September has always carried a certain weight. It’s not the beginning of the year, but in many households, workplaces and communities, it can feel like one. The summer gives way to schoolbags in hallways, calendars filled with extracurricular activities, more structured commutes and, shopping lists written with a little more intent. In other words, normality resumes.

For marketers, September has long been treated as a seasonal retail moment, but our latest research suggests that this year Irish consumers are not simply going back to old habits but instead are entering September with a little more intention. Talon’s latest Pulse Brand Tracker research shows that 22% of consumers now see September as a time to set goals and make changes, more than double the 9% recorded in 2023.

That finding mirrors wider consumer sentiment across Ireland. Core’s 2026 outlook describes Irish consumers recalibrating rather than retreating, with value becoming one of the dominant lenses through which people make decisions. Our own findings support this, with value for money the leading influence for back-to-school purchases, cited by 94% of respondents.

In this article, we’ll explore the back to school consumer trends defining September 2026, from intentional spending and early planning to changing purchase journeys, and why Out of Home Advertising (OOH) is uniquely present in the moments that matter.

BACK TO SCHOOL CONSUMER TRENDS: THE RISE OF INTENTIONAL LIVING

Nearly three in ten consumers say they actively plan for September before it arrives, while 61% see it as a time to make changes or set goals. That intention is showing up in practical ways such as 42% meal prepping, 41% are becoming better planners (everything from shopping lists to task lists) while 37% are tightening household budgets.

But intentional living isn’t just influencing how we spend; it’s shaping how we choose to spend our time. Compared to 2023, more people are prioritising being present (+5%) and spending time with family and friends (+3%).

Taken together, these behaviours suggest that September’s reset is becoming less about doing more and instead choosing what deserves our attention.

BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR STARTS EARLIER

One of the most significant back to school consumer trends emerging from the research is how intentional living is shaping spending behaviour.

As we’ve already seen above, value for money remains one of the biggest influences on back-to-school shopping, cited by 94% of respondents, followed by quality (93%), payment plan options (45%) and the ability to get everything under one roof (79%).

But what’s even more interesting is that consumers are looking for value in advance. Almost half (45%) actively shop around for deals, with a further 23% buying gradually throughout the summer. The purchase decision is increasingly happening before consumers ever reach a store, meaning brands are competing throughout journeys, routines and decision-making moments.

SEPTEMBER CONSUMER TRENDS ARE RESHAPING THE PATH TO PURCHASE

For many consumers, September planning begins long before the school term starts. In fact, August is still the most popular month for back-to-school shopping (51%).

As routines return, so too do the journeys. Nearly half of consumers (48%) anticipate busier mornings, while almost a quarter (24%) expect longer commutes as work and school activities return.

At the same time, many of purchasing decisions linked to this period are still rooted in physical environments. Shopping centres remain the most popular destination for back-to-school shopping (40%), while online stores (29%) and high street shopping (18%) environments continue to play an important role.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR BRANDS

These back to school consumer trends have important implications for brands planning their September activity.

This is where OOH is particularly well placed. As consumers return to more structured routines, they also return to the journeys that shape decision-making; the commute, the shopping trip, the school run and the everyday moments in between. These are the moments where consideration is building and where brands have an opportunity to become part of the plan before the purchase is made.

The research supports this. More than half of consumers (53%) say OOH influences their back-to-school purchasing decisions, highlighting the role the medium plays throughout the consideration journey, not just at the point of purchase. Combined with other touchpoints, OOH helps brands stay visible as consumers move from planning to action.

Tools such as Atlas and Atlas Insights take this a step further. By understanding where audiences spend their time, how they move through their day and the environments most likely to shape decision-making, brands can build more informed campaigns around real-world behaviour.

In many ways, it mirrors the mindset of today’s consumer. As people become more deliberate about where they spend their time, money and attention, brands have an opportunity to be just as deliberate in how they show up.

IN SUMMARY

September has always been associated with routines. What this year’s research suggests is that it has also become a season of consideration.

Consumers are planning more carefully, spending more deliberately and placing greater thought behind the choices they make. From shopping lists and household budgets to family time and personal goals, intention is increasingly shaping behaviour.

Some of that is undoubtedly a reflection of the wider environment. But rather than holding people back, many are responding by planning ahead, seeking value and making more informed decisions. For brands, the opportunity is to earn a place in consumers’ plans before the purchase is ever made.

OOH advertising gives brands a unique opportunity to become part of shared cultural moments. From major sporting tournaments and music events to viral social trends, the most effective OOH advertising campaigns connect with what audiences are thinking, feeling and talking about in real time.

But while these moments often showcase OOH at its most creative and responsive, they also highlight something bigger: cultural relevance shouldn’t be reserved for the largest events in the calendar. The most effective OOH campaigns aren’t just present during major moments. They’re able to connect with what people are thinking, feeling and talking about every day.

Why OOH Advertising Connects Brands With Culture

One of the unique strengths of OOH advertising is its ability to live within the environments where people spend their time. Whether it’s a busy commuter route, a shopping destination, a city centre or a transport hub, OOH reaches audiences as they move through their day.

Unlike many digital channels, it sits directly alongside the experiences and moments shaping consumer attention. This places OOH in a powerful position to connect brands with culture as it happens. From sporting events and concerts to viral social moments and local celebrations, OOH provides brands with an opportunity to engage audiences in relevant and meaningful ways.

How DOOH Supports More Relevant OOH Advertising

Digital OOH has made contextual advertising more accessible than ever. Advances in technology mean campaigns can now adapt messaging based on factors such as time of day, location, weather conditions or live events. This flexibility enables brands to deliver creative that feels more relevant to the environment and audience at that specific moment.

However, while technology enables responsiveness, the success of a campaign still depends on understanding the audience and the cultural context surrounding it. The most memorable campaigns don’t simply react quickly. They react intelligently.

What Makes OOH Advertising Culturally Relevant?

Some of the strongest examples of OOH advertising are rooted in cultural understanding. Throughout the World Cup, brands found creative ways to tap into tournament excitement and fan engagement. These campaigns demonstrated how timely, contextually relevant messaging can help brands become part of the wider conversation.

However, sporting tournaments are only one example. Throughout the year, audiences engage with music events, entertainment moments, seasonal trends, social conversations and local experiences. Each represents an opportunity for brands to create work that feels connected to what’s happening around them. When campaigns align naturally with these moments, they often generate greater attention and memorability.

Relevance Beats Reactivity

There’s a common misconception that successful reactive advertising is simply about speed. In reality, relevance is far more important. Consumers are increasingly quick to recognise when brands are forcing themselves into conversations that don’t align with their identity or values. The campaigns that tend to perform best are those that identify moments where the brand has a genuine reason to participate.

A culturally relevant campaign doesn’t need to respond to every headline or social trend. Instead, it should focus on the moments that matter most to its audience.

Examples of Effective OOH Advertising Campaigns

Many of the most talked-about OOH campaigns in recent years have succeeded because they understood the cultural moment. The National Lottery’s “A Ticket With Style” execution outside Wembley during Harry Styles’ residency demonstrated how a simple creative idea could tap into audience familiarity and context. Similarly, brands such as Specsavers and Lidl have shown how timely responses to popular culture moments can generate conversation far beyond the media placement itself.

These campaigns didn’t rely solely on scale or budget. Their success came from understanding what audiences were already paying attention to and finding an authentic way to contribute.

Looking Beyond Major Events

Major sporting tournaments will always provide valuable opportunities for advertisers. They unite audiences, generate conversation and create moments of collective attention. But cultural relevance shouldn’t be viewed as an event-only strategy.

