Aaron Poole, marketing executive, PML Group with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home
Game On: OOH’s Play for Attention
This Sunday millions of people will sit down watch the San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58 (or LVIII as it is branded). While a large percentage will tune in for the game (and maybe a glance of Taylor Swift), the event is not just about the two teams in the final. Brands choose to use the event as an opportunity to grow their relationship with consumers before, during and after the final whistle.
From an event-based marketing perspective, the Super Bowl is a golden goose for those who can leverage the opportunity it presents. Sporting events have power. They capture a wide, passionate audience at a time when they are emotionally available unlike any other. It can be game-changing for brands who can capture attention by comprehending the preferences of those consumers. Often the question is ‘How?’.
Outside of in-game sponsorship one of the most valuable pieces of brand inventory is not a single means, but an entire medium where increased relevance leads to increased attention, ultimately leading to increased effectiveness: the OOH canvas.
Scoring with OOH
PML Group has continually showcased the advantages of Outdoor as a brand stage. Modern OOH advertising has both the audience and creative opportunity to effectively build brands over long-term use. But how does that change when the opportunity is time sensitive?
The Out of Home space expected to command major attention this Super Bowl week, with even the NFL themselves taking over the massive Las Vegas Sphere to secure prime ad space for league sponsors.
Why?
The Out of Home audience makes a big difference, and the medium provides an unmatched value proposition given the timeframe. Always-on, no clutter, no filter, no off switch. Flexible power via Digital OOH.
2023’s out of home viewing audience for the event increased total viewing figures from 80 to 110 million. They know their audience is on the move, so capturing attention where they can – when they can – over the course of that period is paramount.
The Attention Game Plan
And this is true beyond the context of the Super Bowl; anywhere and everywhere, OOH has the capacity to tap into audience diversity and engage them in a relevant and context-specific way. It offers the best means to capture attention, not limited to the subject matter; consumers eyes are open and willing to engage in what they see to be relevant.
The rivalry for audience attention in the event-based marketing arena is a real battle. While not as dramatic on Irish shores as the US, the ‘battleground’ is just as applicable when it comes to our own Super Bowl-adjacent events and beyond.
Kantar’s Media Reactions data showed Classic and Digital OOH rank in the top 3 mediums for capturing attention, underscoring the effectiveness of Outdoor in maintaining consumer engagement. As we frequently note in our event guides, tailoring advertising around sporting events provides a unique opportunity to not only build, but enhance brand awareness and engage those consumers when it may matter more to them.
The ongoing Six Nations tournament is a prime example. While team sponsors Bank of Ireland and Vodafone effectively leverage their investment through OOH, brands know there is an opportunity to generate mental availability when it comes to the choice of drink or snack the game’s audience will consume. Similarly for the Champions League, Cadbury have aligned themselves with some of the league’s top clubs to effectively join its narrative without a Dairy Milk bar being seen on a football pitch. For those brands whom this alignment matters most, generating mental and physical availability can’t be ignored. It’s G(OOH) or no-go.
The Audience Goal
Fortunately, as far as Outdoor is concerned, there is a broader spectrum of possibility; As soon as you walk outside, you’re a potential Outdoor consumer.
The Irish Out of Home audience with an interest in sports is vast. The latest Kantar TGI data showed that for team-based sport 71% of Irish adults recall seeing at least one form of OOH advertising in the past week, rising to 78% of Dubliners (Index 120). For other individual sports the national figure remains at 71% rising to 77% of Dubliners.
Meanwhile the latest CGA by NIQ’s OPUS show sporting tournaments are a key footfall driver when it comes to pubs and bars, in particular Premier League Football (51%), the Six Nations Rugby (50%) and UEFA Champions League Football (40%).
Brand association is real, as are its effects: increased sales and revenue. Those who take an always on approach during a period of event-based marketing – such as Guinness or Paddy Power – enjoy the benefits brand alignment for consumers. Using Classic and Dynamic Digital OOH to adapt and meet their needs, sporting events change the Out of Home opportunity to be more relevant.
The Home Field Advantage
As an Out of Home specialist PML Group has access to planning tools and technologies that allow for maximum optimisation of Out of Home campaigns when it comes to event-based planning.
We’ve already noted how brands can leverage Out of Home as an event-based marketing channel via Dynamic DOOH. With Liveposter, the contextual relevancy of these campaigns can facilitate generation physical and mental availability in a whole other way.
As regards sporting tournaments, our iQ research conducted during the previous Six Nations tournament found 8 out of 10 of respondents found contextual content informative. Close to two thirds of the same described it as memorable / appealing. 70% described the contextual creative as effective, standing out and different.
Strategic placement of campaigns via our MAPS platform allows for the positioning of campaigns where it matters most, to the audience it will impact the most, in high-traffic areas and near event venues enhances visibility and impact. Beyond mere visibility, OOH creates a lasting impression that resonates with consumers, influencing their decisions during pivotal moments. This is particularly evident in the retail sector, where strategic placement of OOH ads has proven to significantly boost sales during high-traffic seasonal events.
Our MIND platform understands the behavioral patterns of consumers, especially during key periods, allows for smarter placement and timing of OOH campaigns. The integration of this with consumer movement data and OOH placement ensures that campaigns are not just seen, but also acted upon, maximising the return on investment for brands. This approach is particularly effective in urban centers and transit hubs, where high footfall translates to increased exposure and engagement.
The consolidation of these facets distills into that simple formula for event based Out of Home: increased relevance = increases attention = increased effectiveness. As the year’s events begin to close in on the calendar – including the Dublin-hosted UEFA Europa League final, the Paris Summer Olympics, and whispers of a Croke Park trilogy fight for Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron – there are an abundance of opportunities to grow and align your brand in a more meaningful way for your target audience, if leveraged effectively. A campaign’s effectiveness by way of reactivity and relevancy has the capacity to break new ground when it comes to consumer perception. To amplify your brand’s performance via contextual Out of Home, contact us at info@pmlgroup.ie.
