Out \ Look: From Darkness into Light

James Byrne, marketing manager, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home.

From Darkness Into Light

As dawn approaches this Saturday, more than 150,000 people are expected to mobilise for this year’s Darkness Into Light event, sponsored by Electric Ireland.

Now in its 15^th year, the event involves a 5km walk in support of Pieta House’s ongoing battle against suicide and self-harm. Last year’s efforts enabled over 100,000 helpline calls and texts, nearly 51,000 hours of counselling, and about 7,000 unique therapy journeys to those who needed them.

Electric Ireland has been a steadfast partner since 2013, helping transform Darkness Into Light into a global movement. Planned by PML and Carat, the energy provider are behind the event’s OOH campaign which has been live this week leveraging a blend of classic and digital formats to raise awareness.

DOOH includes large roadside Digipoles, Social D bar screens, commuter rail dPods, Digitowers, forecourt Applegreen Screens, Grafton Barber screens, Adshel Live Retail, Digipanels, Digishelters, and roadside Digital Kiosks. Classic formats include 6 sheet Adboxes & Bus Shelters, and Bus Supersides.

All copy takes an inherently Irish approach to promoting the event, with messaging displayed as gaeilge ‘Bigi linn ar an Satharn, 11 Bealtaine’ (join us on Saturday, 11th May). The flexible and reactive nature of Digital OOH will allow it to be updated after the event to display ‘Mile buiochas as pairt a ghlacadh’ (thank you for taking part) on respective formats.

Aaron Poole, marketing executive at PML Group, reflects on his own experiences participating in the event:

“This will mark my 3^rd year participating in the Phoenix Park walk,” notes “I’m continually amazed by the immense sense of community and purpose the event cultures. From first timers to veterans, the experience is transformative—a blend of commemoration and hope, culminating as the first rays of sunlight break the dawn. Being there, among thousands, you truly feel the difference we’re making together.”

For events OOH is the ultimate marketing channel and can be relevant to multiple factors including live time, location, and weather data to add resonance and increasing likelihood of capturing coveted consumer attention. For more information contact info@pmlgroup.ie.

More than 2.6 million Irish adults have noticed an Outdoor ad in the past week

The release of the ROI TGI 2024 R1 data has verified that people are spending more time Out of Home while also seeing more OOH. The study confirms that OOH is especially good at reaching elusive young, urban, upmarket audiences while the number of public transport users continues to grow.

66% of Irish adults recall seeing at least one form of OOH advertising in the past week, rising to 74% of Dubliners (Index 112), 79% of 16-24s (Index 121) and 70% of ABs (Index: 107). The combined strength of classic and digital formats in underlined with them coming in at 61% and 57% respectively.

Gen Z (born 1997 on) consume Outdoor Media for an average of over nine hours per week, which is more than all other forms of traditional broadcast media.

In terms of who is most exposed to the media (the top OOH Quintile 20%).

• 26% Dubliners (Index 130)
• 31% 16-24s (Index 153)
• 24% ABs (Index 118)

Younger people spend more time travelling with 37% spending 9 hours or more going so per week (Index 139).

In relation to the location and the type of ad noticed by those who have seen Outdoor advertising, 57% have seen some form in supermarkets in the past week. 45% have seen poster or screen advertising in shopping centres / malls, 43% have seen ads on Bus Shelters rising to 61% in Dublin, while 36% of OOH consumers in Dublin have seen ads on buses.

Driving Response

64% of OOH consumers have responded to an ad. In terms of IRL to URL, 45% of those who have seen an Outdoor ad have used their phone to learn more about the advertised product or service.

Over a quarter of 16-34s have used their mobile to make an actual purchase in response to an OOH ad. The research also shows that OOH not only prompts online action, it also drives footfall into physical outlets, with 22% of respondents having gone to a store to buy a product in response to an OOH ad.

Public Transport Usage Increases

29% of Irish adults use public transport at least once a week, up from 21% in 2022. This rises to 51% of both 16–24-year-olds, and Dubliners. More than 27% of Dubliners avail of public transport five or more times each week.

May Bank Holiday Weekend Sees Surge in Activity

This past May Bank Holiday weekend showcased a significant uptick in mobility and Outdoor engagements across Ireland, as revealed by new data from FreeNow.

Dublin Airport and Heuston Station were at the forefront as the most favoured drop-off and pick-up spots, underlining a broader trend of domestic and outbound travel. Ride-hailing requests to the airport align with DAA predictions of substantial passenger increases over the weekend, with the travel app experiencing an 80% increase from the previous week and a remarkable 170% rise compared to the same period in 2020.

Croke Park’s monstrous 82,000+ crowd landed it at the #3 top location as Leinster faced off against Northampton in a successful Champion’s Cup semi-final performance.

As evening set in, the vibrant nightlife took centre stage. Locations such as Dicey’s Garden, Hogans Bar, and Vicar Street were among the most frequented. The busiest hours were from 11 PM on Saturday night to 2 AM on Sunday morning, and demand increased by 9% on the FreeNow app compared to the previous weekend. The busiest hour of the weekend occurred from 1am to 2am on Sunday morning.

The data also displayed heightened activity in Cork and Galway. Cork Airport, Kent Station and Grand Parade were top for the rebel county, while Eyre Square and Galway’s Coach & Train Stations were the county’s respective top 3.

This surge in activity aligns with broader trends indicating an increase in travel intentions as the height of the summer looms. Last week we noted that 64% of 16-54s marked their intention to holiday abroad this year, with 26% planning to take a trip both domestically and internationally.