Audience attention continuously shifts between sport, entertainment, music, fashion, social trends and community experiences. Brands that can identify these shifts and respond in meaningful ways have the opportunity to build stronger connections with consumers throughout the year.

As OOH continues to evolve, its ability to combine broad reach with contextual relevance remains one of the channel’s greatest strengths. For brands looking to create more impactful campaigns, the challenge isn’t simply reacting faster. It’s staying closer to the culture and conversations that matter to audiences every day.

Over the first six months of 2026, Talon’s Pulse Brand Tracker, our proprietary OOH measurement panel, developed in partnership with research specialists Opinions, tracked the performance of OOH campaigns across 13 cycles, 12 categories and more than 4,000 Irish adults aged 18-54.

Designed to measure OOH effectiveness in Ireland, the study set out to identify the factors separating good campaigns from great ones.

The results challenge some common assumptions. While awareness remains strong, the biggest gains came from campaigns that matched environments to audience mindsets, ultimately driving consideration, brand perception and commercial intent.

For brands and agencies, the findings reinforce the fact that OOH effectiveness is not simply about being seen. It is about showing up in the right place, at the right moment and in the right context to influence decisions across the full brand funnel.

OOH EFFECTIVENESS IS ABOUT MORE THAN ATTENTION

We already know OOH gets noticed. The more interesting finding from H1 is that effectiveness wasn’t driven by visibility alone.

Across Pulse Brand Tracker, average spontaneous awareness reached 35%, demonstrating consistent cut-through across categories. More importantly, the channel delivered for a wider range of objectives, from new product launches to long-term brand building and lower-funnel activation.

For brands and agencies, this reinforces OOH’s versatility. The strongest campaigns weren’t simply using OOH for build awareness; they were using it to support different business objectives throughout the funnel.

THE BIGGEST GAINS CAME FROM MATCHING ENVIRONMENTS TO AUDIENCE MINDSETS.

This was perhaps the clearest lesson from H1.

Campaigns planned across multiple environments consistently outperformed single-format executions, benefiting from greater reach, repetition, and contextual relevance. In fact, campaigns incorporating transport formats were particularly strong, achieving significantly higher recall levels (+42%), demonstrating the value of reaching audiences during high-attention commuter moments.

But Pulse Brand Tracker also highlighted the distinct role different formats play within the OOH ecosystem.

Retail Digital Out of Home (DOOH) and classic retail environments consistently delivered strong results for FMCG and health and beauty brands, benefiting from their proximity to purchase. These categories recorded some of their strongest brand equity scores in retail settings, reinforcing the value of being visible when consumers are already in a buying mindset.

Digital OOH formats on high street and city centre locations proved effective at building standout, quality associations and cultural presence. This made them especially valuable for campaigns seeking visibility in high-attention urban and lifestyle environments.

Large-format classic and DOOH played a different role, delivering scale, fame, and broad visibility. When combined with other formats as part of a wider multi-environment strategy, they helped brands feel bigger, more culturally relevant and more present in consumers’ everyday lives.

WHY AUDIENCE MINDSETS MATTER FOR OOH EFFECTIVENESS

The tracker highlights that environments are not interchangeable. Different locations reach audiences in different moments, with different levels of attention, need and intent. Transport environments, for example, proved particularly effective for reaching commuter audiences and driving recall and commercial intent.

Shopping centres and retail environments connect brands with audiences in a purchasing mindset, placing messages close to the buying decision. This was especially clear for FMCG and health and beauty brands, which consistently recorded strong brand equity scores in retail contexts.

Dublin city centre and other key urban locations act as high-impact brand canvases, helping advertisers build lifestyle, entertainment and premium associations. These environments are particularly powerful for launches, cultural moments and brands seeking broad reach in a quality context.

OOH EFFECTIVENESS EXTENDS BEYOND AWARENESS

While awareness remains a core strength of OOH, the strongest evidence from the Pulse Brand Tracker is that its impacts extends far beyond visibility.

Across tracked campaigns, brand positivity improved consistently, OOH did not just generate recall; it helped shape perception, associating brands with qualities such as relevance, quality and modernity.

Entertainment campaigns were particularly effective at generating anticipation and excitement, demonstrating OOH’s ability to create emotional engagement as well as reach. In other categories, campaigns strengthened brand credentials, increased emotional pull and helped position brands as the preferred choice within their market.

Most importantly, multiple campaigns drove measurable commercial intent. Across the study, OOH consistently moved audiences from awareness towards action, whether through purchase intent, visit intent or enquiry intent. Grocery and entertainment brands proved particularly strong performers, while campaigns in food, beer, lager and cider also demonstrated meaningful commercial impact.

FIVE LESSONS FROM TALON’S OOH EFFECTIVENESS BENCHMARK STUDY

The findings from our Pulse Brand Tracker point to five principles that consistently separate the strongest-performing campaigns from the rest.

• Context Matters. The most effective campaigns matched formats to audience moments. Format fit is the foundation of OOH effectiveness. Transport formats excelled at reaching commuter audiences, retail digital proved particularly powerful close to purchase, while large-format OOH delivered the scale and fame needed to build broader brand presence.
• Simplicity Wins. Campaigns built around a single clear message consistently outperformed those trying to communicate too much at once. The strongest creative distilled messages down to one compelling takeaway that audiences could easily recall and remember.
• Location remains one of OOH’s greatest strengths. Different environments attract different audiences in different mindsets. The more closely the location matches the audience moment, the more effective the campaign becomes.
• Emotion still matters. The best performing campaigns did more than generate awareness. They left audiences feeling informed, intrigued, or excited, helping brands build stronger associations and more positive perceptions over time.
• And finally, show up where people are. Ireland remains a highly mobile nation, particularly throughout the summer months. When audiences are on the move shopping, commuting, socialising, their attention is available — and OOH is uniquely placed to capture it.

Talon and PJX come together to create the largest independent OOH specialist in the US

Talon, the world’s leading independent Out of Home (OOH) agency, has acquired OOH specialist PJX Media, marking a significant step in its continued investment in the US market.

The move brings together two highly complementary businesses at a time of growing opportunity in the US OOH sector, as clients increasingly look for smarter, more accountable and more connected solutions.

Under the deal, PJX will continue to operate under the PJX name, ensuring continuity in relationships, service and day-to-day ways of working for clients and partners, while benefiting from access to Talon’s broader programmatic, technology, data and effectiveness capabilities.

Together, Talon and PJX create the largest independent OOH specialist in the US, giving clients access to broader capabilities, deeper expertise and a stronger platform for future growth.

Sue Frogley, Global CEO at Talon, said: “This is an important step for Talon and a strong signal of our continued commitment to the US market. PJX is a highly respected business with a strong team, a great reputation and a very complementary offer. Together, we are creating a stronger platform for clients, partners and future growth.”

Ryan Laul, CEO, Talon North America, added: “PJX has built a fantastic business with real momentum in the market, and this acquisition brings together two teams with shared values, deep expertise and a clear focus on delivering for clients. It gives us even greater scale and capability in the US, while keeping the specialist approach that matters so much to our partners and customers.”

Rick Robinson, CEO at PJX Media, said: “Joining Talon marks an exciting new chapter for PJX. We have built our business around agility, service and specialist expertise, and this partnership allows us to build on that with access to broader technology, data and effectiveness capabilities. It is very much business as usual for our clients, with even more opportunity ahead.”

The financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.

Ellie Reeves, Effectiveness Manager at Talon, recently attended (and spoke at) Media360 – one of Campaign’s flagship events where industry trends, challenges and the future of media is discussed. In this blog, she shares the key learnings from the day for brands and agencies.

