This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site.

“To ignore the potential of the Out of Home medium in driving action or inspiring a purchase, would be a missed opportunity – it’s evident that the features & capabilities support every stage of the purchasing funnel“

Traditionally, Out of Home has been viewed as a top-of-the-funnel media channel due to its ability to drive broadcast awareness. With the unveiling of new technology, we are beginning to see Out of Home fulfilling a much greater role, driving bottom-funnel metrics and direct action amongst consumers. Metrics which until recently, have been associated with online performance channels.

It begs the question, is Out of Home better at generating brand awareness than driving action?

The short answer is, it can do both!

Out of Home is not one medium, it is a blend of multiple formats across multiple environments, that gives the channel the ability to dominate the public space and reach consumers in numerous mindsets. Out of Home continues to deliver in its role according to a 2022, Talon benchmark study, which comprised of 40 Irish campaigns and interviewed over 10,000 respondents. The results showed a marked increase across all measures, in particular for message delivery and call to action (+6%), thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the medium.

However, today’s world is a digital world, and the role of Out of Home is evolving. Digital now holds 43% of the overall Out of Home wallet, with the proportion of OOH revenue derived from DOOH continuing to increase year on year. This growth is fuelled by a rapid expansion of Digital Out of Home inventory (+8% in the last 18 months), with a focus on large format roadside DOOH. What is most evident is how these technologies are driving Out of Home further down the purchasing funnel, demonstrating effectiveness in driving consideration and purchase intent.

PROOH_

Programmatic although in its infancy in Ireland, has seen significant growth over the last few years globally, with advertisers recognizing benefits such as greater flexibility and agility in their campaigns. In a recent research study conducted by our colleagues in the UK, data showed that the use of Atlas (intelligent, audience-first DOOH buying platform) is delivering an x2 increase in purchase consideration and an x3 increase in purchase intent versus a traditional Out of Home buy. 

From an Irish perspective, we have seen similar trends where programmatic DOOH has overachieved in shifting KPIs relating to driving action; more than KPIs relating to spontaneous awareness. One campaign that activated around key consumption times for the brand drove consideration by 44%. At Talon, we are seeing increased appetite from clients to trial programmatic Out of Home and understand where it fits as part of their overall media mix. 

What does this mean for you: The use of programmatic DOOH alongside awareness-building strategies can be powerful in driving metrics along the entire brand funnel, increasing OOH’s capability as a prime channel in the overall media mix. 

DYNAMIC CONTENT MANAGEMENT_

Dynamic campaigns allow us to increase effectiveness and drive intent by focusing on context. At Talon, understanding audiences and their behaviour whilst Out of Home is paramount. We understand the key moments when our audiences are most likely to be influenced by a brand’s communications. Dynamic technology allows us to activate at these key moments. When we look at the performance of dynamic campaigns versus any Out of Home campaign, we are seeing a +63% uplift in consideration, and a +50% uplift in purchase behaviour – proving the power of Out of Home in driving bottom-funnel metrics. 

What does this mean for you: If our objective is driving sales, we should be taking an audience-first approach to strategy and curating content to activate at key consumption moments for our target group. 

SHOPPABLE OOH_

OOH can now offer instant solutions to make our campaigns shoppable. 

Since 2020, QR codes have seen a massive resurgence across many industries, not least Out of Home.  In a recent study by Talon in Ireland, we looked at Irish consumers’ appetite to interact and take action after exposure to an OOH message. 57% of respondents agreed that they would be likely to scan a QR code on an OOH ad to find out more. 

What does this mean for you: QR codes on Out of Home are effective for driving immediate engagement and boosting real-time conversion, and the inclusion of dwell time formats encourages passers-by to invoke an action. 

To ignore the potential of the Out of Home medium in driving action or inspiring a purchase, would be a missed opportunity – it’s evident that the features & capabilities support every stage of the purchasing funnel. It’s time for planners to get creative by combining multiple formats to ensure their message is being received by the right audience and reaching them at all stages of their journey. 

Methodology: Talon Benchmarks, Talon has created benchmarks to help identify the best formats for driving specific key performance metrics, allowing clients to see how their campaign has performed versus the average.  

Methodology: QR code research was conducted by Spark Market Research, on a main urban sample of 250 respondents 16+ using an online methodology. 

Chinese citizens, the largest tourism population, are now free to travel internationally after three years of strict “zero Covid” policies. Talon International explains what this means for Out of Home (OOH) advertisers.

After three long years of restrictions, Chinese tourists are now free to travel. Pre-pandemic, Chinese tourists spent $255 billion, making them the World’s biggest spenders. Now they can travel internationally, what does this mean for the tourism industry and advertisers looking to reach them on their journeys?

