Out of Home Advertising Opportunities for Q1: Valentine’s Day, IWD & Mother’s Day

Kicking off 2022, Q1 is full of initiatives, events and opportunities for advertisers to connect with audiences. From Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day, Out of Home (OOH) advertising is perfectly positioned to target desired audiences wherever they may be; whether that’s driving from A to B, getting back to the commute or shopping in local shopping centres.

It is also important to remember that, unlike last year, we are no longer living with covid restrictions; meaning that Brits are free to celebrate and organise plans for these events to their heart’s desire.

Valentine’s Day 

Celebrated on the 14th of February, Valentine’s Day is a day for people to show their affection for another person or people by giving gifts with messages of love. A popular occasion, 76% of Brits celebrate Valentine’s Day, spending 926 million in 2021 (Finder).

However, this occasion isn’t just for lovers as 68% of British single ladies spend Valentine’s Day, or “Galentine’s Day” with friends (Statista) and 27 million is spent by Brits on gifts for their pets (Good Housekeeping).

A busy time for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), OOH advertising is an effective way of targeting audiences as they shop for gifts and other products to celebrate Valentine’s Day. G, a popular dessert brand, launched its very own Valentine’s Day campaign that drew inspiration from iconic love songs. The “Love Notes” campaign featured “a light-hearted packaging refresh” across the brand’s cheesecake range.

To raise awareness of its campaign, G utilised OOH sites, as well as a socially driven, interactive digital OOH campaign in Waterloo station.

In other instances, we’ve seen brands who aren’t necessarily selling a product but rather an experience, use OOH to raise awareness whilst celebrating the holiday. An excellent example, Twitter used various OOH sites across London to share its own users’ relatable tweets of their dating struggles.

The Dating Twitter campaign included an experiential event in Covent Garden called “The Dating Advice Bureau,” which featured hilarious real-life tweets of modern-day dating fails.

International Women’s Day 

International Women’s Day is a global event that celebrates the achievements of women, whether it be societal, political or economic. Taking place annually on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day also shines a focal point on the women’s rights movement regarding issues such as violence and abuse against women, gender equality or reproductive rights.

It’s especially important for brands to use their platform to show support for an event such as International Women’s Day as 54% of people think that brands have a responsibility to the society that they act in (Business Wire). If a brand is not using its platform for good, it could tarnish how people view said brand. According to a study by YouGov, 46% of people pay attention to a brand’s views when buying a product – further showing the importance of proving solidarity when it comes to an event like International Women’s Day.

In 2021, OPEN Media, an OOH Media Owner, celebrated International Women’s Day with a nationwide DOOH campaign. The Media Owner championed both famous and ordinary women across its sites by displaying their images and an inspirational quote across its portfolio in order to raise awareness for the cause.

This is an inspirational example of how a brand can celebrate an event like this, no matter what industry the brand operates in.

Mother’s Day 

A holiday in honour of mothers around the world, Mother’s Day is a day of spending time and expressing thanks to the important women in our lives. Taking place on the 14th of March this year, a huge 85% of Brits believe that Mother’s Day is an important occasion (Global Data). Pre-pandemic, the UK spent 1.6 billion on Mother’s Day, with the most popular gifts being:

  • Flowers – 48%
  • Chocolates – 41%
  • Jewellery – 24%

(Source: Serenata Flowers).

Another busy time for FMCG, OOH advertising is an effective way of targeting audiences as they shop for gifts and other products to celebrate Mother’s Day. Thorntons, a British chocolate brand, celebrated the event by encouraging shoppers to “Pass the Love On.” OOH was used to showcase the brand’s range of chocolates which would make the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

For more information, please contact marketing@talonoutdoor.com or get in touch with your Talon Planner to discuss OOH opportunities for Q1.