OOver the last two years, trust – perhaps a more antiquated metric in modern marketing – has worked its way back into becoming a buzzword. Demonstrations of its commercial impact by the likes of Peter Field have certainly contributed to this, but a growing dissatisfaction with digital players has also turned up the volume on the conversation.

For those in the audience at Future of Media in November 2025, the session with Esther Ghey alongside Simon Kilby of Bauer Media and Sonali Shah of Magic Radio is one that will have stayed with you. The discussion focused on the impact of media on young people and the industry’s role in creating safer environments, and delivered an emotive plea for a reassessment of marketers’ investment in the digital ecosystem.

Our industry’s simultaneous investment in and growing unease with aspects of digital channels is potent, with the AA’s All In Census highlighting that 60% of us don’t trust the industry we work in. At Media360 a few weeks ago, Dan Geneen of British Heart Foundation, also highlighted the scale of the challenge, noting that 10% of Meta’s revenue comes from fraudulent ads (Reuters).

This continued to be a key theme across Media360’s speakers. Alex Baker of Bauer Media noted consumers’ growing scepticism towards social media – a space where people spend huge amounts of time without always trusting what they’re seeing, creating vulnerability that bad actors can capitalise on. As a one-to-one media channel, digital experiences a unique vulnerability to distrust, whereas the visibility and shared experience of broadcast media can lend greater credibility to advertisers.

Baker called for greater regulation of digital platforms, in line with traditional media, not only in the content they approve and the inventory they sell, but also in how they are structured as media channels. This interestingly connects to wider conversations on industry currencies we’ve seen across 2026 – while the role of JICs is increasingly debated, they remain another example of how accountability and transparency are built into traditional media channels.

Against this backdrop of mistrust, OOH can provide a real-life legitimacy to campaigns and advertisers. Where consumers may question what they see in digital spaces, OOH’s visibility has fostered long-standing accountability. We’ve worked for decades with local councils, authorities and landlords to ensure the safety of advertising in this channel, which translates to real consumer trust.

That trust has a measurable impact. On average, we see a +19% increase in brand trust when purpose-led adverts are used in OOH (Talon Benchmarks). Interestingly, this metric doesn’t operate in silo – campaigns that drive trust see a holistic impact across brand performance, with an average +90% stronger uplift in brand metrics (Talon Benchmarks). This is seen across advertisers and sectors – whether brands are leveraging high trust or trying to build it, OOH is playing a key role as a as a trust-driver in a trust-poor landscape.

This is consistent across advertisers and sectors. Whether brands are reinforcing existing trust or looking to build it, OOH is playing a key role as a trust driver in an increasingly trust-poor landscape.

As a burgeoning channel for advertisers, LLMs show the initial warning signs of ethical uncertainty. Sam Tomlinson, MediaSense, highlighted that challenger brands are already pedalling misinformation into the likes of Reddit to influence their competitors’ representation in these models. And importantly, Guy Rogers, Lenovo, highlighted that as LLMs become monetised, we need to start with the ethical questions we should have had 15 years ago when digital started its rise.

Consumer’s growing interrogation of how and why they’re being targeted by advertising hasn’t just created a key challenge for fostering brand reputation, it’s enforced regulation and limited the efficacy of digital targeting precision. OOH has never relied on what data can be scraped. Instead, our proprietary technology harnesses safe, anonymised and transparent datasets, putting both safety and longevity at the heart of audience targeting.

But, as the age of signal collapse has shifted us from “who are you” to “where are you, when are you there, and what mindset are you in?,” OOH is primed for this context-led shift in media. It has always been a contextual medium, where environmental nuances, contextual triggers and dynamic messaging act as key levers to unlock relevance.

The advantage of audience-led digital activations – cheap CPMs and high ROIs – is becoming less critical to advertisers. This echoed across Media360. Rebecca Burchnall of PHD, reminded us that ROI often just measures how cheaply you’re doing something. Jerry Daykin of Restaurant Brands International, noted the danger of this metric is underspending purely for efficiency purposes; while Ben Brown of Allwyn pointed out that driving meaningful conversion and commercial growth often comes at a higher CPM, simply because it requires greater effort to achieve.

As old-fashioned as trust, long-term brand-building and media investment is back on the agenda. With audiences becoming harder to reach – driven by media fragmentation, ad blockers, and increasing privacy and content restrictions like LHF – broadcast reach has never been more important. However, alongside its traditional strengths, OOH is increasingly demonstrating full-funnel capability, with contextual messaging, audience targeting and point-of-purchase presence driving both desire and action.

It’s a channel that is both old and new, utilising programmatic for audience targeting, real-time bidding and in-flight optimisation, without sacrificing on broad reach and long-term commercial growth. At the heart of all this is safety, for advertisers and consumers alike – a channel that garners trust, rather than degrades it, in a world where trust has never been more scarce, or more valuable.

Earlier this year, Talon launched its inaugural Multi-Channel Masters, a learning series designed to upskill teams across the wider media mix. While we’re known for our expertise in Out of Home (OOH), understanding how our channel fits into the broader media landscape is more important than ever. These sessions were created to expand perspectives on the channels OOH works alongside, from Audio and TV to Online, Social, and Media Planning & Strategy.

Following the series, Client Manager, Daniela Ricci De Brito, shares her key takeaways.

“I came into the OOH specialist world with no prior media experience, so my career so far has naturally been shaped around OOH planning. My understanding of the wider media landscape mostly came from agency briefs and client presentations, where other channels were talked about in ways I didn’t always fully understand. 

The Multi‑Channel Masters helped change that. Through short, focused sessions led by people working across different channels, it gave me a clearer view of how the wider media mix actually works and where OOH fits into it. Having that context has made me feel more confident when approaching briefs and has helped everything feel a bit more joined up and manageable. 

The sessions have taught me that the thought process and justification agency planners implement goes much deeper than budget restrictions, and the proportion of media mix is tailored differently for every brief. Learning about the cost of TV, the audience reach of Social and connection of Audio, has opened a new perspective of how briefs come together and how my recommendations for OOH feed into optimal campaign planning. This has illustrated how intrinsically connected all channels truly are and how co-ordination across all is the future of advertising. 

One thing I’ve really valued at Talon is that training doesn’t stop at OOH. We’re encouraged to look beyond our specialism and understand the wider media landscape, which feels especially important right now as things continue to change so quickly. Learning outside of our industry says a lot about the culture at Talon. It shows that being good at your job isn’t just about knowing one channel well, but about understanding the wider environment it operates in. That broader knowledge doesn’t take away from OOH expertise, it strengthens it. 

Starting out in media with this kind of cross-channel exposure has felt like a real advantage. It’s helped me move beyond simply doing my job to understanding why decisions are made, and has noticeably improved my confidence as an OOH planner. I’m now able to make stronger recommendations while better considering other channels and wider factors, thinking beyond placements or formats to focus on how OOH contributes to brand awareness, engagement and trust. That’s made planning feel more joined up and improved how I work with agencies and clients. 

Overall, my experience with Multi‑Channel Masters has been genuinely positive. Stepping outside of OOH has helped me better understand how campaigns are built and where OOH fits alongside other channels, rather than viewing it in isolation.  

Most importantly, it’s built my confidence – in conversations, in planning decisions, and when working with agencies, knowing I have a clearer view of the wider picture. Learning beyond OOH hasn’t taken away from my specialism, it’s strengthened it. Multi‑Channel Masters is a reminder that media planning isn’t one‑size‑fits‑all, and that the best work comes from understanding how different channels work together.”

See highlights from Multi-Channel Masters below 👇

For a long time, media planning has been built on the assumption of precision.