Travel 

In December 2022, China announced it was abandoning its zero Covid strategy. The next day, trip.com recorded a +254% increase in mainland China’s outbound flight bookings (compared to the previous day). Flights bound for Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand led the surge, making them the top five destinations following the change.

Three of these airports were announced as the world’s top 10 airports of 2023, with Singapore Changi regaining its spot at number one. A light-filled, green haven that brands itself as its own “destination” the airport provides great OOH and DOOH opportunities for brands looking to reach travellers in their favourite airport. 

A staggering 308 million tourism trips were made in the first six days of the Chinese New Year, with Shanghai’s Plaza 66 mall seeing long queues form outside luxury stores, generating over $55 billion in revenue. Their understandable desire to travel and celebrate their freedom plays a key role in this. 

2023 is set to be a big year for Chinese travel, with 60% of Chinese tourists planning to travel outside of mainland China. A survey revealed that 40% of respondents plan to travel outbound in the first six months of 2023, the majority within Asia, as well as France and Australia. 42% said they would travel outbound in the summer months of July and August, whilst 32% are planning an autumn Golden Week getaway outside of mainland China. 

The China Outbound Tourism Research Institute estimates 18 million will travel internationally in the first half of the year, followed by 40 million in the second. Luxury shopping is the third main purpose for taking a trip, behind relaxing and experiencing art, culture and history. 

Revenge Spending 

After three years in lockdown, Chinese travellers are ready to “revenge spend” after saving a record $2.6 trillion in 2022.  

KPMG’s “Luxury Redefined” research study found that Chinese consumers can be split into five different personas – luxury newcomers, status reflectors, approval seekers, luxury connoisseurs and new luxury pioneers. Across these personas, Chinese consumers were found to have the confidence to spend and are eager to purchase luxury as a means of social advancement and self-differentiation. Key themes that also emerged were digital transformation, sustainability and the need for experiential retail. 

The return and rise of the Chinese traveller, is placing travel hubs and airport environments back at the heart of clients’ media strategies to influence purchase decisions. Insights such as these from KPMG, can be used to understand exactly what these consumers want to see from brands, such as sustainable initiatives, experiential activations and brand stories. 

Across all the personas, there is a clear desire for interaction with brands. Whether it be through providing strong brand stories, in-store sales activation activities or showcasing trendy items, all of this can be achieved through OOH. 

Reaching Chinese Consumers with OOH 

As highlighted above, there are numerous touchpoints that we can use to help brands to reach their target audience: 

1. In mainland China 

After being stuck indoors, people are eager to get outside and reclaim their lives. This presents an exciting opportunity for brands to capitalise on the large inventory of OOH sites around the country and busy city areas to reach these audiences out of the home. 

Abu Dhabi was one of the first brands emerging to target Chinese audiences after restrictions were lifted. Capitalising on their newfound freedom and desire to experience new things, Abu Dhabi promoted its exciting experiences on some of the largest digital OOH screens in Beijing and Shanghai. 

 2. Airports 

With Chinese airport passengers up +35% in January and set to increase even higher throughout the year, airports are an obvious choice for brands wanting to reach Chinese audiences.  

Although there are classic OOH formats throughout the airports that brands can advertise on, experiential and sustainable initiatives will be key to attract the new personas highlighted by KPMG. It’s time to think big and think outside of the box, capitalising on the excitement of travellers looking to experience new things. 

Kicking off 2023, Johnnie Walker launched their campaign on the most impactful advertising installations on the global airport scene in Spain, Dominican Republic, UK, UAE, India, South Korea and Singapore. The ultra-premium blended whisky used some of the most eye-catching formats to reach the global travellers.  

3. Destination Cities 

Of course, airport passengers must be going somewhere. Whether they are visiting new countries for work or pleasure, there are some incredible OOH sites and activation opportunities across the globe. As travellers are “taking it all in” in these destination cities, brands can make sure that they are seen with effective OOH executions. 

De Beers announced Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o as their global ambassador with an exciting 3D activation in the iconic Times Square. The digital OOH execution was unmissable in the iconic hotspot, popular with tourists. 

Upcoming Opportunities 

Looking ahead, Golden Week and the Chinese New Year are peak travel periods for China. Before the Pandemic, domestic tourists splurged some 650 billion yuan ($91 billion) during the 2019 Golden Week – over a quarter more than during the Chinese New Year festival. 

With 32% planning an autumn Golden Week getaway outside of mainland China, there are lots of opportunities for brands to reach travellers as they celebrate the holidays. 

The travel industry is looking optimistic. Brands are increasingly interested in targeting the global traveller and being even more present in premium environments with high dwell times. The customers’ expectations around sustainability and experiences are making the airport space extremely relevant, and some brands are already taking advantage of it.  

Airports have taken the pandemic as an opportunity to renovate and enhance their space, to propose more flexible solutions that are continuously more aligned with customer’s expectations.  For more information, please contact marketing@talonoutdoor.com or get in touch with your Talon International representative to discuss OOH opportunities targeting Chinese travellers.

