Aaron Poole, Marketing Insights Manager, PML Group, with this week’s Out \ Look on Out of Home
With St. Patrick’s Day now in the rear-view mirror, brands have little time to pause before attention turns to Easter and the next major retail window of the spring.
For advertisers, Easter is more than a date in the diary. It is a compressed retail moment where family occasions, social gatherings, gifting, food shopping and seasonal treats all come into play at once. That makes it a strong fit for Out of Home, a medium built to reach people in the real world and closer to the environments where decisions are made.
PML Group/Ipsos B&A iQ research has highlighted the scale of Easter-related movement and activity among Dublin audiences. 65% of respondents anticipated gatherings with family and friends, while 37% planned to visit Dublin city centre for shopping or events. A further 23% planned to take a break in Ireland. Easter-linked leisure and shopping behaviours were also evident, with 35% planning to go to the cinema, 31% intending to shop for Easter or spring clothing, 30% expecting to visit a beach or park, 26% planning to take part in a family Easter egg hunt, and 19% intending to visit family attractions such as Dublin Zoo or Emerald Park.
Taken together, that paints a picture of an audience in motion. Easter is not tied to one mindset or one environment. It spans retail, roadside, leisure, transport and local communities, creating multiple opportunities for brands to show up in relevant contexts as consumers move closer to purchase.
It is also a moment where timing matters. Seasonal occasions tend to be shaped by reminders closer to the event itself, particularly in categories linked to treats, gifting, food and drink. In that sense, Easter is not simply about broad awareness. It is about being present at the right time, in the right place, as consumers begin to act on intent.
That behavioural pattern is reinforced by the same research. 70% agree they are more likely to buy Easter treats or seasonal products if they are reminded close to the time. That rises to 76% among people with children under 15 in the household. The same research shows that 61% agree advertising can influence which brands they choose for Easter, including chocolate, food and drinks, while 56% agree that seeing ads while they are out and about can prompt them to pick up something they had not planned to buy
For Outdoor, that matters. OOH’s role is not just to build broad awareness. It is to keep brands visible in the environments where seasonal decisions are taking shape, whether that is on the commute, in the city, near store, or in the shared public spaces where Easter activity becomes more visible.
That role is reflected in broader effectiveness findings too. In research examining how different forms of advertising perform in prompting or reminding consumers to make a purchase associated with seasonal events such as Easter, billboards achieved a 60% net effective score. Bus stops followed at 56%, bus sides at 52%, and malls, shopping centres and supermarkets at 45%. Taken together, the results point to the breadth of Outdoor’s influence across the consumer journey, from broad broadcast presence to formats closer to purchase.
That is particularly relevant at this point in the season. With Easter now close enough to feel immediate, brands still have an opportunity to show up in a timely and effective way, particularly through digital OOH. The flexibility of digital allows campaigns to be activated closer to the moment, adapted to context, and aligned with the environments where seasonal decisions are already taking shape. For advertisers looking to tap into Easter shopping behaviours without long lead times, that agility is a real advantage.
There is a clear commercial story behind that visibility. TGI data shows that 35% of OOH consumers have bought gifts for Easter in the past 12 months. Kantar data also points to the scale of seasonal spend around the occasion, with an additional €15.3 million spent on seasonal Easter confectionery over the latest 12-week period, 82% of which was attributed to Easter eggs. More than 64% of Irish households bought Easter eggs, while shoppers purchased 7% more Easter eggs year-on-year. Importantly, 43% of all Easter egg sales were made on promotion, reinforcing the value of timely messaging and strong brand presence during the key Easter purchase window.
Easter is a broad-reaching occasion, but the purchases around it are often made closer to the time and shaped by context. Families are organising activities, shoppers are picking up seasonal items alongside everyday purchases, and consumers are spending more time out in shared public environments. In that context, Out of Home is well placed to deliver.
With Easter now approaching quickly, the opportunity for brands is no longer just about seasonal presence in principle. It is about showing up in the right environments while purchase decisions are still being made. For categories such as confectionery, grocery, retail, entertainment, food and drink, smart and well-timed OOH still has a valuable role to play, particularly where digital formats allow brands to respond with greater flexibility as the moment draws closer.