We can reach audiences, and we can understand them clearly enough to justify where and how we do it. That assumption has been carried by the language of targeting, optimisation and performance. For a time it worked, it felt like the systems behind it could support that.

That’s less true today.

Planning these days is happening in a more complex environment. One shaped by privacy changes and a more fragmented media landscape. But it’s not that the volume of data has disappeared, if anything, you could argue the opposite. It’s that how we use it now requires more consideration.

LOCATION WAS THE START POINT. NOW IT’S NOT ENOUGH

Location has often been used as a proxy for audience in OOH, the idea that if you choose the right environments for your plan, the audience will follow, and that is still partially true.

However, the reality of that today is a bit more nuanced.

Movement is less predictable, hybrid working is the norm, people are splitting their time across home, office and flexible workspaces, and routines aren’t as fixed as they once were. As a result, two sites that look equally strong on a plan can deliver very different value depending on who your desired target audience is.

FROM MOVEMENT TO SOMETHING YOU CAN PLAN WITH

That’s the problem we focused on when building Atlas Insights.

At its core, Atlas Insights rings together robust anonymised SDK-based location data, alongside points of interest and real-world journey patterns. Because behaviour isn’t static, the data is refreshed monthly facilitating accuracy across audience groups and seasonal trends.

Rather than simply describing audiences, Atlas Insights identifies where they over-index across all OOH inventory, making it clear not just where panels are, but where particular audiences are more strongly represented. It gives planners a clearer basis for decisions:

• Where to prioritise
• Where to place weight
• Where relevance genuinely sits

Take Rugby Enthusiasts. Over the last month, that audience spiked, driven by local and regional clubs coming to the end of their seasons. That shift showed up clearly in the data. Which meant we could see where that audience was most concentrated at a moment in time and adjust investment accordingly.

THIS ISN’T JUST PROGRAMMATIC OOH THINKING

It’s also worth being clear about where this sits.

There’s a tendency for audience-led thinking to be tied solely to programmatic. In reality, that’s too narrow. Atlas Insights is designed to inform planning itself, across classic OOH, digital OOH, and programmatic OOH, not just inform how OOH is bought, but how decisions are made around formats, weighting and where OOH plays a role in audience optimisation. Audience understanding shouldn’t sit within one buying route but should shape the plan as a whole.

When we launched ATLAS in Ireland back in April, Atlas Insights was a core part of the roadmap, something we would roll out in the weeks that followed. That’s where we are now.

The way we plan has to evolve.

Location still matters; it always will. But what if your audience isn’t there? Understanding who is actually moving through those locations and planning around that, is what makes the difference.

For more information on Atlas, visit https://talonooh.com/products/atlas/

Talon Ireland has announced the appointment of Eoin Carroll as Head of Programmatic, marking a key step in the agency’s strategy to advance programmatic Out of Home (PrOOH) in the Irish market.

The role comes at a pivotal time for Talon Ireland, following the recent launch of Atlas, Talon’s proprietary programmatic platform, and increasing demand in programmatic capabilities as more media owners venture into the space.

Carroll brings over nine years’ experience within Talon Ireland, where he has been central to the development of Talon’s programmatic OOH offering.

In his new role, he will lead the next phase of growth where maximising the value of Talon’s data and technology stack, Atlas and Atlas Insights will be a core component alongside working closely with agency partners to embed PrOOH more effectively within omnichannel campaigns, ensuring that audience intelligence is applied consistently across client planning.

Andrew Sinclair, Managing Director, Talon Ireland, said: “Eoin’s new appointment is a major step forward in our mission to unlock the full potential of programmatic OOH. As the market continues to evolve, having dedicated leadership in this space is critical. Eoin brings nine years of expertise and is ideally positioned to help us continue to grow this area for our clients”

Eoin Carroll, Head of Programmatic, Talon Ireland, added: “Programmatic OOH is becoming an increasingly important part of how brands plan and activate campaigns. With ATLAS now live in Ireland, we’re in a strong position to bring together audience, planning and activation in a more connected way. I’m looking forward to working with our teams and partners to continue developing this space and delivering better outcomes for our clients”.

The Sunday Times has revealed its Best Places to Work 2026 in the UK, and Talon has once again been recognised as one of the winners.  

The nationwide workplace survey recognises and celebrates the UK’s top employers, showcasing organisations that are leading the way in employee engagement, workplace culture and overall employee experience. This year’s list features 567 organisations across industries and sizes, and our accreditation now covers our whole UK group, including Talon, Evolve and Grand Visual. 

Here’s what the judges said about us: 
 
“This independently owned London ad agency chooses benefits that support its 296 staff in real life, not just work life. New parents get six months’ paid parental leave and there are ten paid days for emergency childcare or carer support. Everybody receives a monthly “Feel Good Allowance” to spend on personal wellness, as well as access to therapy for them and their families. An annual global award of £10,000 for standout employees seals the deal.”

This latest recognition follows our Great Place to Work Certified™ accreditation across the UK, Ireland, USA, and Canada, and reflects our continued commitment to creating a workplace where people can thrive.  

Our basic philosophy is that a happy and well-motivated team deliver excellence and naturally go the extra mile. Therefore, we go above and beyond to ensure Talon is a great place to work offering a range of perks including a monthly “Feel Good Allowance”, summer/early Friday finishes, regular social events, free office breakfasts – alongside generous annual leave, maternity/paternity leave and flexible working as standard. 

Some of our policies and practices include: 

• Hybrid Work: Employees typically spend 3 days in the office and 2 days working from home, with “glide time” allowing staff to adjust their working hours.  

• Work from Anywhere: Allows all employees to work from anywhere for up to 2 weeks of the year.  

• 5 Employee-Led Committees covering Charity, Social, Belonging, Sustainability and People. Each has a board sponsor to represent them in the boardroom. 

• Buddy System: Provides new employees with a cross-department support system, introductory lunch and quarterly coffee check-ins 

• School’s Out policy: Supporting working parents and carers with additional flexibility during school holiday periods. 

• Progressive policies including pregnancy loss, menopause and menstrual leave alongside paid fertility leave. 

The Sunday Times partnered with employee-experience platform WorkL to deliver fresh insights into what makes a Best Place to Work. The 2026 survey celebrates employers that are leading the way in employee engagement, workplace culture and overall employee experience, with organisations recognised across different sizes and industry sectors.  

Read the full Best Places to Work 2026 list here. 

If you are interested in working at Talon, view our job openings here.

The role will focus on building a unified measurement framework across the U.S. and U.K.

The tightening link between media investment and measurable business outcomes is driving agencies to better demonstrate impactful results for its clients’ out-of-home investments.

Talon’s new Head of Effectiveness role is a story about where OOH is going – toward unified global standards, deeper analytics and a more accountable future for the channel. This is not a traditional analytics role; it’s a senior leadership position designed to formalize how OOH proves business impact at a time when marketers are demanding clearer ROI across every channel.

Qingxin Zhao, who will begin this role in April based in New York, will oversee research partnerships and leverage IPA accreditation to differentiate Talon and ensure better reporting for clients. Zhao comes from previous roles at IPG Mediabrands and Media Storm. Most recently, she was Head of Revenue Analytics at accessiBe. Zhao will report to Ryan Laul, North America CEO at Talon.

“Marketers want clarity, confidence and proof that their media investments are driving measurable outcomes — and OOH is in a position to deliver that at scale,” said Ryan Laul, North America CEO at Talon. “By adding Qingxin as our dedicated Head of Effectiveness, we’re doubling down on a core pillar of our offering. It’s a major step in shaping the future of OOH as a performance marketing channel.”