London and Toronto – MARCH 20th, 2023 – Talon, the global independent Out of Home (OOH) media agency, today announced that it has acquired Novus Media Canada Corp, a leading specialized media agency, to further bolster its global presence and accelerate growth in the Canadian market.

Under the ownership of Novus Media LLC, Novus Canada has leveraged its prowess for geography and understanding of location to build smart campaigns for agency partners and their many OOH advertisers.  In the past four years, the agency has grown into one of the largest and most respected OOH specialist agencies in Canada.

Approaching its tenth anniversary, Talon works with global brands such as PepsiCo, PUMA and BBC as well as leading agencies Omnicom Media Group, Havas and Stagwell, delivering the most effective, innovative and creative media solutions for OOH at global, national and regional levels. Talon secured new investment from Equistone Partners Europe in July 2022, providing the capital to support its global expansion both organically and acquisitively.

Talon’s acquisition of Novus Canada provides true independence and global access to best-in-class buying, planning, creativity and industry-leading technology platforms to enable all agencies and direct advertisers to connect with engaged consumers in their daily journeys in Canada and globally. With OOH poised to achieve 12% growth in Canada in 2023, Talon’s Canadian team will be equipped with Talon’s creative and technology-forward solutions to lead the OOH marketplace in Canada.

Talon Group CEO Barry Cupples said, “Our global agency scale and innovation focus sets us apart and the addition of Novus Canada marks another important step in our growth strategy. As the leading global independent OOH agency, we’re delivering best-in-class services, data and technologies that enable brands to take advantage of a resurgent Out of Home market.”

Out of Home has evolved into a sophisticated, data-driven and innovative medium – and Talon is at the forefront of the transformation. Through digitization, audience-based targeting, advanced measurement and unmatched creativity, Talon is helping brands and agencies re-imagine the possibilities of what OOH can do to deliver better outcomes for brands and add genuine value to the top and bottom line.

“As we embarked on our expansion strategy into Canada, we recognized that while many of our brands are cross-border, Canada is a unique and exciting market,” said Jim Wilson, Talon US CEO. “Novus Canada has established itself as the leading independent agency with stellar leadership, a specialist team and a track record of success. Joining forces gives us an even greater opportunity to realize our growth ambitions in North America, drive higher advertising market share into OOH, increase innovation in the market and unlock more value for brands in Canada.”

“Becoming part of Talon is not only an exciting opportunity for our Canadian Out of Home team,” said Melony Rios, CEO of Novus Media LLC. “It’s a win-win scenario for clients in Canada, for Talon, and Novus. Novus Media will continue to stay focused on our rapidly growing U.S. multimedia business delivering customized, fully multichannel media programs for marketers.”

Debbie Benadiba, CEO of Talon’s Canadian operation, said, “Not only will we be integrated and aligned with Talon’s strategic growth objectives, but we will also be positioned to leverage our combined best-in-class tools and technology for marketers. It positions us to be Canada’s largest, truly independent OOH agency that has compelling and competitive advantages for our clients and agency partners.”

Debbie is a media veteran, with leadership roles on the media vendor side with Bell Media and Rogers Media for more than 20 years, and leading Novus Canada since 2019. She currently holds board seats with DPAA, a global digital OOH trade association, and COMMB, a leading OOH industry association in North America and chairs WE.DOOH. DPAA’s Women’s Advisory board.

Between them they manage, orchestrate, lead & make vital decisions. This year for International Women’s Day, we decided to interview 3 of our women employee’s to find out what IWD, and its theme #EmbraceEquity, means to them.

IWD: Anca
Question 1: What does IWD and its theme #EmbraceEquity, mean to you?

International Women’s Day for me is an opportunity to celebrate women, our achievements, resourcefulness, and bravery.

#EmbraceEquity for me is about honouring authenticity, actively supporting differences, doing what’s right, not what it’s easy, showing empathy and just be kind.

Question 2: What are you most proud of?

I’m proud of the challenges I’ve overcome in raising two wonderful daughters as a young single mother. If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

Question 3: Which powerful woman do you admire the most?

It will have to be Oprah… her strength, resilience and courage are truly remarkable.  Her dedication to empower women from impoverished backgrounds through education and the way she uses her voice to stand against child and women abuse are just a few of the reasons I admire her.

IWD: Caroline
Question 1: What does IWD and its theme #EmbraceEquity, mean to you?

International Women’s Day in my opinion is a day to celebrate all women globally. It’s about recognising our achievements, finding, and celebrating our values and being made to feel valued and more importantly being part of a tribe that promotes gender equality.  Raising the bar to support each other and be women’s greatest cheerleaders.

Question 2: What are you most proud of?

