Talon is pleased to announce that it has once again achieved the prestigious IPA Effectiveness Accreditation. The IPA launched its inaugural IPA Effectiveness Accreditation in 2021 and signals an outstanding commitment to putting effectiveness at the heart of your agency and being true partners of growth.

This year, Talon is among the select group of 30 agencies to receive this esteemed recognition which marks a significant milestone and is a testament to the fact that effectiveness is ingrained into the very essence of our agency. WE’RE MORE CREATIVE, EFFECTIVE, MEASURABLE, THAN EVER BEFORE and we’re proud to continue delivering great value for our clients whilst inspiring others and looking after our planet. Our dedicated teams hard work is truly commendable, and we couldn’t be prouder!

Luke Willbourn, UK Managing Director commented: “We’re once again extremely proud to receive the IPA Effectiveness Accreditation, a testament to our unwavering commitment to prioritising effectiveness at Talon. Our dedication to achieving exceptional client outcomes and advancing effectiveness within the realm of OOH remains stronger than ever.”


Emily Alcorn, Head of Effectiveness added: “At Talon we are constantly trying to understand and measure what success looks like for our business and importantly our clients. Retaining IPA effectiveness accreditation is an endorsement that we are delivering on our core values to drive innovation in the market, champion creativity and to build a responsible evidence-based economy in OOH.”

A new report from PwC, commissioned by Outsmart, finds the UK Out of Home (OOH) sector contributed £411m to support public services, infrastructure, communities and employees in 2021 – representing 46% of its advertising revenue.

Over the last 14 years, OOH media owners have invested £1.1bn into installing and maintaining public infrastructure including bus shelters, free telecommunications services and even lifesaving defibrillators. OOH media owners directly contributed £188m in 2021 towards public finances through business rates and rent.

In addition, PwC estimate​s​ a further c.£29m helped support charities and communities by donations, heavily discounted or donated media space and staff hours given to charity.

The report, based on a survey of OOH media owners representing 92% of industry revenue, also highlights how the sector has increased the share of renewables to over 90% of electricity consumption whilst innovating to increase​ the​ use of recyclable materials. 

Tim Lumb​,​ Director of Outsmart​,​ comments “This report highlights Out of Home is not just about fantastic advertising, it​’​s also about investing in our relationship with the public by providing highly valued services up and down the country and supporting good causes.”

​​Andy Lobo, Senior Manager at ​PwC​,​ said “The Out of Home sector has long benefitted both advertisers and local communities as demonstrated by the wide range of OOH media owner investments and initiatives – from funding public infrastructure through to celebrating and promoting diversity on advertising screens across the country. It is exciting to see the sector making progress at tackling a broader set of environmental and social challenges too​.​”

The participating media owners are Alight Media, Bay Media, BlowUP Media, Clear Channel, Global, JCDecaux UK, Mass Media, Ocean Outdoor and Wildstone. 

Download the report – Supporting UK Society: The Impact of the Out of Home Sector – from Outsmart

Lucy Baumgartner, Senior Effectiveness Executive at Talon shares the need to know on Talon’s OOH Benchmarks.

With over 10 years’ experience planning and executing Out of Home (OOH) campaigns, Talon have always prided ourselves on thinking outside. We champion the OOH medium that is more effective and more measurable than ever before.  

At Talon, campaign effectiveness is underpinned by a simple but sophisticated benchmark database – which is unlike any other available in the market. With our extensive knowledge of OOH measurement and through following a consistent measurement framework, we have collected a wealth of data covering almost 200 campaigns which provides unique insight into OOH’s effectiveness.  

This data is fundamental to Talon’s planning cycle and forms the bedrock of campaigns. In this series, we will be deep diving into the interesting world of OOH effectiveness.

What are benchmarks and what do they tell us? 

“Benchmarks” is a word that is used a lot when it comes to effectiveness, but what are they? What do they mean and why are they imperative to OOH planning? 

In the world of measurement, synonymous with acronyms, jargon and countless metrics, understanding campaign results and performance can be confusing. Benchmarks are a fundamental part of simplifying this process. They allow us to accurately assess and understand campaign performance by providing an essential point of comparison, giving us the ability to compare performance to wider norms.