OOH agency Talon’s creation of its first Head of Effectiveness, North America role is a direct response to more measurable outcomes and deeper analytics. This comes as the category continues growing from a reach‑based channel into a performance‑driven one – backed by econometrics, mobile/location data, creative testing and MMM inputs.

This Talon U.S. hire signals that independent OOH specialists are now building the same measurement infrastructure typically associated with holding companies. This move also reflects a broader trend of OOH stepping into the same accountability arena as digital and CTV, armed with more robust data and cross‑market learning as part of the agency’s broader strategy.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 may be taking place across the Atlantic, but for UK fans it’s already shaping up to be a summer that’s felt everywhere. On the streets, in pubs, on commutes and in everyday routines, the tournament will live far beyond the screen. 

With 48 teams and 104 matches, this will be the biggest World Cup ever. And despite the distance, the UK is fully tuned in. 81% of people plan to follow the tournament, one in five say they’re more excited than they were for Qatar 2022, and 69% of 18-35‑year‑olds expect to engage. The audience is there, the appetite is clear, and the opportunity is huge.

At a time when attention is fragmented and trust is harder to earn, one channel feels particularly built for the moment. Out of Home.

An Away Tournament, But a Home Crowd Ready 

Even when the World Cup isn’t hosted on home soil, engagement remains powerful. Qatar 2022 demonstrated that wider controversy doesn’t stop people showing up for the football. Despite 72% of UK adults holding negative perceptions of the host nation after the tournament, it still reached 51.2 million viewers in the UK and delivered a £2 billion boost to the UK economy.

Fixtures continue to shape daily routines, conversations and shared rituals. Few events cut through life in quite the same way, which is what keeps the World Cup one of the most culturally powerful moments on the calendar.

Two Home Nations, One Big Moment 

With both England and Scotland competing, interest at home is only amplified. England arrive off the back of a quarter‑final run, while Scotland return to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. Group stages run from 11–27 June, with knockout football stretching through to the final on 19 July, meaning weeks of moments that matter. 

Late‑night kick‑offs, high‑stakes games and knockout drama will pull fans out of their homes and into shared spaces across the UK.

Fans Want to Experience It Together

The World Cup isn’t a solo sport. 71% of people prefer to watch matches in a group rather than alone, and 63% say they’re most excited about the atmosphere out in public. 

Plans vary. 55% expect to watch matches at home, 36% plan to watch in pubs or bars, and 27% at friends’ or family members’ houses. As the tournament unfolds, fans move between spaces, driven by fixtures, form and momentum. Wherever they choose to watch, one thing stays consistent – they’re out in the real world before and after kick‑off. 

Match Days Drive Real‑World Behaviour 

World Cups don’t just change viewing habits, they change how people spend. 70% of fans expect household spending to increase during the tournament, with 49% planning to spend significantly more on alcohol and takeaways. Match days also drive footfall, with 61% saying they’re likely to visit a supermarket on game days.

Preparation is part of the ritual. Stocking up, heading out, meeting friends and building anticipation all happen away from screens. That’s where OOH plays its role, placing brands directly into those high‑intent moments.

OOH Is Already Where Fans Are 

OOH doesn’t interrupt the fan journey, it moves with it. From towns and cities to transport hubs, shops and roadside routes, OOH is already embedded into everyday life. 

In fact, 95% of Brits encounter OOH weekly, more than TV, online or social. Around major sporting events, that presence matters even more. 77% of people notice brands surrounding sports moments, 59% say OOH ads referencing the World Cup make them pay more attention, and 48% say those ads influence their match‑day purchases. 

OOH doesn’t just deliver reach – it drives action. 

Smarter Media for a Tougher Advertising Game

 As pressures grow on traditional channels, brands need smarter tactics. Linear TV advertising has declined 7% year‑on‑year, with confectionery and snacks down 61%, and five of the twelve biggest LHF advertisers pausing activity entirely toward the end of last year. 

At the same time, HFSS‑compliant OOH panels are trading 30% ahead, creating an opportunity to maintain reach without compromising compliance. Programmatic OOH plays a key role here, allowing brands to rebalance investment as TV fragments.

Campaigns powered by Atlas deliver results across the funnel, including 2.3x higher brand preference, 15% higher brand relevance, and 1.4x uplift in purchase intent compared to traditional OOH norms. 

Relevance in Real Time

Programmatic OOH enables brands to react to the moment as it happens. By using real‑world triggers such as time of day, location, weather, temperature, pollen count and match progression, campaigns can stay contextually relevant throughout the tournament. 

That relevance delivers impact. Real‑world ads that leverage local context drive a 32% increase in attention, and in one example campaign, 99% of people said the messaging felt relevant. This responsiveness also translates into stronger brand outcomes. In a campaign running across both linear and RTB environments, the use of RTB delivered a 6ppt uplift in unprompted awareness and an 8ppt lift in perceptions of the brand being exciting versus linear OOH alone. 

With 66% of UK marketers planning to increase their use of dynamic creative in 2026, brands are clearly gearing up to respond not just to headline moments, but continuously as stories unfold in real life. 

Creativity That Connects 

The World Cup isn’t just about football. 38% of fans say they would enjoy the tournament even without watching the matches, 69% want historic or memorable moments, and 49% are drawn to the atmosphere and rituals that surround it. 

Creative OOH allows brands to tap into that emotional side of the tournament. 91% of people prefer funny brands, rising to 94% among Gen Z and Millennials, while 76% choose brands they feel connected to. 

That connection drives real results. 57% spend more with brands they feel connected to, while 41% will walk away from brands that fail to make them smile or engage. Creativity turns visibility into loyalty.

Creativity That Delivers Impact 

Well‑crafted OOH doesn’t just look good, it performs. Creative OOH can deliver a 35% increase in purchase consideration, 56% higher ad recall, and 17% uplift in consumer action. Adding social mechanics boosts effectiveness even further, delivering five times stronger memory encoding compared to standard formats. 

From murals that generate 10x more brain stimulation than prints and reduce cortisol levels by 22%, to experiential activations where 98% of people say they’re more inclined to purchase afterwards, OOH allows brands to be genuinely felt.

Trust Is Built in the Real World 

In an environment where fans are vocal and scrutiny is high, trust matters. 72% of people say bad ads hurt brand perception, 66% say intrusive ads reduce trust, and two‑thirds would boycott a brand if that trust is lost. 

Public messaging helps counter that risk. Ads seen in public are 43% more believable, and one in three people say they trust OOH advertising. Trust‑building campaigns also deliver 65% greater business impact, proving credibility and effectiveness go hand in hand. 

A Responsible Place to Show Up 

The scale of the 2026 World Cup brings responsibility. The tournament is projected to generate 3.7 million tonnes of CO₂, while only two of eighteen climate commitments have been completed, and no bi‑annual climate reports have been published. 

Fans expect more. 87% believe major sporting events must act on ecological issues, 89% expect more sustainable kits and equipment, and 66% say football still needs to do more on sustainability. 

While only 29% of people currently perceive OOH as a sustainable channel, the reality is different. OOH produces lower carbon emissions per impression than other measured media, operates with transparent supply chains, and 46% of its revenue is reinvested into public services and community infrastructure. 

Why OOH Is Built for This World Cup 

The World Cup will be felt far beyond the pitch. It will live in routines, gatherings, purchases and shared journeys across the UK.

OOH reaches fans wherever they are, speaks to them in the moments that matter, builds trust at scale, delivers creativity people remember and does so responsibly. 

That’s why, this World Cup, we’re big fans of OOH.

