Aaron Poole, Marketing Insights Manager, PML Group, with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home
September signals a return to routine as school runs, packed lunches and busier schedules resume, while college students prepare for a new term. It is also a significant spending period, with ROI TGI 2026 R1 estimating that 767,000 adults make Back-to-School purchases, and around four in five of them are OOH consumers.
Our latest iQ research with Ipsos B&A found that 57% complete most of their Back-to-School shopping in the final four weeks before the return, rising to two-thirds among households with children under 15. More than half (51%) say OOH can influence their choice of retailer.
Recent campaigns reflect the breadth of the season, spanning breakfast, lunchboxes, value, clothing, family health, commuting and college preparation, demonstrating the many ways brands can connect with consumers during this key retail period.
belVita follows the day
Back-to-School represents one of the year’s most significant routine shifts, and belVita is using OOH to own that moment across the consumer journey. Planned by Spark Foundry and PML, with creative by Publicis, the campaign combines Classic, Dynamic and Programmatic OOH to ensure the brand remains relevant wherever and whenever consumers encounter it.
At the centre of the activity is Dynamic DOOH delivered through LIVEPOSTER. Rather than relying on a single creative execution, belVita adapts its messaging throughout the day to mirror changing consumer needs. Breakfast-focused messages drive relevance during morning journeys before switching to snack-led messaging later in the day, allowing the brand to align with the mindset of audiences as their routines evolve.
The campaign demonstrates how brands can use Dynamic OOH not simply to increase visibility, but to increase contextual relevance. Previous Moments of Truth research found that contextually relevant Dynamic DOOH generated an 18% stronger brain response and a 17% uplift in spontaneous ad recall, underlining the value of matching creative to the moment.
Beyond dynamic messaging, belVita is extending its association with the occasion through a targeted Programmatic OOH strategy. Activity across Tesco Digiscreens and SuperValu Digitowers is focused on locations that over-index for both category and brand sales, with delivery weighted towards key shopping days and peak trading periods. This ensures the brand is not only present during Back-to-School but present at the moments most likely to influence purchase.
Taken together, the campaign showcases how multiple OOH applications, from Dynamic Creative Optimisation to Programmatic retail targeting, can be combined to help a brand move beyond simple awareness and strategically own a seasonal consumer moment.
As Tessa Bradford, Client Director at Spark Foundry, explains:
“Strong media planning is about understanding where consumer needs, shopper behaviour and retailer opportunity come together. For belVita, we’ve used those signals to build a smarter Back-to-School plan, adapting our presence by time of day, location and store-level sales opportunity to ensure the brand shows up when and where it can have the greatest impact.”
Kellogg’s chooses Pokémon
Kellogg’s is tapping into Back-to-School excitement through a partnership with Pokémon, in a campaign planned by Dentsu and PML. Featuring popular characters including Pikachu, Squirtle and Charmander, the campaign promotes Kellogg’s cereals across roadside and shopping-centre OOH formats under the message “Get Back to School Ready”.
The activity is supported by a nationwide promotion, where shoppers purchasing participating Kellogg’s products can take part in a mobile Pokémon challenge for the chance to win over 1,000 prizes, including backpacks, caps and Trading Card Game rewards. The collaboration gives Kellogg’s a distinctive and highly recognisable presence during a competitive retail period.
Dairylea lets them do it their way
Mondelēz is supporting Back-to-School with a Dairylea Dunkers campaign planned by Spark Foundry and PML, with creative by We are Girl & Bear. Running at Purchase Point locations, the “Set Them Free with Dairylea” creative targets parents close to the grocery shop. The wider A World of Their Own campaign celebrates children’s growing independence, highlighting the small choices they make for themselves.
By speaking directly to children’s experiences, Dairylea brings a distinctive voice to a season when much of the marketing conversation is focused on parents.
Johnston Mooney & O’Brien is taking another lunchbox regular to retail screens. The Goodness of Both campaign, planned by Zenith with Source out of home, with creative by Bloom, asks “Would you rather?”, offering the softness of white bread or the wholesomeness of brown before revealing a product designed to offer both.
