The Irish Cancer Society has taken to the streets of Ireland in its annual Daffodil Day fundraising drive.
Colum Harmon, marketing director, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home
Collections are taking place today as we speak in towns and shopping centres across the country and on Saturday. The charity is asking Ireland to “come together as a community and give it your all”.
Daffodil Day is the driving force behind the Society’s free support services for people affected by cancer nationwide. By getting involved this year, people are helping to transform the lives of families affected by cancer across Ireland.
The OOH campaign, planned by Zenith and Source out of home encapsulates screens and posters across roadside, retail and travel environments reaching the public out and about as they live, work, and play in the real world. Garnering extra attention are special Bus Shelter and Luas Colum Wraps.
St. Stephen’s Green Wrapped Luas Column
The campaign feature cancer survivors Margaret Walsh and her daughter Sinead from County Mayo who were both diagnosed with cancer just months apart. The Walsh family are urging communities from every county in Ireland to turn daffodil yellow on Daffodil Day today March 22nd and go all in to raise vital funds and give hope to cancer patients
The posters incorporate a QR code linking to cancer.ie as an instant call to action driving passers-by from In Real Life (IRL) experience to online activation (URL). Searches initiated in OOH locations have been found to be more diverse and valuable than those made at home, with audiences more primed to receive the message and take action, extending the reach beyond the streets.
Debbie Kiely, Client Director in Zenith outlines the challenge, strategy and campaign execution;
“1 in 2 of us will be affected by cancer in our lifetime and we really wanted this campaign for Daffodil Day to “Go all In” Our plan was based on maximum visibility which our multiple format OOH delivers on, but awareness is not the key challenge on this campaign, we needed to drive a reaction – to encourage people across the country to sign up for a fund raising activity or to make a donation through the purchase of the iconic daffodil pin, or via the QR code.
Within the overall channel mix, we were able to run different phases of the campaign, ramping up to the key day, today, March 22nd, and will run an extended message to thank everyone who has donated to date, and to encourage the last-minute donors to make their contribution. The flexibility and multiple OOH formats allowed us to achieve both objectives, and with radio, social and digital we could extend the campaign throughout the phases to deliver the impact we need to support the society and their wonderful support services, something that one in two reading this article may need to call on at some stage. That was a very powerful motivator for all of us involved in delivering a successful campaign and we are very grateful to our media partners for the support they gave us.”
Demand for the Irish Cancer Society support line and centres has increased by 31pc, with the charity’s drivers covering 2.3 million kilometres bringing more than 2,200 patients to and from chemotherapy treatments last year.
Dubliners Show Positive Attitudes to OOH Sustainability Messaging
84% of Dubliners agree that OOH is an appropriate and effective platform for brands to communicate sustainability messaging.
That’s one key take out from our recent iQ survey of 300 residents of the capital, carried out independently by Ipsos B&A. Communicating one’s sustainability initiatives and credentials is a major marketing trend and this research speaks to the trust that consumers place in Outdoor media. The figure rises to 92% among females, with males hitting 75% agreement. In terms of age groups, agreement levels peak among 35–44-year-olds, at 90%.
Of course, the brands themselves must be content that the method of message delivery is reflective of the message itself. In that regard, brands can find reassurance in the myriad of initiatives that OOH companies have implemented, that speak to real and meaningful change. At PML Group, we recently announced the exclusive launch of recycled paper for large format posters in Ireland, in partnership with Horizon Digital Print. The use of green energy providers, LED lighting, inks used in printing, screentime management and the methods for transporting posters are other significant examples of such initiatives but it’s far from an exhaustive list.
The research went on to look more generally at attitudes towards sustainability messaging. It found that 78% of respondents think more positively about brands that promote sustainability, with males at 73% and females at 84%. For age groups, the highest levels of agreement came from 25-34s (85%) followed by 18-24s (80%). Those who use the bus as their main mode of transport were 82% in agreement.
Attention is a key marketing metric and almost 3 in 4 (73%) Dubliners ‘pay more attention’ to brand advertising that promotes sustainability, peaking among 18-24 year old females, at 87%.