Built on years of proprietary audience intelligence and proven benchmarks

Talon, the world’s leading independent Out of Home (OOH) specialist, today announced the launch of Atlas Planner, an AI-powered planning engine that brings greater intelligence, agility and accountability to programmatic digital OOH (PDOOH).

Through an intuitive, conversational interface, Atlas Planner can interpret a brief – uploaded or written in natural language prompts – to build a campaign framework instantly, surfacing recommended audiences, environments and buying parameters within seconds. Its interactive map then visualizes how these choices influence available screens, impressions, CPMs and delivery in real time — giving planners and clients a clear, intuitive view of how a campaign comes to life across locations.

The launch of Atlas Planner represents a significant next step for Talon’s programmatic capabilities. No longer a standalone demand-side platform (DSP), Atlas Planner becomes a core component of a fully connected pDOOH tech-stack that now combines years of behavioural intelligence from Talon’s audience data platform, AI‑powered planning and dynamic creative optimisation into one connected workflow.

Built on years of proprietary data, proven benchmarks and real‑world client success, the Atlas suite creates a single intelligent ecosystem under the Atlas brand:

• Atlas Insights (formerly known as Ada) identifies who to reach
• Atlas Planner determines how to reach them most effectively
• Atlas Studio (powered by Grand Visual) ensures the message resonates in context

Atlas Planner is the newest innovation at the core of the Atlas suite, using AI to interrogate Talon’s deep behavioural datasets, generate smarter audience strategies, refine targeting and forecast performance in real time.

It supports advanced optimization and trigger‑based buying, real‑time programmatic activation, with seamless integration into the wider programmatic ecosystem, enabling connected planning at global scale.

True to Talon’s people‑led, tech‑enabled philosophy, Atlas Planner is designed to elevate expert judgement rather than replace it, surfacing insight at speed while keeping strategy and creativity firmly with Talon’s teams.

Andy Stevens, Global Chief Product Officer at Talon, said: “Atlas Planner is the next step in our journey to reach people in the real world with more precision, more relevance and greater impact. Powered by an AI planning engine, it brings multiple OOH-specific data sources together and puts them directly in planners’ hands, so teams can move faster and make better decisions. Crucially, this isn’t automation for automation’s sake. It’s people led, tech enabled planning that gives our clients clarity, confidence and clearer ROI.”

Atlas Planner launches immediately in the United States, where demand for enhanced programmatic OOH continues to accelerate. The UK and Canada will follow in July, with other Europe and international markets rolling out through 2026 as part of Talon’s global product roadmap.

Sue Frogley, Global CEO at Talon, added: “Atlas Planner’s powerful AI architecture is designed to elevate, not replace, the expertise of our world-class OOH talent. By surfacing richer data, faster insight and more flexible activation into a single platform, we’ve created a full OOH tech‑stack that gives our teams, and our clients, a huge leap forward in capability. Launching first in the US reflects the scale of opportunity we see there.”

Author: Caroline Decourcy, Effectiveness Director

The FIFA World Cup is one of the most widely viewed and followed sporting events in the world. It will be jointly hosted by the countries of Canada, Mexico, and the USA, featuring 48 teams, expanding from the previous 32-team format, competing in 104 matches across multiple host cities. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is projected to attract 5 million in-person spectators and 6 billion global viewers. You can already feel the excitement building and creeping in – from small comments in the kitchen at work, a revived WhatsApp group, to someone asking “who’s got the biggest TV.” With Ireland still in the play-offs, that early background noise has an extra edge to it, setting the mood for this summer’s World Cup.

The tournament dates are set from June 11 to July 19, 2026, with the finals taking place in July. This summer’s World Cup will introduce mandatory three-minute water breaks during each half due to the hot climates in North America. These breaks present new advertising opportunities, including broadcasters airing adverts during the pauses, which adds a fresh dynamic to the overall advertising landscape surrounding the event.

Our latest research into Irish World Cup behaviour reveals that the real action doesn’t sit neatly within the 90 minutes on the pitch. Far from it. In fact, the moments surrounding match days are where the real story unfolds, and where brands and broadcasters need to pay closer attention to engage fans effectively.

Who we’re Really Talking To: Fans

Using our PULSE_ Brand Tracker – Talon’s bespoke measurement platform, we partnered with Opinions to interview 501 recent OOH recallers and found that over half (53%) plan on watching the FIFA World Cup 2026. But it’s what sits behind that headline that tells the real story.

Fans aren’t gravitating to one predictable viewing spot. Instead, they’re marking the occasion(s) as an opportunity to socialise in pubs (42%), at friends’ houses (28%), or opening their doors to host (25%). It’s a mix of settings, routines, and social setups that give us a much richer picture of how the FIFA World Cup tournament will be experienced. Through all these variations, one thing stays consistent: audiences are on the move.

When you look at their travel patterns, this becomes even clearer. Over half (51%) say they’ll stay in their local area to watch games, while 36% will travel within the same town or city if necessary, and 8% go so far as to say they will travel to another town or city to watch the games. Not only that, but these audiences predominantly choose public transport to get around, with 53% choosing the bus, 28% plan to use taxis, 25% plan to jump on the LUAS, and a further 21% plan on taking the DART. High-traffic areas such as transit hubs, airports, and city centres are targeted for World Cup OOH advertising during the tournament.

People are coming together, splitting up, re-grouping, and creating spikes of activity across local towns and cities, making the lead-up to match days an important time for brands to connect with fans beyond the pitch.

The Pre-Match Rituals for the FIFA World Cup 2026

One of the clearest patterns in the data is everything that happens before the whistle blows. Fans are showing up well before kick-off, and the build-up is where some of the most consistent behaviours take place. With 52% buying snacks or alcohol, 40% ordering takeaway, 30% socialising before matches, 30% placing bets, and 25% stopping at shops, there’s a surprising amount of activity happening long before anyone sits down to watch.

Multisensory experiences in advertising can generate 3–4x higher engagement compared to standard displays. Programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) is now used for real-time score updates during the World Cup, while Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) allows instant ad updates based on match results and live events, keeping fans engaged as teams advance through each round. Using live data in OOH campaigns increases brain response by 32%, making these strategies highly effective for brands looking to connect with fans on the pitch and beyond. Interactive elements such as gamified installations and geofencing tied to stadiums, pubs, and other venues further enhance fan engagement, encouraging active participation and social sharing.

These pre-match rituals aren’t just habits; they directly translate into spending. Among those planning to watch, 53% say they’ll spend more on snacks, 52% on beers, 45% on takeaways, 42% on crisps, and a quarter plan to spend more on wine (25%) and spirits (23%). Only 10% say they won’t spend more at all. This matters because 90% of fans take follow-up actions after seeing World Cup OOH advertising during major sporting events, and 96% of interested fans would actively engage with such ads.

Then there’s the mid-week shift.

Almost half (49%) of fans say their social habits will change during the tournament, with 40% planning to socialise more mid-week than usual. This opens up entirely new windows where fans are out, about, and more open to influence.

As Ireland leans into the possibility of a World Cup summer, our research makes one thing clear: regardless of the results, fans will be moving, gathering, stocking up, spending, re-routing their days, and reshaping their weeks around the tournament.

Not just in the 90 minutes themselves, but in everything that surrounds them. Taken together, these behaviours turn the World Cup into a full summer season lived outside of the home.

Ross Cunningham, Client Director at Talon writes: There’s always been something interesting about the rhythm of the out of home industry the week Valentine’s Day rolls around, timelines fill with loud declarations, and suddenly every brand wants to make its presence felt. It struck me that this behaviour isn’t far from what we, as planners and marketers, lean on all year long.

