In a new weekly series of reports called Out\Look, James Byrne, marketing manager, PML Group looks at the latest trends and developments from within the OOH industry.
Welcome to Out \ Look, our new weekly Out of Home advertising update here on Adworld.ie. For more than a year our Now Near Next updates helped readers navigate the pandemic and its implications for Outdoor. Through Out \ Look we’ll continue to inform, educate and (hopefully!) entertain on the dynamic world of OOH media.
Speaking of dynamic, this week we include an exciting dynamic OOH campaign from Samsung, along with new research on the power of OOH Special Builds, and we celebrate 25 years of our Poster Impact research service.
Special Effects
At PML Group, we are always seeking new ways of delivering classic Out of Home to bring brands to our streets in exciting and fun ways. Outdoor advertising is not restricted to the confines of the poster frame and we have an almost infinite palette to paint our cities and local communities, which we must use to our advantage. Innovative techniques and special build productions can complement classic OOH campaigns to add something special and unique. Special builds are highly effective and provide brands with great opportunities to drive brand frame across both the real and virtual worlds.
This week we publish some of the findings from Special Effects – a study aiming to gauge Dubliners’ opinions of OOH Specials that incorporate 3D builds or special lighting to positively impact a campaign. The research was conducted on our behalf by Ipsos MRBI among 300 Dublin adults.
Three quarters of all respondents believe Specials make a brand seem exciting. A further breakdown showed that 83% of respondents aged 16-24 years agreed in this regard. This suggests that this age category is likely to engage more with brands that incorporate specials into their Out of Home campaigns. By using specials, it paints a positive picture of the brand in the eyes of the consumer, resulting in positive brand fame.
Younger people agreed they more likely to post images of Specials on social media compared to older respondents. 44% of 16-24s agreed, compared to 20% of 45-54s. This figure is reflective of the different lifestyle choices of these age categories, so this finding comes as no surprise. However, it highlights how brands can gain attention from Out of Home advertising in both the real and virtual worlds.
Of all respondents, 84% agreed that Specials are more noticeable than standard poster ads. A further breakdown by gender showed 91% of all Females Vs. 79% of all Males agreed. This figure indicates the importance of detail within campaigns. By implementing Specials into campaigns, it can help retain the attention of consumers whilst creating fun and exciting Out of Home displays.
Full details of Special Effects can be obtained from your PML Group contact or info@pmlgroup.ie
Poster Impact hits 25 Years and 20,000 Campaigns
Poster Impact, the OOH campaign evaluation tool established by PML Group in 1996, has hit two major milestones this year – twenty-five years of service, and surpassing twenty thousand campaigns measured.
Poster Impact was the first service of its kind in the Outdoor sector in Ireland and the first wave of research was carried out in April 1996, with PML engaging TNS MRBI (now Ipsos MRBI) to carry out the fieldwork on their behalf. Among the first campaigns to be evaluated by Poster Impact were PMPA, Ritz, Castrol, Brennan’s Bread and Club Lemon. The best recalled campaign in April 1996 was Beamish Stout.
Almost 5,000 48 Sheet campaigns have been included in poster Impact along with more than 1,800 T-Side campaigns and thousands of 6 Sheet designs. But as the market has developed, so too has Poster Impact. For example, since their launch in 2011, 650 digital mall dPod and iVision campaigns have been measured.
300 different respondents are surveyed for Poser Impact each cycle and to date, more than 130,000 respondents have taken part in the ongoing research programme.
We are immensely proud of the contribution that Poster Impact has made to the learning and understanding of OOH media and its audience in Ireland. We believe in a data-led, evidence-based approach to making great Outdoor campaigns and our commitment to the Poster Impact offering is testament to that. We look forward to working with Ipsos MRBI in developing this service further for many years to come.
According to Damian Loscher, MD, Ipsos MRBI: “PML Group has built an unrivalled understanding of Out of Home, one campaign at a time. Their commitment to research is hugely impressive, spanning over 25 years and across 20,000 campaigns, and never wavering. PML have used research to gain the experience, knowledge and the insights they need to help their clients succeed. For all of us in Ipsos MRBI, we have revelled in our partnership and we applaud PML’s vision and sustained investment in research.”
Samsung Steps into Dynamic OOH
Out of Home is playing a key role in the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch4 Series in Ireland. Integral to the campaign for the new device is a Dynamic Outdoor activation. The tech giant has engaged PML Group’s Liveposter platform to integrate Google distance data into its Digital Out of Home campaign to create dynamic content and scheduling across multiple formats. These formats include Digital Golden Squares, Digital Bridges, Digipoles, DX Screens, Mall dPods and Adshel Live, serving multiple retail and roadside environments across main cities. The creative incorporates the approximate number of steps to the nearest exercise zones, such as Ballawley Park, St. Stephen’s Green and Sean Walsh Park. This adds another layer of relevance to each specific location and further encourages a healthy lifestyle, made all the more easy with the new, exciting features of the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Series.
Smartwatches have evolved into a powerful tool that help us stay on track with our fitness goals and help to improve overall wellbeing and Samsung have set a new standard for the category, with the goal of empowering people to live healthier each day. Out of Home is the ideal medium to engage this mindset as people move about our towns and cities and engage in exercise outdoors.
Keith Farrell, Account Manager, Source out of home says: “Out of Home is the perfect medium to launch a new product as it can build awareness quickly with high impact formats. In this case the addition of dynamic content has enabled Samsung to make its advertising even more relevant and reflect some of the product’s key characteristics.”
The campaign was planned by Source out of home and Starcom, with creative by Cheil Worldwide.
Consumers embrace Everyday Experiences
Deloitte’s Global State of the Consumer Tracker regularly polls 40,000 individuals across 18 countries (including 1,000 Irish respondents), capturing a continual snapshot of worldwide consumer sentiment. The latest wave conducted on 31st August finds Irish consumers’ safety concerns continuing to decrease.
Nearly 4 in 5 adults now feel safe visiting a store, up from 52% in February while 72% are comfortable engaging in person-to-person services, up from 39% in February. With indoor dining recommencing on July 26th, 61% of respondents now feel safe visiting a bar or restaurant, rising to two thirds of 18-34 year olds. Those in that age group comfortable taking a flights has more than doubled since the start of the year to 53%.
On the Move
Apple’s routing requests mobility data to Tuesday 7th September shows the increase in all modes from the start of the year across the phases of lockdown relaxation.
Driving requests have trebled both nationally and in Dublin since January. As part of the latest stage of easing remaining Covid-19 restrictions decided by the government, public transport can operate at 100% capacity as of September 1st. Routing requests seven day average for public transport have increased nationally by 26% since the start of August to stand at 23 points above the pre-pandemic baseline.
Dublin City Council counters show that footfall at key public transport locations (the Quays, College Green and Westmoreland Street) has increased steadily since the start of the year in line with the easing of restrictions and increased capacity on public transport.
TomTom’s Traffic Index reports that Tuesday’s congestion in Dublin averaged 51%, the highest seen for that day so far this year. This is up nearly a quarter on the same day in 2020 and just 2% off that witnessed in 2019. A 51% congestion level means that on Tuesday a 30-minute trip in the capital took 15 minutes longer than it would during baseline uncongested conditions. Similar recent increases in rush hour travel times have been reported in Cork and Limerick.
