Aaron Poole, marketing executive, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home.
OOH Leads in Prompting Seasonal Spend
Seasonal events are crucial opportunities for brands to influence buying decisions by being both physically and mentally available to consumers. With Hallowe’en, Black Friday and even (gasp) Christmas around the corner, brands face the critical challenge of being top-of-mind for consumers.
As part of PML Group’s iQ research with Ipsos B&A, we took a mid-year reassessment of the effectiveness of various advertising media in reaching and influencing consumers during these key occasions.
OOH Maintains Its Dominance
The results confirm that Outdoor media remains the most effective in driving mental availability for brands across various demographics leading up to significant seasonal events.
For the full respondent group, bus stops emerged most prominently, with 63% of respondents rating it as an effective format in prompting them to make a purchase associated with seasonal events. This was followed closely by billboards and advertising on bus sides, both at 62%.
Notably, when looking at the extreme effectiveness, 27% of respondents rated bus stops as extremely effective, indicating a strong impact on their purchasing decisions.
While online is often regarded as a key channel for younger audiences, the data reveals that OOH formats are consistently the top performers across all age groups. For example, 70% of 45-54-year-olds rated billboards as effective, with 23% finding them extremely effective.
The 18-24 age group, often considered digital natives, still finds OOH formats highly effective, with 61% favouring bus stops. This indicates that while digital channels are crucial, OOH formats remain essential for reaching younger audiences effectively.
Moreover, OOH formats resonate particularly well with higher socio-economic groups. Among the AB demographic, 70% rated billboards as effective, with a substantial 25% considering them extremely effective. This further demonstrates OOH’s ability to connect with more affluent consumers who are likely to have higher spending power during seasonal events.
Interestingly, gender also plays a role in how different media are perceived. While 64% of women found advertising on social media to be effective, a higher percentage (67%) favoured bus stop advertisements. In terms of extreme effectiveness, 31% of women rated bus stops as extremely effective, compared to 22% for social media ads. Among men, billboards stood out, with 29% finding them extremely effective, which is significantly higher than other media.
The research findings align with broader industry insights, such as Kantar’s 2024 Media Reactions release, which highlighted consumer and marketer preferences for channels that such as POS advertising and digital OOH formats. When it comes to advertising, consumers continue to favour in-person media channels like OOH. This preference is particularly evident in how Dubliners rate OOH formats as highly effective, reinforcing the idea that people prefer ‘sociable’ environments over the more intrusive nature of social media.
Out \ Look on the Street
Out \ Look has been filled with news of great work on OOH by brands throughout 2024. The growth in the medium this year has been down to many factors, including its versatility. The multifaceted nature of OOH is evident again in this current two-week cycle, with a huge variety of brands channelling OOH to realise varying campaign objectives.
As the summer sun packs up for another year, Avonmore used a ‘street to store’ strategy to remind consumers of milk as a source of vitamin D, encompassing street side billboards to POS formats. Johnson, Mooney and O’Brien was also strong on Retail OOH Media formats to promote its new Baker’s Choice range of breads.
A new service to many will be Webdoctor.ie, offering patients the chance to conveniently speak to a GP online, and big coverage builders such as 48 Sheets and T-Sides were used to build awareness. Centra used Bus Shelters and 48 Sheets to target commuters on the go with a campaign for their new breakfast offering, complete with Superquinn sausage.
As well a sales driver, a brand builder and a product launcher, OOH is highly effective at informing, reminding, and reenforcing. McDonald’s is rolling out its ever-popular Monopoly game on transport and large format, while Avant Money is across bus Supersides, Bus Shelters, and Digital 6 Sheets, as well as Adshel Live Kiosks to remind consumers of its mortgage product. ESB, through classic and digital large format and T-Sides, reenforces its commitment to investment in green energy infrastructure in Ireland. Continuing the environmental theme, Repak informed and reminded us about the correct way to recycle, reflecting research that shows OOH is seen as a highly effective method of sharing sustainability messages.
OOH is a powerful way to showcase content from media providers, across TV and film in particular but is also a valuable channel for radio and newspaper brands to engage commuters and pedestrians at the point of consumption. Cycle 19 campaigns in this space included Disney’s launch of Agatha All Along, Sky’s football content, Newstalk and The Irish Times.