The more time I spend looking at how an OOH campaign plan is built and refined, the clearer it becomes that OOH still holds a very particular place in the media mix. OOH advertising offers high-impact, unskippable visibility in high-traffic areas, making it a unique form of advertising media. Yes, you might argue it’s not the newest marketing medium on the schedule, but it continues to do the one thing many media channels struggle with – it continues to deliver something tangible in a world that’s getting increasingly hard to pin down.

Outdoor Advertising: A Broadcast Medium Where Consumers Choose to Engage

OOH advertising reaches up to 89% of the population weekly, providing brands with unparalleled public presence that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Highly visible in public spaces, OOH relies on strategic placements to maximise audience engagement. What makes this reach even more impactful is the shift in audience behaviour—people are actively seeking real-world experiences, stepping away from screens, and choosing moments outside their homes.

Take Ireland last summer as an example: stadiums packed to capacity and sold-out major gigs demonstrated this hunger for shared experiences. For many, Oasis at Croke Park became a defining moment of this cultural shift. Now, with Ireland in the World Cup play-offs, that same energy is building again. Whether it’s sporting gear or festive attire, people want to be part of the moment. Businesses can leverage OOH to target specific audiences in these high-traffic locations, ensuring their message reaches the right people at the right time.

When Something Shows Up in Public Space, We Instinctively Trust It More

There’s a unique credibility that comes from any advertisement boldly standing in full view. Research reveals that OOH advertising drives a 7% uplift in brand trust — more than any other advertising channel. Unlike many platforms struggling with authenticity, brand safety, and declining trust, out of home advertising remains refreshingly straightforward. It occupies physical spaces people navigate daily, and as Justin Gibbons points out, the public realm holds you to a higher standard—you can’t spin your way out of a bus shelter on Leeson Street. This inherent transparency makes OOH ads powerful trust builders in the advertising landscape.

But Here’s the Surprising Power of OOH Advertising

What’s been interesting to watch over the last 5 years is how OOH has shown teeth in places people never associated with it. For all the talk about its broadcast strength, the medium is sharper at the other end of the funnel too. Programmatic DOOH has been a major player in that shift.

And if you spend enough time looking under the hood of campaigns (as we do), you start to notice something else. Programmatic OOH quietly handles the moments when plans need to shift gears, the times when a campaign has to go from brand building to driving action, sometimes faster than anyone had planned for.

Yet here we are, seeing programmatic DOOH drive a 3x increase in purchase intent. While classic OOH continues to do what’s always done best, lifting awareness and recall by over 50%. So yes, for some, the perception is outdated. OOH has become a genuine all-rounder, still doing the big public moments its famous for, while also delivering the kind of responsiveness and creative ideas that keep planners sane and make OOH campaigns more engaging and successful when the KPI’s start shapeshifting.

Let’s Not Forget What OOH Has Always Done Better Than Most

And the more I look at the medium, the more obvious it becomes that even with all this newfound flexibility, the core of OOH hasn’t shifted an inch. It still makes brands feel bigger. Fame isn’t complicated, but what is interesting is that it doesn’t come from volume alone – it comes from presence.

It’s the basic stuff, really. A message in a space people trust, displayed on billboards, digital screens, and other OOH advertising formats that can’t be skipped. OOH marketing continues to grow in importance, with the OOH space offering brands dynamic media and creative ideas to reach audiences in public environments. A medium that turns brands into part of the everyday landscape through digital signage, transit ads, and place-based media. That’s how you build fame, and even as the industry bends and shifts, that truth still holds. If anything, it’s becoming more valuable.

With Valentine’s Day tomorrow and the annual panic-buying of flowers about to commence, it felt like a good time to take stock on why brands and advertisers keep coming back to OOH. Strip it back and the logic is fairly simple. OOH shows up in the places that matter most—major roads, commercial and industrial areas, convenience stores—and earns trust because it lives out in the open. It reacts when campaign objectives inevitably change, and when it’s used well, it has a knack for making brands feel bigger.

It just might take more than a bouquet of flowers to get some of us to a World Cup—that’s next months problem.

The Future of OOH Advertising

Looking ahead, the future of OOH advertising is brighter—and smarter—than ever. With more control, more formats, and more ways to engage, OOH advertising is set to play a leading role in the next chapter of advertising—helping brands promote their services, achieve their goals, and stay ahead in a rapidly changing world. To explore why this year is truly OOH’s time to shine, be sure to read the full piece from our Managing Director, sharing expert perspectives on the exciting opportunities ahead.

The alliance aims to strengthen transparency and accountability for Digital OOH campaigns. 

Talon, the leading Out of Home (OOH) advertising agency, today announced a strategic partnership with UniLED Software, a trusted third-party verification provider, to strengthen transparency and accountability in Digital OOH campaigns.

The move will bolster digital verification for Talon clients by providing an intuitive and market leading UI experience alongside providing access to verify 100% of the UK OOH market via PlayOut and other connections to Media Owners content management systems. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to transparency and trust, giving advertisers consistent, independently validated standardised reporting.

PlayOut, launched by Outsmart in July 2023, is the UK OOH sector’s industry-wide data warehouse that manages and enables the sharing of Out of Home Media Owner playout data – delivering daily updates, real-time visibility, and accurate reporting through a standardised framework.

UniLED’s award-winning platform, UniLIVE, will enhance PlayOut by seamlessly integrating and validating campaigns against Route-verified impacts, adding third-party assurance beyond simple play counts. This ensures extremely high levels of accuracy, consistency, and credibility whilst providing a single source of truth within the OOH market.

By partnering with UniLED, Talon strengthens its commitment to transparency, trust, and innovation in Digital OOH while driving the industry toward greater accountability and operational efficiency.

Following a strong performance in 2025, Out‑of‑Home (OOH) moves into 2026 with confidence, momentum and even greater opportunity. The channel continues to evolve at pace, fuelled by bold creativity, richer data sophistication and technology‑enabled solutions that are delivering clearer, more measurable impact for advertisers than ever before. 

UK OOH revenue continued its upward trajectory in 2025, up +1.3% year‑on‑year to £1.413bn.¹ And despite ongoing economic headwinds, the outlook for 2026 remains strong, with revenues expected to grow a further 4.1% to £1.471bn.²

Digital OOH (DOOH) is no longer an emerging channel, it is the clear engine of OOH investment. By Q3 2025, DOOH represented 67% of total OOH spend, reflecting how advertisers are actively shifting budgets towards programmatic-led environments that offer greater control, smarter targeting and faster creative optimisation.³

As OOH continues to evolve, several key priorities will shape its direction in 2026. These include helping brands navigate new LHF regulations, strengthening brand‑building strategies amid audience fragmentation and ongoing AI disruption, unlocking the full potential of DOOH innovation, delivering culturally relevant creative, and driving measurable, sustainable impact. Together, these forces will ensure OOH remains an adaptable, future‑ready and essential part of the advertising mix. 

Beyond these priorities, we believe 2026 will be defined by five key trends shaping the future of OOH: 

1. The Return to Brand Building 
2. Joy and Humour Turns Viewers to Fans 
3. Context That Connects Not Creeps 
4. Cultural Relevance is Critical 
5. Trust Becomes the Ultimate Currency

1. The Return to Brand Building

More than a third (37%) of UK advertisers plan to increase their brand advertising investment in 2026.⁴

Brands are shifting back to consistent, always‑on brand‑building – not because budgets are suddenly overflowing, but because confidence is fragile and every pound needs to work harder. The winning approach blends long‑term brand strength with short‑term performance: continuous visibility that builds mental availability, paired with smart activation that converts demand when it matters. 