Additionally, they provide our clients with the context to effectively assess whether a campaign’s objectives have been achieved. Reporting an uplift in any brand metric is fantastic, however without understanding the context and norms of our channel, that result doesn’t mean a lot, and the campaign could be underperforming against industry standards.

How have we created our Talon Benchmarks? 

At Talon, campaign measurement doesn’t stop at individual clients and brands. A consistent measurement approach across clients, with a standardised methodology and questionnaire, has allowed us to merge and amalgamate all the data from our brand uplift studies over the past six years, creating a rich database of campaign results. From this database, average uplifts across all brand metrics have been created, providing the much-needed point of comparison that campaign assessment requires. For example, on average OOH drives an uplift of +6% in brand awareness and +7% in purchase intent.

Watch this space for more Benchmarks insight… 

While at their surface, our Talon benchmarks are simple, in this series we will explore how layers of analysis into this database provides highly sophisticated insight which underpins Talon planning strategies, informs OOH’s role in the wider media landscape and helps answer industry wide questions.

Talon is delighted to share that Atlas, our automated digital OOH buying platform which enables advertisers to access premium OOH inventory across multiple markets and formats via integrations with leading supply-side platforms (SSPs) has been shortlisted for the Best Buy-Side Programmatic Platform award in the Digiday Technology Awards.

The Digiday Technology Awards recognise the technology modernising media and marketing. Additional technology categories include Best AI Tool, Best Content Management System, Best CRM Platform, Best Content Marketing Platform, Best Customer Data Platform, and Best In-Store Technology.

When compared to traditional OOH planning, Atlas effectively drives 2.3x more uplifts in Brand Preference and 1.6x stronger uplifts in Purchase Intent. Atlas further drives the bottom funnel metrics that are normally associated with digital and social media advertising, seeing 2.6x stronger uplifts in Purchase Intent when compared to social media. Average uplifts across Atlas campaigns in Brand Preference have seen a year-on-year increase of +78%, highlighting how Talon Tech evolves and improves each year​.

Nicola Fox, Head of Programmatic, said “This nomination showcases the innovative use of Atlas, which aims to redefine the Programmatic Digital Out of Home (prOOH) landscape. It’s the only audience-first OOH DSP, utilising bespoke audience targeting from Talon’s DMP Ada to enable both real-time bidding and open direct routes to market. This has enabled optimisation for every campaign against multiple factors including audience, price, goal, and time”. The Digiday Technology Awards winners will be announced on Tuesday, 29th August 2023.

In an age where data serves as the cornerstone of effective decision-making, harnessing its power has become a non-negotiable for businesses throughout the marketing and advertising industry. Talon recognises this imperative and has been using Ada to deliver audience-first campaigns for some of its biggest clients since its launch in 2018.

Constantly consuming billions of real and recent audience data points has allowed us to launch a new Ada dashboard for people across the agency to access instant insights. The Ada Insights Dashboard builds on the success of the Covid Audience Dashboard, which proved to be an effective and valuable tool that produced intelligent, data-led recommendations during unstable circumstances. The new dashboard continues to embrace Ada Lovelace’s (Ada’s namesake – a pioneer in computer programming) innovative spirit by simplifying access to unparalleled audience insights, making planning data-driven OOH campaigns more accessible. 

Tailored to the unique needs of the outdoor advertising landscape, the Ada Insights Dashboard has evolved to better visualise granular audience behaviour across the UK. This data is used to optimise when, where and how OOH campaigns are deployed to achieve maximum exposure and engagement for our clients. Our proprietary DMP, Ada, houses footfall data to nearly 1 million Points of Interest (POIs) over the past 12 months. We use this data to better understand how audience behaviour varies across days, regions, and categories alongside the payback OOH can deliver. Ingesting over 1 billion location observations via SDK data, the platform filters footfall data by category and region to inform and optimise planning strategies for our clients. 