I would have to say hands down, I am most proud of being a Mum to my beautiful daughter Amy.  From very small beginnings arriving at 14 weeks early to a very independent and sassy 8-year-old, she has taken me on one of the greatest and most fulfilling journeys of my life to date, not to mention unexpected!  I’m excited for what’s to come!

Question 3: Which powerful woman do you admire the most?

There are 2 powerful women I really admire.  The first one is my Mum! A powerhouse, always thinking of and helping other people, from family to her community, always there at a moment’s notice when you need her.   

I really admire Michelle Obama as a powerful woman too.  I think she is an inspiration to all women as carved out a very successful career for herself, while raising 2 young children and becoming the First Lady, all while keeping her feet firmly on the ground and being the best version of herself.  Her book is really worth a read!

IWD: Sayali
Question 1: What does IWD and its theme #EmbraceEquity, mean to you?

International Women’s Day is a day to acknowledge and honour the women’s rights movement globally and a day to celebrate the women in all our lives. #EmbraceEquity for me is about cultivating a mindset that promises inclusivity and a shot at equal opportunities.

Question 2: What are you most proud of?

Moving to a new country and starting from scratch.

Question 3: Which powerful woman do you admire the most?

Jacinda Ardern & Kamala Harris – A small percentage of the world’s leaders are women. Leaders like these two are unafraid, bold, and live life on their terms. One was the youngest female prime minister of a country and the other rose through ranks being a child of immigrant parents. They’re indeed an inspiration!

As part of PepsiCo’s commitment to excellence and innovation in marketing it has appointed Talon  as its partner for Out of Home (OOH) Media Buying. 

OOH media is an important part of PepsiCo brands marketing and media mix. OOH media is changing rapidly to reflect consumers different behaviours, new retail media offerings, and new opportunities presented by the use of data and technology. As such it is important for PepsiCo to have the best agency partner to create new future facing opportunities and take advantage of the dynamic marketplaces being created.

After an intensive competitive review led by Flock Associates PepsiCo appointed Talon to be its UK OOH partner, working alongside its long-term media partner OMD whose role is not impacted by the appointment. 

Ed Sanderson, Head of Media & Planning at PepsiCo UK said of the appointment, “We are delighted to partner with Talon Outdoor at such an exciting time in the development of the OOH marketplace in the UK. Together we will build more innovative, creative, effective and valuable out of home solutions for our brands; harnessing great research, new data and the power of technology to serve our consumers and retail partners.”

James Copley, UK CEO at Talon said, “Obviously it is exciting to be selected to partner PepsiCo’s brands on such an innovative brief and a testing process managed by Flock. We are looking forward to working with the broader Out of Home community to create new relationships, new solutions and deliver exceptional value to PepsiCo.”

Talon, the global independent Out of Home (OOH) media agency, today announces that it is launching a new business division in Ireland called The Hub, designed to enhance Talon’s client offering with a focus on executional excellence.

The Hub’s main function will be to ensure that Talon is maximising capabilities for clients within their two key pillars of execution – investment and operations. It will bring together all of Talon’s expertise in execution to ensure it is delivering the most effective campaigns for clients.

The new business function will be headed up by Laura Pennington, who was recently promoted into the role of Buying Director. With over 20 years’ experience in OOH, Laura is a vital member of the team at Talon, and her expertise will be crucial as she oversees the new unit and leverages client’s investments into the medium.

Talon has been trialling the new structure since late 2022, and will be in full force from February 2023.

Andrew Sinclair, Managing Director of Talon in Ireland, said: “As we have entered another promising year in OOH’s renaissance, the team at Talon are constantly challenging ourselves to re-imagine the possibilities of OOH. This restructure allows us to better focus our efforts and capabilities in planning and investment as we scale our business and champion OOH’s unique proposition. We are delighted to promote Laura Pennington to lead this new business unit and drive our business forward in terms of delivering exceptional value, executional excellence, and maximising collaboration with our industry partners”.

Laura Pennington, Head of The Hub, commented: “I am excited about this new role. The set-up of The Hub marks a new approach to investment and operations which are key components in the backbone of our agency’s offering. With this new structure in place, we are driven to extend and build on our current capabilities in delivering client value and a seamless approach to execution”.

2023, a new year full of new possibilities.  

A new year to grow and build a brand, whether it’s a start-up or a fully established business.  

A new year to engage with audiences in new and exciting ways. 

Although the year has already started in a recession, our opening statement still stands whatever way you slice it. With ten years under our belt, three of which we spent in a global pandemic, we know more than anyone that brand-building and engaging with consumers is more important now than ever.

It’s important to note that this is not the UK’s first recession, nor will it be our last. Since 1923, this country has faced 8 major recessions and from all of them we have bounced back even stronger. Statistically, most recessions only last 12 months – but brands must not “write off” the year and hope for the best.  