Marketers are also moving past siloed, superficial metrics in favour of holistic measurement frameworks that prove real business outcomes. And with even the biggest tech platforms leaning more heavily into brand advertising, the industry’s direction of travel is clear: brand strength is set to play an increasingly pivotal role in the advertising mix. 

The OOH Advantage:

• Brand Stature and Fame: IPA data shows OOH pushes brand perceptions hard – driving +88% lift in premium cues, +41% in esteem and +32% in fame.⁵ 
• Always-On Visibility: OOH naturally delivers continuous presence, keeping brands top‑of‑mind and building mental availability over time. 
• Proven Accountable Impact: Improved measurement and attribution make OOH a more accountable brand investment, evidencing both long‑term equity gains and short‑term performance. 
• Brand + Performance Working Together: OOH builds fame at scale while strengthening the effectiveness of performance channels that capture demand. 
• Scale, Trust and Credibility: In a world of fluctuating digital trust, OOH offers a high‑impact, brand‑safe environment that reinforces authority in the real world. 

2. Joy and Humour Turns Viewers to Fans

72% of people say they would choose a humorous brand over one that doesn’t make them laugh.⁶

After years of crisis fatigue and a relentless news cycle, audiences are actively gravitating towards content that lifts their mood. Humour – still massively underused in advertising – cuts through clutter, boosts memorability and strengthens emotional connection. It’s not just a creative choice; it’s a behavioural trigger that influences brand preference.

Yet 83% of UK consumers say their favourite brands don’t make them feel valued.⁷ There’s a clear opportunity for brands to use joy and humour more intentionally: to reconnect with people, build loyalty, stand out from competitors and balance the harder, more transactional messages that dominate many campaigns.

The OOH Advantage: 

• Emotional Impact at Scale: With 95% of purchase decisions driven by emotion, OOH’s big, bold formats amplify humour and joy instantly.⁸
• Memorable in the Real World: Humorous OOH disrupts daily routines, creating standout moments that build mental availability fast. 
• Built-in Social Currency: Joyful OOH sparks organic sharing, extending reach across social and digital without extra spend. 
• Warmth & Distinction: Light‑hearted creative makes brands feel human and likeable – and brands that build emotional connection see a +306% uplift in customer lifetime value.⁹

3. Context that Connects, Not Creeps 

57% of British adults say personalised adverts creep them out.¹⁰

Sensitivity to hyper‑personalisation is rising, especially online. People feel uneasy when ads appear to be tracking their searches, conversations or one‑off interactions – and the result is growing resistance to anything that feels overly intrusive.  

But this doesn’t mean relevance is unwanted. Far from it. 76% of people pay attention to ads that feel relevant, and two‑thirds say relevant ads help them discover new products.¹¹ The real issue isn’t personalisation itself – it’s personalisation that feels too close, too data‑heavy or too invasive. 

The OOH Advantage:

• Context Without Creepiness: OOH delivers relevance through time, place and environment – not personal data – avoiding the intrusive feel of hyper‑personalised digital ads. 
• Brand-Safe & Trust-Building: Because OOH doesn’t rely on tracking individuals, it feels transparent and respectful, helping brands build credibility and trust. 
• Helpful, Not Intrusive: Dynamic, location‑aware OOH can respond to real‑world moments and needs without crossing privacy lines. 
• Broad Reach with Positive Perception: Speaking to audiences collectively maintains scale while aligning with rising sensitivity around data use. 55% of people say OOH campaigns feel relevant to them.¹²

4. Cultural Relevance is Critical

82% of Brits say brands play an important role in shaping culture, and 80% believe brands should reflect modern Britain.¹³

Consumers now expect campaigns to mirror the moments, issues and pressures shaping their daily lives. With the cost‑of‑living continuing to influence behaviour, people are looking for brands that help them make ethical, sustainable choices without the premium price tag. 

Major cultural moments – from sporting events to festivals and national holidays – offer powerful opportunities to connect authentically. But they only land when brands feel timely, in touch and genuinely reflective of the culture around them. Campaigns that blend meaning with emotion and spotlight affordable, sustainable options can resonate deeply without coming across as worthy or preachy. 

The OOH Advantage: 

• Cultural Presence in Real Time: OOH lives in the moments, places and events that shape culture – making it perfect for timely, context‑driven messaging. 
• Shared Experiences at Scale: From sporting events to festivals and national milestones, OOH reaches people collectively, reinforcing community, pride and shared values. 
• Meaning Without Moralising: Appearing in everyday environments allows OOH to communicate purpose, affordability and sustainability in a grounded, non‑preachy way. 
• Emotional in Public Space: OOH’s physical presence helps brands blend meaning and emotion, creating resonance during moments that genuinely matter. 
• Proven Impact: Cultural moments in messaging delivers +6% higher action and 1.3x more likely to drive purchase intent.¹⁴

5. Trust Becomes the Ultimate Currency

92% of people say trust is essential when deciding whether to engage with a brand.¹⁵

As AI becomes part of everyday life, consumers are increasingly questioning what’s real and what’s machine‑made. With trust now a decisive factor — and 60% of people doubting the authenticity of online content – credibility has become a critical differentiator.¹⁶ 

In a world where digital content can be replicated, manipulated or fabricated in seconds, real‑world signals matter more than ever. Channels that offer verifiable, physical presence will play a key role in anchoring trust, building credibility and triggering genuine discovery. 

The OOH Advantage:

• Real-World Proof Points: OOH provides a tangible, unalterable presence – a physical proof point that reassures consumers in an era of synthetic, AI‑generated content. 
• Transparency that Builds Confidence: When paired with clear messaging around responsible AI use, OOH reinforces brand integrity and strengthens consumer trust. 
• The Ultimate Prompt: OOH acts as a real‑world trigger for AI‑driven discovery journeys, sparking curiosity and sending consumers into search, social or retail with confidence. 
• Boosting Other Channels with Real-World Credibility: By rooting campaigns in the physical world, OOH gives digital, social and AI‑powered experiences a layer of authenticity they can’t generate alone. 
• Growing Trust, Year After Year: 58% of consumers trust OOH advertising, and trust continues to rise year‑on‑year – at a time when confidence in many other channels is declining. OOH is stepping into the trust vacuum and becoming a crucial anchor for credibility.¹⁷

2026 is already shaping up to be a defining year for OOH. In a world full of noise, uncertainty and digital doubt, OOH gives brands what people value most: real experiences, real connection and real trust. The trends driving the year ahead play perfectly into the channel’s strengths – and into Talon’s belief in smarter, bolder, more human advertising. 

Brands that harness the power of culture, context, joy and credibility will stand out fast. And with the right data, creativity and intelligence behind them, they’ll do more than show up – they’ll make an impact. OOH is ready for the moment. At Talon, we’re ready to help brands own it.

Sources

1. Outsmart, PwC ↩︎
2. Talon ↩︎
3. WARC/AA Expenditure Report Q2 ↩︎
4. 2026 Media Budgets Survey, Isba, Ebiquity, World Federation of Advertisers (WFA)​ ↩︎
5. Talon Benchmarks 2025 ↩︎
6. Oracle ↩︎
7. SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement ↩︎
8. Talon Benchmarks ↩︎
9. Motista ↩︎
10. YouGov: Ad-verse Reactions ↩︎
11. Verve, In-App User Privacy Report 2025​ ↩︎
12. Talon Benchmarks 2025 ↩︎
13. WPP, The Consumer Equality Equation ↩︎
14. Talon Benchmarks 2025 ↩︎
15. Accenture Life Trends Survey, 2024 ↩︎
16. Marketreach The Trust Factor, 2025​ ↩︎
17. Mfour & Vistar Media​ ↩︎