James Byrne, marketing manager, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home
As Crowded House sang ‘Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you’ and its in the crowded outdoors where it’s most impactful.
Summer is (apparently) here and, as marketers know, the weather is one of the biggest factors that influence the decisions we make every day. It is one of the largest influences in our daily lives – it affects our mood, impacts how we dress, where to go, what to eat and even changes our buying habits.
Underlining our obsession, weather is the most searched topic on Google by Irish users since the search engine launched in the country twenty years ago. The weather is a subject often on the tip of our tongues as shown by an Ipsos survey which found that 60% of Irish people talk about the weather twice a day while a quarter chat about it at least four times on a day.
Dynamic digital OOH enables brands to optimise and update screen displays in real time, in response to real-world circumstances, contexts and events such as changes in weather conditions. Our OCS travel and consumer survey finds that 73% of people have an interest in live digital screen information related to the weather.
Digital OOH enables flexibility with media and creative copy – to deliver the right message at the right time in the right places for audiences. It offers tactical opportunities in daily and daypart planning and our proprietary Liveposter platform facilitates contextual messaging based on live data triggers including weather. This is highly impactful and helps brands build a dialogue with their audiences in real-time – and in real-life.
McDonald’s has activated a temperature sensitive Digital Out of Home campaign for its McCafé Iced range. The campaign sees the Digital ads switch creative once the temperature outside reaches a minimum level of 16 degrees Celsius and display the temperature as a nudge to consumers.
Lipton Peach Ice Tea is running a seasonal ‘Grab Some Sunshine’ burst with an added dynamically timed lunchtime prompt targeting a key sales daypart. Extended Bus T-Sides also brought the sun out.
Weather related messaging can also be incorporated into classic poster designs. Creative containing such messaging consistently rates highly in our Impact campaign studies.
P20 took its sun safe message outdoors earlier this summer with the copy also running in airports targeting holiday goers.
This summer Guinness gave its ‘Lovely Day For a..’ message a modern feel with a crisp and clear poster design.
In promoting its sauces range, Chef faced our unpredictable BBQ season in a humorous way with a knowing message featuring Irish football legend Paul McGrath.
According to the IBM Summer Behaviour Survey, factors including summer weather motivates consumers choice of activities. For marketers, it is advantageous to harness this excitement in real-time locally at scale and support consumers’ celebration of the summer season.
Weather can predict consumer behaviour and influence shopper decisions and responses to the survey show it’s important to understand the weather across multiple categories.
Food and beverage
- 68% of people say summer weather impacts their food choices
- 41% say summer weather affects alcoholic beverage purchases
- 32% choose healthier meals and snacks during summer
Gardening and home improvement
- Over 80% of people say summer weather impacts their gardening, or home-maintenance projects
- 48% prepare outdoor living and/or grilling spaces once summer weather is in their forecast
- 44% of people plan or tackle DIY or home-maintenance projects once summer weather is in the forecast
Outdoor activity
- 48% of people exercise outdoors once summer weather is in their forecast
- 92% say summer weather impacts how much time they spend outside
- 58% plan outdoor excursions once summer weather is in their forecast
Health and Wellness
- 77% of people say summer weather impacts their health and wellness needs
- 33% are more aware of their health during the summer
- 71% say protecting their skin from the sun is more important in summer
July WATCH: Vodafone Claims Top Spot
As July wrapped up, PML Group’s WATCH market intelligence data revealed Vodafone as the top campaign for the month, propelling the Telecoms sector into the top 10 categories of the Irish Out of Home advertising market.
The top 5 campaigns for July were Vodafone, Tesco, Sky Women’s Football, 7UP Zero Sugar, and SuperValu
With the Rugby World Cup on the horizon, the Irish team’s jersey sponsor was all over Outdoor formats. Their OneNumber campaign led the charge, taking viewers to the pitchside featuring familiar faces from the Irish squad making cameos. This ran on a mix of digital and classic roadside formats including 96/48 Sheets, Golden Squares, Digital Bridges, and Metropoles.
Vodafone campaigns were the most prominent across Outdoor formats in July
Within the top 5 campaigns, reflecting soft drinks as the no.2 category, PepsiCo caught audience’s attention with 7UP Zero Sugar – the brand’s first refresh in over seven years. Planned by OMD and Source out of home, the launch of the new design was supported by classic and digital formats such as Bus Shelters, Mall and Supermarket Digital 6s, and Digipoles.
PepsiCo’s 7UP Zero Sugar campaign was a refreshing sight this summer.
July also saw SuperValu, AIB, An Post Money, Guinness, and the Paddy Power Comedy Festival campaigns making their mark. An Post Money continued to build its rapport with consumers, while AIB’s GAA campaign drew tribal attention with its ‘It’s our county’ creative, reinforcing the brand’s GAA association with a powerful message ahead of the All-Ireland championships.
The Retail Outlets category led the pack in July, reflecting top campaigns from SuperValu and Tesco. Other significant categories included Soft Drinks with an abundance of PepsiCo activity including Pepsi Max, Lipton Ice Tea, and 7UP Zero Sugar. PepsiCo was the third top overall advertiser for the month. The Beers & Ciders category was led by the ‘Lovely Day for a Guinness’ campaign from Diageo, displayed across Digital 6’s, 48 Sheets, and large formats.
Retail Outlets, Soft Drinks, Beers & Ciders, Media, and QSRs were the top categories on OOH in July
The top campaigns and categories are determined based on WATCH marketing intelligence from PML Group. Based on campaign monitoring display at rate card. For comprehensive information on categories or campaigns, please contact the PML Group team.
London’s Marble Arch becomes a brand canvas for Vodafone
OOH advertising in the UK has taken an interesting innovative leap with Vodafone’s recent unveiling of a purpose-built sleeve on Marble Arch, London.
Managed by Ocean Outdoor, the unique ad spot is set to serve as media space for the foreseeable, with ad spend contributing to the conservation efforts of the iconic London landmark.
Vodafone, recently crowned ‘Best network in London’, transformed the arch with Vodafone’s signature red branding, promises maximum visibility due to the monument’s prime location overlooking Hyde Park.
Vodafone’s UK Head of Brand, Maria Koutsoudakis, expressed her excitement about being the first brand to secure an OOH spot on the new Marble Arch advertising sleeve, “This unique opportunity at Marble Arch is the perfect way to celebrate, allowing us to give back to London by playing a part in supporting the conservation of one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.”
Phil Hall, CEO of Ocean Outdoor UK, reflected on the partnership: “This has been one of the most ambitious installations Ocean has ever undertaken and required a monumental collaboration from all the partners involved. I can’t think of a better launch partner than Vodafone to mark its Best in London award.”