We’ve learned many lessons along the way about brands and how they behave. There will be brands that win and brands that lose but the brands that hope for the best and fade into the market will be out of sight and eventually be out of mind. As an independent, global Out of Home (OOH) media agency, we’re here to showcase what we do best and show brands how they can grow in a recession by putting OOH to the test. 

As it’s already well documented that increasing spend during a recession can increase sales during times of adversity, we won’t focus too much on that. Instead, we will bring these tactics to life and explain why it’s not just advertising that’s the right thing to do, but why OOH is the right choice to make your brand thrive, not just survive in this recession. 

To do this, we’re going to break down the three stages of your campaign plan – Strategy, Creative and Measurement. 

ONE: Strategy

In a fast-moving world of marketing and media, it’s easy to overlook the basic principles of marketing – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. These 4 principles should still form the bedrock of your marketing strategy. However, each of them should be approached differently in times of financial hardship and economic uncertainty. 

Product

In marketing and media planning, it is vital to establish where your product fits within the market during a recession. You must also understand how your target audience will interact with it from a purchasing decision point of view. 

Typically, marketers target based on demographics, but during a recession adopting a psychological segmentation that takes into consideration consumers’ emotional reactions to the economic environment may deliver greater success. 

However you choose to define your product and segment your audience, Talon’s proprietary technology platforms can help you achieve this goal. For example, with our DMP, Ada, we can help you to understand bespoke audience segments and provide insights based on real and recent consumer behaviours to create more precision in OOH planning and buying. This results in an average of +32% increase in targeting efficiency, resulting in uplifts for ad recall, consideration and purchase intent.

Price

One of the biggest areas of opportunity, but equally risky, is how a brand prices their product. Although it often feels longer, most recessions only last 12 months. So, although discounting may increase sales in the short term, you run the risk of devaluing the value of your brand in the long term. Put simply, the price of your product is a key differentiator in the perception of your brand. Significantly discounting a product is comparable to turning an Audi into a Ford or a Rolex into a Timex. 

By showing resilience on both the price of your product and your advertising budget, your brand can reap rewards, particularly when keeping OOH as a part of your marketing mix. In the most recent time of uncertainty, brands that continued to invest in OOH saw a 51% shift in ad recall and + 16% for purchase intent. 

Place 

The place, or where your product is available is a hugely complicated yet impactful part of your marketing and media strategy. Whatever place you decide to sell your product – OOH can help increase purchase intent by 10% on average – this figure lifts to 12% when using long dwell formats such as transport and lifts to the high 50s and 60’s for call to action and brand consideration after being exposed to OOH. 

This is proof of OOH’s role as a fantastic trust builder – even more importantly, in a recession. If your advertising preference is online, then we’ve got some news for you. According to research conducted by Outsmart, OOH is proven to drive consumers online, delivering: 

Due to its environment in the physical world, OOH is great at hitting prospective customers on the high street can influence last-minute purchasing decisions and footfall. As O2 recently discovered with their Black Friday OOH campaign, they were able to increase store visits from their target audience by more than 186%.

Although buying behaviours are heavily impacted in a recession the fundamentals of advertising theory are not… a balanced advertising and communication plan is crucial for success. Outdoor is a fantastic brand builder, but it can also significantly improve short term impact – particularly when combined with other media. 

OOH pays back in terms of ROI when OOH share of a media plan is at 17% or more (current average is 11%) and can amplify the effects of ‘Recession preferred’ mediums such as social media & search by more than 50%. 

When it comes to traditional TV, OOH is and always has been a hugely complementary channel. 70% of light TV viewers are exposed to OOH and this figure jumps even higher to 82% in 16-34 year olds. For the harder to reach 16-24 year old category, who according to Ofcom, spend 7x less time watching TV than over 65s, heavy viewers of VOD are 45% more likely to be exposed to OOH. 

TWO: Creative 

Promotion 

During a recession, trust in institutions tends to decline. So, brand building and promoting a product goes a lot further than simple visibility. As we saw in the pandemic, reassuring simple and strong creative is important for building brand trust.  

With OOH, over 98% of the UK and US population is reached by OOH ads every week, making it an excellent channel to communicate these simple and strong messages. Reassuring messages that reinforce an emotional connection with the brand and demonstrate empathy (for example, by conveying a sense that “we’re going to get through this together”) are vital. 

The best way to drive trust is through a strong brand presence and strong creative messaging. Tweaks to your creative messaging can have a hugely positive impact on campaign performance. For example, in 2021, McDonald’s launched a campaign with a simple reassuring message of ‘We Deliver.’ This was an incredibly valuable proposition at the height of the pandemic when public places such as restaurants were not as appealing to customers. 

Home delivery during the pandemic was a practical message, but emotional messaging can be equally impactful – particularly when using large format OOH which is proven to increase emotional intensity by 43%.  

