James Byrne, marketing manager, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home.
Retail Media is transforming how brands interact with customers in and around physical stores, generating immediate impact.
At PML Group we have a deep data led understanding of how people live, work and play and what they think, feel and do. Combined with this, we have location data on every store in the country be it mall, supermarket, forecourt or convenience. Fusing multiple data sets makes for very interesting R-OOH planning, the R standing for both Retail and Real-World.
Together with layered audience data we can map the path to purchase and identify the best inventory for multiple campaign objectives:
- a) Brand Build Broadcast (Influence the shopping list),
- b) Proximity to Store (walk time or drive time)
- c) Proximity to purchase (outside the store)
- d) In store aisle and point of purchase inventory
Furthermore, with a fully enabled Liveposter R-OOH network from Street right into Store, our clients can deliver messages relevant to every point on the path to purchase, tailored by time, outlet and location. Flexible ways of serving campaigns means multiple messages highly relevant by location are more prevalent than ever before.
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.
Place-based media seen in locations such as supermarkets and shopping malls are seeing increasing audiences. 71% of people have visited a supermarket in the past week according to PML Group’s latest OCS survey of more than three thousand Irish adults. Furthermore, 38% have visited a shopping centre or mall and a quarter have been to the high street. Over half (52%) have gone to a convenience store or petrol station in the past 7 days.
The recent Kantar Media Reactions 2024 study found that instore OOH Media is number one among consumers. In terms of generations, Point of Sale ads appear in the top three media of choice for the four primary age groupings.
Point-of-sale ads are seen as particularly relevant, useful and trustworthy. They also capture consumers’ attention more than the average ad. POS ads help marketers predispose consumers to their brands and are an indicator that the brand is more present, another brand growth accelerator. Brand growth requires active, intentional presence.
An ad environment – which encompasses everything from the platform to the channel on which the ad is placed – is a key factor for any marketer to consider when planning media investment and potential ROI. Campaigns are seven times more impactful among a receptive audience, so knowing where people are most receptive towards your ads is key to media planning and of course the creative you select.
PML Group research shows that proximity OOH advertising drives impulse purchase not just in the nearest store to where the poster is located but also it can impact on consumers’ purchase decisions when they are in other stores further away from the poster site, across the duration of the campaign. This is an important metric when calculating your ROI, it’s common sense too. While our travel habits are regular, they’re not always the same, equally we don’t always shop in the same place.
Data-led planning, driven by insights, and fusing multiple aggregated and anonymised safe data sets, emhances our ability to provide clients with new levels of optimisation, matching audiences on the move and locations more accurately than ever before and reflect real world consumer behaviour and purchase journeys.
The recently released Behavioural Energy and Travel Tracker from the SEAI shows that over two periods last year shopping or errands was the most common purpose of short car journeys under 2km.
Location-based marketing connects brands with consumers in the real world. Through investment in research, technology and a focus on data led planning, we understand even more about how people live, work and play. The Locomizer platform for example, adds to our ability to provide clients with new levels of targeting matching audiences and locations via compliant mobile data.
State of mind understanding plays a key role in selecting effective creative communications within specific environments. Our OCS study of Irish adults shows an actionable contrast between how shoppers feel whether they be on the main street, supermarket or shopping mall. There is more correlation between the state of mind of shoppers on the high street or shopping mall – they tend to be more open-minded, happy and relaxed. They are more likely to be ‘leisure’ shopping. In contrast when visiting the supermarket shoppers tend to be more focused, tired and bored. Wherever they are shoppers are looking for prompts and inspiration. These insights can feed into more effective messaging tapping into the consumer’s psyche.
Our OCS study extends into exploring the thoughts when people are out for shopping and retail at the weekend. A range of Fs dominate the mindset – family, food, finances, fashion, friends, films and fitness. People are more alert and motivated when out of home. They are thinking socially and exhibit a range of need states.
Some applications of these findings include.
- Complementary placement such as crisps advertising on off-licence screens.
- Non-Endemic brands – tap into the shopping mission to influence decision makers for other household purchases, for example utilities such as energy or telecoms.
This concurs with PML Groups Point of Search study which found that mobile searches conducted out of home are more diverse than at home mobile searches and lead to more actions. The number one motivation to search when out of home was to fulfil a location need e.g., to find a store address. People are more impulsive and looking for inspiration when out of home. Search adds value and enhances consumers’ activities and experiences. Consumers see, hear and smell things out of home that act as triggers to search.
There’s quite the buzz about Retail Media at the moment, and so there should be. It’s always been an extremely exciting part of the Out of Home offer. After all, shopping is one of the major components of what we all do when we’re out and about. Retail OOH Media can be amazingly effective when it’s done right, once you understand the real-world behaviour of your audience and you can connect the communication points on the path to purchase from street to store. What’s critical of course, is that brands generate greater mental availability than their competitors, so consumers are more inclined to access it from their memory at the moment of truth. Outdoor can do this by engaging people with right message, at the right time and of course as ever, in the right place. We call this Connected Retail Out of Home and it’s ready to go.
