James Byrne, marketing manager, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home.
Contrary to popular belief Aristotle didn’t say “A Whole is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts”, but he said something similar. He said, ‘Many things have a plurality of parts and are not merely a complete aggregate but instead some kind of a whole beyond its parts’. The same can be said for OOH, there’s a reason it’s a multi-format medium, our lives are multi-dimensional.
OOH advertising plays a powerful role in today’s media strategies. As a key touchpoint in the consumer journey, OOH, encompassing both classic and digital, amplifies your campaign’s impact, driving stronger brand engagement and visibility.
Attention to OOH continues to Increase
The release of the ROI TGI 2024 r2 data has confirmed 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.
66% of Irish adults recall seeing at least one form of OOH advertising in the past week, rising to 72% of Dubliners (Index 108), 76% of Gen Z (Index 114) and 72% of ABs (Index: 108). The combined strength of classic and digital formats is underlined with them coming in at 62% and 59% respectively. The enduring power of classic Out of Home formats, combined with the immediacy and flexibility of Digital OOH, are combining to drive growth in the sector. The mix is important, both from creative and location strategies across various touchpoints. Our IMPACT research programme has shown that multi-format OOH Campaigns can boost recall by up to 70%.
Earlier this year, we published the winners of our annual IMPACT Awards, recognising the most effective campaigns on the medium last year. Analysing the twelve category winners reveals common campaign and creative traits that point to obvious conclusions around what works in generating impact and awareness on OOH campaigns.
All twelve winning campaigns were multi-format and multi-environment in nature. Engaging consumers at various key touchpoints in their daily lives builds both coverage and frequency and a complementary multi-format approach will garner the best outcome. Both classic and digital elements were common to each of the dozen winners, with 75% having a retail presence and two thirds engaging transport formats as part of their OOH mix.
As well as classic OOH messaging, many of the best of recent campaigns have integrated dynamic messaging or innovative specials to further enhance their sophisticated mass marketing approach.
Our Liveposter Dynamic platform allows brands to deliver contextualised, optimised content across multiple media owner digital networks at scale. Content that can be served based on pre-scheduled timings or live data that trigger event-based impacts. In essence, the brand avails of mass reach and coverage but with optimised content. The best of both worlds! Dynamic adserving complements classic formats perfectly, facilitating a nuanced conversation with consumers.
The TGI surveys also reveal that over a million Irish adults (29%) now use public transport at least once a week – up 6% since 2022. In Dublin the proportion is 53% (up 11% in two years).
26% of Irish adults now spend nine or more hours travelling per week travelling. This is up from 23% two years ago. Considering many spend considerably more time out of home shopping, working or playing, the potential exposure opportunities for OOH campaigns are magnified.
Out of Home advertising has all the assets to build brands, influence consumers and drive response. It is the ultimate creative canvas.
While Digital is transforming our medium in so many exciting ways, it is useful to remind ourselves of the merits of Classic formats such as billboards, 6 sheets and Bus panels. These formats deliver for brands year after year and resonate so well with consumers.
Its ability to deliver digital innovation at scale and layer on relevance and context, and to amplify online and other media means it is delivering sophisticated mass marketing solutions for clients. 38% of respondents say OOH brings to mind adverts seen or heard in other media.
In terms of driving response, two thirds of OOH consumers have undertaken some form of action after having seen an Outdoor ad. 26% say they often talk abouts things they have seen advertised on posters.
Heavy travellers are more likely to take action as a result of seeing an Outdoor ad.
The latest IPA TouchPoints report underlines the prominence of OOH as a lead medium across the day, week and year. Looking at the commercial media landscape scatter chart we can see that Commercial TV (Live, Recorded and BVoD) can still deliver substantial scale in terms of both reach and time spent. However, it no longer surpasses that magical 90% weekly reach figure for all adults, which Out of Home has been unrivalled in doing since 2019.
OOH is the only single medium delivering over 90% weekly cover. We still see that the long-standing strengths of OOH as a medium are as relevant today as they have ever been, for posters and screens. They enable brands to reach mass audiences at the right time, in the right place and to do this in a brand safe public forum where the ads cannot be skipped.
To summarise, individual formats and environments all have key strategic strengths, but when they are combined to create that sophisticated mass marketing campaign is truly when OOH is at its most potent.
Aristotle, whose works contain the earliest known formal study of logic would no doubt agree!
Denny goes All Out with Midweek Meals
Denny Sausages are famous for great taste and quality. In 1820 Henry Denny was awarded a gold medal for making the finest sausages. Over two hundred years later Denny sausages are still a household favourite.
The latest IOI campaign on Out of Home, planned by dentsu X and PML, gives food to thought featuring sausage inspired quick and simple meal suggestions from chef Nico Reynolds including rolls, cream cheese pasta and breakfast hash – all using Denny Gold Medal sausages. Posters encompass an IRL to URL activation with recipes available on Denny.ie. Created by Goosebump the posters generate appetite appeal throughout the day, while Nico’s Cook In Cook Out, is airing Wednesdays on RTÉ1 at 8:30pm, in which he shares a collection of dishes.
The far-reaching street to store campaign encompasses classic and digital, roadside, and retail with 48 Sheet and 96 Sheet billboards, Digipoles, Purchase Point 6 Sheets and screens in shopping centres.
“Ashley Moran, Marketing and Category Director IOI at Pilgrim’s Europe, commented: ‘At Denny, taste is our number one focus. Out of Home media provides a fantastic opportunity to engage our consumers and demonstrate the versatility of our products. Partnering with PML and dentsu has allowed us to bring this campaign to life across a variety of formats and touchpoints. We’re incredibly proud of this work, which beautifully captures the taste and quality of the Denny Gold Medal range whilst inspiring consumers with quick and tasty ideas for every mealtime.’”
Out of Home is the key medium used to reach shoppers in the 30-minute window prior to a purchase – the last window of influence. Exposure to OOH advertising during this pre purchase period increases the likelihood of a consumer finding out more about a product and consequently, buying a product. The recent Kantar Media Reactions study found that in-store OOH Media ranks number one among consumers.
IKEA plays a blinder
Furniture retail giant IKEA recently unveiled its latest creative campaign that cleverly transformed Swedish consumer home windows into OOH ad space.
Helmed by creative agency Åkestam Holst NoA, the Swedish company handed out a series of specially printed roller blinds to participants.
These blinds do more than just block the sun, doubling as OOH posters that spotlight the brand’s affordability, all while promoting its many home products, including pillows, mattresses, duvets, and beds.
Known for innovations in both furniture and creatives, IKEA and Åkestam Holst NoA earlier this year launched a campaign that used a GPS-controlled billboard to reflect sunlight to surrounding areas, helping café-goers stay warm amidst the chilly weather.
