outdoor campaign teases the launch of a Doritos Silent “product” with creative showing a Doritos crisp placed in an ear alongside the tag: “You won’t hear it coming”. Displaying across a mix of high impact retail and roadside formats, the creative is live across a variety of mall digital formats, Tesco Live, DXScreens, with planned projections at Baggot Street and South William Street/Capel Street. A prominent QR code drives IRL to URL, linking to a microsite that invites gamers to cancel their crunch.
“Our Crunch Cancellation tech delivers an entirely new snacking experience to gamers – the “Doritos Silent” experience,” says Liz Finlay, marketing manager at PepsiCo Ireland, “We’ve brought this to life across disruptive OOH, running high impact projections across Dublin city to reach Gen Zs and spark interest and intrigue!”
The “Crunch Cancellation” technology is actually a PC program that separates the player’s voice from any background noise. Achieved via AI, the “crunch” is muted for gamers in real time as they game with each other, separated any undue audio from being sent down the microphone to block distractions and help squads win their games.
Dispelling a commonly held stereotype, latest TGI survey underscores the overlap between heavy gamers and exposure to OOH. 32% of those in top media quintile for gaming are also in the top media quintile for Outdoor advertising (Index: 158). Heavy gamers are exposed to nearly 10 hours OOH each week (44% more than general population) while 69% have seen Digital OOH in the past week (Index: 123).