#SendingLove was another campaign that was live during the pandemic, that utilised emotional messaging. We along with Talon International and Grand Visual launched a global initiative to promote messages of love and raise money for the global COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The user-generated messages of love and unity were displayed on digital OOH screens in 38 countries worldwide with social media amplification ensuring the messages were seen both in and outside the home. 

If truly authentic, purpose-led marketing can assist brands in standing out against undifferentiated competition – which could be essential at a time of price sensitivity.  

For example, with sustainability a key responsibility for audiences and brands alike, OOH can be used to supplement an authentic sustainability message for brands in various ways. 

THREE: Measurement 

Measuring the success of your campaign should be the staple of any activity – particularly when budgets are under increased scrutiny.  

At Talon, we offer bespoke measurement services as we know that understanding client objectives and KPIs is vital. Once the KPI is identified the measurement option, requirements, feasibility can all be discussed to ensure the measurement is bespoke to the campaign. Talon’s measurement studies can identify uplifts in footfall, brand perceptions, and sales following exposure to an OOH campaign.  

In addition to bespoke measurement options, we can provide performance norms due to our ongoing benchmarking project. 

And lastly, recessions are temporary, but decisions brands make can be long lasting. It’s up to you whether you grasp with both hands the possibilities that come with a new year. It will be whatever you make it. By taking the initiative and focusing on brand building and engaging with consumers, your brand can use this opportunity as a jumping off point, to build a brand that thrives not survives for years to come.

By Melanie Lindquist, Managing Director, Talon APAC.

The World Out of Home Organization  (‘WOO’) hosted its APAC conference in Malaysia in October 2022. We listened to updates from around the region for two days, including Korea, Japan, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Australia, and Singapore.

I had the pleasure of presenting with Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific‘s Chloe Neo on behalf of the buyer/agency side to give insight into the view we see of OOH, not just as a medium but in context with the total media mix. The following is a summary of the presentation (with a few new updates), and if you would like a short version, take a look at this article by Campaign Asia Pacific.

For context, the Asia region is of considerable importance to marketers regarding diversity, size, and affluence. Marketers can grow market share, revenue, and ROI if targeted effectively.

Projections show Household Income (HHI) and Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (uHNWI) in the region will grow over the next five years. Asia’s consumers are at the forefront of global consumption, with projections that this will continue over the next decade.

McKinsey “Meet your Future Asian Consumer”, 2021

Over the past few years (including the two years of covid), a few key trends are emerging that are impacting the consideration of OOH media in the marketing mix and influencing investment in OOH. Research shows that including OOH in a campaign can uplift effectiveness and impact and drive consumer advocacy, consideration, and purchase intent. However, marketers will remove OOH from a schedule without consistent proof points. This leads me to my first point.

PROOF

There is a persistent demand from marketers for proof.

OOH media needs to invest in ‘proof’ continually. Without proof points (pre and post), OOH is at risk of being removed or reduced on the plan. It is a persistent and growing requirement for considering OOH in the media mix.

Pre-proof can be in the form of audience, movement, psychographic/ behavioural, and buyer-graphical data. It can also include neuro-impact scores, traffic counts, population, demographic, reach, and frequency.

Post-proof can be through campaign verification (physical, digital, and programmatic), research, case studies, and campaign analysis.

It is also cyclical. Campaign verification, analysis of results, and post-campaign recommendations should be a discipline that folds into the proof points for future campaigns. Verification, including physical, digital, and programmatic, post-campaign reporting, benchmarking research (claimed and transactional), brand metric measurement, conversion results, and results against agreed performance metrics, all contribute to proving the performance of OOH.

“If there is no trust or recency in the ‘proof’, OOH risks reduction or removal from the media plan. That lessens the opportunity to demonstrate the power of OOH and the opportunity for the industry to grow.”

Thankfully, OOH is measurable. Continual investment in research, data, and reporting with verified, validated data that is recent and relevant will contribute significantly to OOH remaining on the plan.

Equally important is industry collaboration to build unified platforms like Outdoor Media Association‘s MOVE to provide standardized industry benchmarks that marketers and their agencies accept. It will also increase trust and acceptance from marketers inside and outside the region.

PACE

The media-buying world is rapidly moving to self-service with a growing demand for faster access and engagement with media owners. Pace does impact media investment, whether it is speed to market, speed to respond, or accessibility via technology to speed up processes.

Emerging and existing technology will help extend OOH’s buying capability. OOH media owners need to open up and automate access to inventory, access to avails, access to specifications, and access to long-range planning. It will remove complexity, fuel self-service, and contribute to a position for OOH on the plan, whether traditional buying or programmatic.

OOH media in the APAC region need to invest and adapt to buyer demand and build the capability to respond to the global pace of business. It will allow brands and their agencies to self-serve to a level of autonomy not yet seen in the region.