The Ada Insights Dashboard enables Talon’s planning teams to: 

This dashboard, combined with Talon’s other proprietary AdTech platforms, wealth of effectiveness data and experienced planning experts ensures that we are continuing to deliver the best OOH solutions and successful outcomes for our clients. 

Luke Willbourn, new UK MD said that the Ada Insights Dashboard is a great tool for Talon to enhance our audience-first planning with easier access to effective insights. “By simplifying complex data sets into instant actionable results and real-time updates, we’re able to craft campaigns that better resonate with client audiences, ultimately driving greater engagement and return on investment”. 

In an era where data reigns supreme, tools like the Ada Insights Dashboard makes data-driven OOH planning simpler. At Talon, we believe that strategic audience-first insights are the foundation for effective OOH campaigns. 

At Talon, we’re committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels they belong. We champion equality and believe in the power of female leadership – and the positive impact it can bring whole. This July, we co-sponsored MAD//Fest London’s new Female Leaders’ Bar, a vibrant and inclusive networking space that celebrated female leadership and set out to inspire the next generation of female leaders.

This innovative space served as a hub for celebrating the achievements of female industry leaders and fostering meaningful connections between current and future leaders. It created an inclusive environment where the power of diversity and the strength of female leadership were at the forefront – and was a great meeting place to connect with over 1500 people daily.

Championing Women at Talon

Talon holds a people-focussed philosophy. We pride ourselves on the people who represent our business. We strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, and supporting initiatives like the Female Leaders’ Bar is central to our values. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is led by the People Team and the Belong COG. Belong helps to shape our internal working practices, policies and recruitment strategy to ensure Talon is a great place to work for all talent.

Supportive Policies in Place

We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential for driving innovation and achieving success. We’ve implemented several policies that support women and working parents in the workplace. Our Schools Out! policy recognises the need for flexibility during school holidays for parents, and our Smarter Working policy offers flexibility in relation to location and hours worked. We also have dedicated policies and companywide education programmes from fertility assistance through to menopause. Additionally, we offer enhanced maternity pay and emergency backup child and elder care to provide comprehensive support when needed.

Recognising Female Talent

Talon has recently promoted a suite of talented individuals within the organisation. Vicky Marshall and Nicci Loudon have taken on the roles of Head of Client, while Jo Kennedy and Shannon Clark have been appointed Business Directors. Furthermore, India Relph has been promoted to Planning Director, and Laurie McAllister now leads as Head of Marketing – UK, Grand Visual & International. These women embody our core values and the essence of leadership, inspiring others with their passion, big ideas, empathy and dedication.

Some of the Talon team at the Female Leaders Bar

Top Tips from Our Female Leaders:

To celebrate our sponsorship of the Female Leaders’ Bar, we asked our talented female leaders for three words that encompass leadership and the women who have inspired them. Here are their answers:

Sophie Pemberton, Group Chief Strategy Officer at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader are honesty, empathy and a sense of humour.

A female leader who inspired me is Katie Ingram. Strength, smarts and sass, what a combo.

Elise Wise, Business Director at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader are resilience, empathy and to be trustworthy.

A female leader who inspired me is Golda Meir.

Jo Kennedy, Business Director at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader is – to show great emotional intelligence, to lead from the front and inspire confidence at all levels. 

A female leader who inspired me is Carolyn McCall. I saw her present at WACL a few years ago and her entire speech was captivating and inspiring. I still remember her discussing her career whilst she had a young family, and the advice she gave to “just say to yourself and your company, this is such a short period of time in my career where I need a little support and flexibility. A good manager and company will understand, and for that you will give hard work and loyalty” I took that on board and not only lived by that for myself, but now my kids are so much older, I hope that I can pass that advice on colleagues who are now approaching that stage in life.

Hayley Tiptaft, Group People Director at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader is empathy, consistency, and integrity.

Name a female leader who has inspired you. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the women who championed me and were phenomenal role models: Nicola Walton, Victoria Sutton and Lesley Brady. Always available, always listened, always reliable!

Camille Uzan, Business Director at Talon International:

The 3 things a leader needs, to be a strong leader are: 

Amy Horton, Group Chief Transformation Officer at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader is and visionary, empathetic and determined.