The campaign is explicitly booked around Back-to-School and appears on retail DOOH, putting that question very close to the point where the week’s sandwiches are being sorted.
Value goes back on the list
Price is never far from the Back-to-School conversation. In our latest iQ study, value was the feature people most wanted to see in Back-to-School advertising, chosen by 43% of respondents ahead of quality, product range and convenience.
Dunnes Stores has a similarly timely mix on the street. Dentsu and PML are running the retailer’s current value campaign across a broad digital OOH footprint, while direct Back-to-School creative is also visible in the current photo set.
The campaigns are distinct, so there is no need to pretend otherwise. They do, however, meet at a useful point in the calendar. Uniforms, bags and school supplies are arriving on top of the normal household shop, making “Everyday Prices for Everyone” a well-timed message.
Life Style Sports is even more explicit. Its current mall creative leads with Back to School and savings of up to 50%. The wider always-on OOH account is planned by Zenith with Source out of home. Core Creative’s seasonal artwork gives clothing and footwear a place in the current mix.
The morning commute returns
The school calendar changes more than shopping behaviour. Roads get busier, public transport fills up and familiar journeys return after the quieter summer period.
RTÉ lyric fm is reaching audiences returning to regular routines with a campaign from Dentsu and PML. Contextual creative across buses, DART and commuter formats features tailored messages for mornings, afternoons and weekends.
By aligning messaging with the commuting environment and changing daily routines, the campaign ensures relevance at a time when September brings greater time spent travelling, particularly for parents juggling school runs and work journeys.
Back to college
September does not stop at the school gates. Select’s current activity, planned by Javelin with Source out of home, promotes its 2026 Student Sale with the line “Speed. Smarts. Staying power.” MacBook creative appears across mall and roadside DOOH, supporting education pricing for students and teachers.
The Back-to-College link is direct. Current and newly accepted higher-education students can qualify for savings on selected Mac products, making this one of the more substantial purchases appearing in the September mix.
More than the lunchbox
Heinz is using Back-to-School to highlight the value of family mealtimes. The Dentsu and PML campaign, with creative by Heinz, supports the fifth year of Heinz Meanz Mealz, Heinz’s partnership with Barnardos, and runs across roadside, retail, transport and large-format OOH. Limited-edition packs help fund Barnardos Breakfast Clubs and family services, while research released with the campaign found that 81% of children believe sharing food brings families together, with many saying their best conversations happen around the dinner table.
The relevance to September is less about what goes into a schoolbag and more about what happens at the other end of the day. Once school, work, homework and activities begin competing for the same hours again, sitting down together can become one of the harder routines to protect.
John West is speaking to the practical side of that evening rush. Its Stir & Serve campaign, planned by Ad Vantage Media with PML, with creative by B&G, carries the line “The Hero Dinner Deserves” across T-Sides and Transvision.
The range is built around quick meal preparation, giving John West a natural place in the conversation around busier weekday evenings without having to label the activity as Back-to-School.
Healthy habits return too
Avonmore Super Milk is highlighting the importance of vitamin D as families return to routine. Planned by Dentsu and PML, with creative by Goosebump, the campaign spans classic, digital, retail and special formats, drawing attention to research showing that 94% of children and teenagers, and 90% of adults, do not get enough vitamin D through their diet.
While breakfast is a natural occasion for the product, the creative broadens its appeal by speaking not only to families but also to commuters and adult audiences, extending its relevance beyond the school run.
Vhi is also targeting parents during the Back-to-School period. Working with Spark Foundry and PML, with creative from Droga5, the brand is promoting children’s health cover from €9 per month across roadside, retail and mall environments, positioning health protection as routines resume.
Rather than featuring Back-to-School messaging in the campaign itself, it is simply useful timing for a message aimed at families, appearing when school calendars are restarting and plenty of household admin is moving back up the list.