“We are in the era of self-service. Technology is fuelling this expectation. Media that does not embrace it will be left behind.”

While we always strive for more time, short-termism is still in play. ‘Post-pandemic recovery’ remains a mindset with less long-term planning and more campaign-by-campaign orientation.

Removing complexity, systemizing and automating processes, opening up access to inventory, and connecting to platforms (via partnerships or collaboration) will contribute to a position on the plan for OOH.

INNOVATION

Innovation is a permanent trend, and OOH inspires in many ways. From printing techniques, digital screen tech, data-informed creative, use of public space, or hardware innovation. It all contributes to using OOH media beyond simple spots and sites. 

OOH has always had the flexibility and creativity to work independently and create message layers and multi-sensory impacts. The most recent campaign using multi-sensory layers is the stunning The Coca-Cola Company Christmas campaign on The Piccadilly Lights from Ocean Outdoor in London. It includes live carollers, screen domination, interactive creative (song lyrics), and a mobile Coca-Cola truck driving past the site. All beautifully contextual leading up to Christmas.

“The OOH industry has an album full of innovation examples. Simply put, OOH innovation allows brands to transcend spots and sites. When Talon APAC advocates for OOH in the media mix, we can easily demonstrate impressive innovation in the APAC region.”

Product innovation is epitomized by Dole Food Company , screen-printing posters using ink made from real fruit waste (here) to authentically demonstrate their charter of zero-waste. 3D, anamorphic screens across APAC, including Big Tree’s CUBIG@ KLCC Junction in Kuala Lumpur to oOh!media’s Bourke St Mall in Melbourne and Ten Square, Landmark of Good in Singapore; create iconic, brand-enhancing campaigns.

Continuous innovation, including AR, VR, and 2D extensions, will grow the OOH APAC industry and significantly drive results for clients.

Data innovation to inform locations, target audiences and identify the best placement is not new. However, applying data to inform creative and develop deep connections with consumers through contextual relevance should be continually innovated.

In the last ten years, OOH has used digital to create contextual relevance, which research has shown to be at least 19% more effective. Brands. Agencies and media should look to ways data can inform the development and execution of campaigns. It creates impact and attention that positions OOH as a media leader and heightens consideration when planning campaigns.

Of course, this data should always comply with local privacy regulations and appropriate use of data. Here is an excellent article from ForwardKeys on using data to inform OOH campaigns.

Hardware innovation in OOH is uniquely positioned to affect public spaces positively and comes with great responsibility. Innovation in hardware, structure, and the physical build of OOH will attract brands and have a lasting impact on our environment.

Hardware innovation in OOH is uniquely positioned to affect public spaces positively and comes with great responsibility. Innovation in hardware, structure, and the physical build of OOH will attract brands and have a lasting impact on our environment.

Hardware innovation in the APAC region has included:

This innovation leads me to my final point and onto a significant trend impacting OOH investment and inclusion in media planning – PURPOSE.

PURPOSE

Consumers are more aware of purpose when deciding to buy. Equally, there is pressure on brands to deliver on purpose and demonstrate commitment to DEI – Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, and ESG – Environmental, Social, Governance, and Sustainability practices.

It is often considered a ‘Gen Z’ driver of consumption. If you look at the statistics below, you will see that while Gen Z is leading increases in preference to buy from sustainable brands, the uplift is across all generations.

Purpose is here to stay.

World Economic Forum + “State of Consumer Spending” – November 2021

At the time of the WOO conference, Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific announced a partnership that illustrates where ‘purpose’ is leading the media industry. They “expect to see more stringent, measured frameworks for pitches, proposals, and partners over time. As well as the creation of standardized metrics such as carbon footprint across clients’ media selections, supporting brand sustainability plans in the long term.”

The physical manifestation of purpose within OOH media is developing rapidly, with APAC emerging recently with impressive developments. For OOH to maintain relevance in the region, it is essential to persist with a purpose-driven product, business, and action that addresses ESG and DEI and improves the public spaces in which OOH resides.

What does this look like now and in the future?

Living Walls using live plants improves the site’s visually and contributes to an improved environmental impact by eliminating up to 10kg of CO² per sqm per year.

Eco Paint providers, such as Airlite, offer air-purifying paint to paint advertisements on walls or create bespoke murals.

Latex Ink – Revolution360 is now using HP Latex Ink, which is 65% water-based, and completely biodegradable, with no heavy materials or hazardous air pollutants.

Poster Evolution in many production companies has resulted in switching out traditional PVC banners for non-PVC materials and reducing the harmful effects of the disposal of PVC products. Urban Vision s.p.a. was one of the first media owners to introduce pollution-eating banners. The posters include a pollution-absorbing layer, creating a more eco-friendly product. Lightweight polyethylene vinyl billboard skins are routinely reused and repurposed at the end of their life cycle into various finished products like benches, sleepers, and bollards.

