Aaron Poole, marketing executive, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home
Outdoor advertising has always been a prominent channel for raising awareness, but in recent years, it has transformed into a powerful platform for driving social change. Whether through innovative special builds, dynamic digital displays, or interactive engagement, OOH has proven to be a highly effective channel for charities and non-profits looking to connect with the public in meaningful ways. With 88% of consumers finding OOH effective for public service messaging, and 76% taking action after seeing a DOOH ad, it’s clear that the medium goes beyond visibility—it mobilises real-world impact.
Trócaire Reinvents the Box for OOH
The Irish charity Trócaire has taken an innovative approach to its well-known Trócaire Box Appeal, leveraging the power of Digital Out of Home with an interactive special build.
Positioned in high-footfall areas around Dublin, including St. Stephen’s Green, Temple Bar, Grafton Street, and Dame Street, the Tap-to-Donate activation transformed the traditional fundraising model into an instant, seamless experience while availing of high-traffic city centre locations to benefit from maximum visibility.
Planned by Zenith and Source out of home, the special build featured looping video footage of crops devastated by climate change, creating an emotional and immersive moment for passersby. When tapped, the unit allowed people to donate instantly, triggering a thank-you message to reinforce the connection between donor and cause. This emotional storytelling, convenience, and digital interaction exemplifies how OOH is evolving as a platform not just for awareness, but for direct action.
This approach benefits from growing consumer behaviour trends where contactless donations are becoming more prevalent, while the use of full motion creative further drove attention. Our Media Impact research has previously shown that interactive and digital OOH formats significantly increase engagement, with 81% of respondents agreeing digital screen ads that incorporate video/moving imagery get their attention. By integrating payment technology directly into an OOH environment, the brand modernised its approach but also made it easier than ever for people to support the cause in real time.
All in Against Cancer this Daffodil Day
The Irish Cancer Society has taken to the streets of Ireland once again in its annual Daffodil Day fundraising drive.
Collections are set to take place today next Friday, March 28th, in towns and shopping centres across the country and on the following Saturday. The charity is using inspiring messaging from survivors across the creative and how fundraising has changed their outlook. Ambassador and cancer survivor Tara Doonan features prominently – “I was carried along by an army of people that I’d never even met”.
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 is live across screens and posters in retail and travel environments reaching the public out and about as they live, work, and play in the real world.
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.
The Irish Cancer Society has previously noted demand for support line and centres have increased by 31pc, with the charity’s drivers covering 2.3 million kilometres bringing more than 2,200 patients to and from chemotherapy treatments in a given year.
Retail Environments Drive Attention
As part of our continued efforts to champion Retail OOH as a powerful advertising channel, our latest wave of iQ research, conducted in partnership with Ipsos B&A, delves into consumer sentiment toward shopping formats and the role OOH advertising plays in shaping purchasing behaviour —and the implications for brands seeking to make an impact where it matters most.
The findings highlight the frequency with which shoppers notice OOH ads, the heightened relevance of ads when consumers are actively looking to buy, and the influence these ads have on brand recall in retail environments.
When asked how often they notice advertising while shopping in supermarkets, shopping centres, or high streets, an overwhelming 28% of respondents said they ‘always’ notice OOH ads, with a further 29% frequently taking note of brand messaging. This means that well over half of all shoppers are actively engaging with advertising in retail environments.
Breaking this down further, younger audiences (16-24s) were the most engaged, with nearly 40% saying they ‘always’ notice advertising while shopping. This insight aligns with previous research showing that younger consumers are more attuned to dynamic and visual media. However, the influence is not limited to digital natives, as shoppers across all age groups reported high levels of engagement, making OOH an ideal medium for brands looking to target a broad consumer base.
Context plays a crucial role in OOH’s effectiveness. Our research found that when consumers are actively looking for something specific to buy, their attention to advertising increases significantly. More than 60% of respondents reported that they notice ads ‘much more’ or ‘slightly more’ often when they have a purchase in mind. This underlines OOH’s role in guiding purchasing decisions in the crucial moments before point-of-sale, reinforcing its position as an influence driver in high-footfall environments.
Perhaps most critically we explored how likely consumers are to remember a brand they see advertised while shopping if it aligns with their needs. One third of shoppers (33%) said they were ‘very likely’ to recall an advertised brand, with a further 32% being ‘somewhat likely’ to remember the brand at the moment of purchase.
Interestingly social class played a notable role in brand recall. Respondents in the C2 and DE groups—often more price-conscious segments—reported higher recall rates, demonstrating that OOH advertising is particularly effective for brands operating in competitive and value-driven categories such as FMCG, retail, and discount chains.
Retail shopping behaviour is not linear, and OOH plays a role in influencing multiple purchase decisions across different locations. Consumers encounter OOH ads on their way to the store, outside the store, and inside the store, each stage contributing to brand awareness and action. Research from Posterscope UK highlights that sales uplifts occur across multiple touchpoints, reinforcing the importance of maintaining a strong OOH presence throughout the path to purchase.
Beyond individual shoppers, household influence is another critical factor in decision-making. Research from Clear Channel UK found that 54% of consumers agree that advertising builds awareness among household members, while 63% believe that seeing the same ad as another household member helps them ‘get on the same page’. OOH is a shared experience medium, naturally consumed by multiple members of a household, making it an ideal format for brands that need to engage both primary purchasers and purchase influencers.
Additionally, location intelligence and complementary placement strategies allow OOH campaigns to be tailored to different retail environments and shopping missions. Whether reinforcing brand awareness for planned purchases or prompting impulse buys in-store, Retail OOH is a key driver of commercial impact.
The ability of OOH to engage multiple household members, influence decision-making across locations, and reinforce brand recall positions it as a cornerstone of modern retail marketing. For more insights on how your brand can leverage retail OOH, get in touch with the PML Group team today.