Green Roofs on bus stops increase biodiversity and support nature recovery. They can also absorb rainwater, urban heat and contribute to cleaning the air. Including solar panels also means that transit stops can run on green energy. JCDecaux Middle East is leading the way with the use of green energy to power the majority of their digital portfolio across airports and roadside.

World Out of Home Organization also announced the industry’s first Global Sustainability Task Force led by WOO Board member Katrin A. Robertson. WOO President Tom Goddard said about the initiative:

“There is much good work being undertaken by many [OOH] members, including some of the largest players in the business, but we must remember that we are a highly diverse industry in terms of stakeholders and owners and WOO can play a bigger role in helping members, smaller operators in particular, improve and communicate their sustainability performance.”

OOH in the APAC region will benefit from adopting and pioneering development that improves people’s lives and public spaces. It will also maintain relevance when a marketer considers media in their campaigns. It will become the standard, not the exception, in the future.

We are emerging from a two-year chrysalis that has disrupted the world forever. Marketers are more accountable than ever, and marketing plans are under scrutiny.

If the OOH media industry does not continue to adapt and make inroads into measurability, attribution, and independent verification (proof), harness technology to create self-service, ease of planning, and speed to market (pace), persistently push the boundaries of OOH capability (innovation) and authentically commit to positively impacting public spaces, the environment and people’s lives (purpose); OOH as a medium runs a significant risk of insignificance.

Talon continues driving, supporting, and advocating for OOH in the media mix. We know from our decade of client campaigns and creative innovations with Grand Visual that OOH is innovative, builds brand awareness, consideration, and drives purchase intent, and uplifts effectiveness when in combination with other media in the mix.

In the latest edition of Geopath OOH Office Hours, Talon America CEO, Jim Wilson joined Geopath President, Dylan Mabin for a conversation on how advertisers can take advantage of data-driven planning and targeting capabilities, emerging creativity, and outcomes-based measurement to unlock more value in OOH.

Key Takeaways:

A core mission is to utilize data-led technology to reduce friction in OOH buying and get more dollars into the medium. While advertisers have historically allocated just 4% to 5% of overall ad budgets to OOH, brands and agencies have shared that they’re planning to invest more in OOH over the next three years according to Talon-BWG research.

“We’re democratizing inventory and the ability to give advertisers access to real-time availability,” said Wilson. “This allows them to know what the best pieces of inventory are out there for them to use. This is a big part of reducing friction.”

Automation in the form of Programmatic OOH is another growth opportunity as advertisers look to leverage the speed and flexibility to change campaign messaging or delivery on the fly. “We’re seeing new clients coming to OOH with the use of programmatic buying,” said Wilson. “And this represents incremental dollars for OOH.”

Brands are pushing the creative boundaries of OOH with new technologies like full-motion digital video, AR/VR, and 3D creative – and this is becoming more mainstream with the growing use of dynamic creative capabilities in OOH. “We’re creating engaging experiences that delight consumers and drive behavior,” said Wilson. “It’s all about experiences and there’s no better medium than OOH for using data-driven creative to bring brands to life.”

Watch the full Geopath OOH Office Hours fireside chat here.

The World Out of Home Organization is hosting its first face-to-face MENA Forum in Dubai from February 15th – 17th February 2022. 

After a successful in-person global congress in Toronto and Kuala Lumpur last year, the World Out of Home Organization is hosting its first in-person MENA forum in Dubai. At this forum, horizons will be broadened with an in-depth examination of Out of Home (OOH) in one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative markets.  

It’s predicted that OOH will be the fastest-growing worldwide media sector in 2023, with MENA being a vital element in that growth. With a full programme of speakers from the region and the wider global OOH industry, key topics, including Maintaining OOH’s Advantage in a Digital World, Sustainability and Measurement, will be addressed. 

On Day 1 of the forum, Talon’s Client Director (MENA), Mansour Wehbe, will join Publicis Media’s Amer el Hajj and MCN IPG’s Ziad Chalhoub to discuss the “View from the OOH buyer side: Challenges and Opportunities” from 4:45pm. 

On Day 2, Talon Managing Director (MENA), Chadi Farhat will join Talon’s Group Chief Strategy Director, Sophie Pemberton, to discuss “The Evolution and Impact of Data-Driven Strategies in OOH.” As experts in their field, the presentation will cover Talon’s wealth of experience, why data is integral and positive outcomes for brands using data to inform their OOH campaigns. This informative session will take place from 1pm. 

Additionally, Managing Partner, Adrian Skelton, will be moderating the “Qatar 2022 – How the World Cup impacts a country” session from 3:45pm on Day 1. 

We’re looking forward to an action-packed two days, meeting and learning from our friends and partners in the MENA region. There’s still time to sign up here.