A female leader who has inspired me is Beryl Burton, the awesome female cyclist.

Emily Alcorn, Head of Effectiveness at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader are empathy, confidence, and a challenger mentality.

A female leader who has inspired me is Sophie Pemberton…always challenging, supporting, and guiding!

Jo Jackson, Head of Client at Talon:

The 3 things a leader needs to be a strong leader is…..confident, you need to believe in yourself and your capabilities, be bold and have a voice.   Passion, to be a strong leader you need to have passion for what you do and a desire to keep listening, learning and challengingand finally team spirit, share your experience with your team, lead by example and motivate the team to be the best they can be.

Sharon Hogan is a female leader that inspires me.   Not only is she a fantastic actress, but a writer, comedian, producer, and director!   Not only did she create the amazing series’ Motherland and Catastrophe, but she also broke Hollywood creating the successful comedy drama – Divorce.   Her work is relatable, and she is clearly a powerful and successful woman in everything she does.

London, UK. 27 March 2023: Talon, the global independent Out of Home (OOH) media agency, today announces it has acquired Evolve, the fast-growing, independent specialist OOH business as part of its ongoing, ambitious international expansion. 

Multi-award winning and with a reputation for successful business development, delivery, efficiency and agility. Evolve is a leading international OOH specialist.  The business works with a wide range of brands, agencies and media owners, both in the UK and around the world, led by a management team with offices in London, Singapore and New York. 

Evolve is led by its founder and CEO, Robin Hall, and Danielle Austin, Managing Director. Their remit will be to help strengthen Talon’s global presence and align with Talon International. With no immediate plans to integrate, Evolve’s clients will now have access to the additional data and tech capabilities of Talon, which will be significantly enhanced by leveraging the scale of the combined businesses.  

Approaching its tenth anniversary, Talon works with 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. This announcement follows another incredibly successful period for the agency: opening new offices in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and securing new investment from Equistone Partners Europe, one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity investors, providing the capital to continue the company’s global expansion and technical innovation. 

Barry Cupples, Group CEO Talon, said: “This is incredibly exciting for Talon as we welcome the hugely successful Evolve team, strengthening our overseas ambitions as part of Talon International. We have been so impressed with the growth of the business and very much see it as a like-minded business with a people-first philosophy and entrepreneurial spirit. The addition of Evolve and its award-winning team offers our clients additional expertise and experience whilst furthering Talon’s ongoing ambition to deliver OOH that is more connected, creative, effective, measurable, and sustainable than ever before. ” 

Robin Hall, founder and CEO Evolve, said: “It was important for us to align with a company that shares our values. We believe that through the right combination of people, culture and investment, we can help realise the full benefits of OOH, making it ever more measurable, efficient and effective. It’s such an exciting time in our industry – we’re starting to see the effects of real innovation across creative, planning and measurement. Talon is at the forefront of the OOH evolution with innovative proprietary data-driven tools and technologies that drive ROI and best-in-class creativity. Joining forces gives us the opportunity to extend our technical and creative capabilities to the benefit of all our clients and partners and help to grow the OOH market.” 

For THE FINAL PART of our reflection series, the Talon team SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AND PREDICTIONS FOR 2023.

At Talon we’re the changemakers, the trail-blazers, the provocateurs, the pioneers of OOH. Combining a heady mix of creativity, technology and data, our senior leadership team share their expert opinion on what OOH and the wider media landscape will look like in 2023. 

“2022 has been another successful year for Talon, with the rebrand, expansion into MENA and APAC and even more campaigns that pushed the boundaries and cemented us as industry pioneers who are constantly re-imagining and re-inventing the possibilities of what Out of Home can be.

In 2023, we expect to see a lot of uncertainty due to rising living costs. However, if the last three years have taught us anything, it’s important for brands to stay on and keep the momentum going. If we can survive living through the unknown, we can prepare and plan for what is coming. The OOH renaissance is here.”

Barry Cupples, CEO

“2023 promises to be another exciting year for OOH. We expect to see continued growth in programmatic trading and a continued appetite for using the blank canvas that is OOH to deliver messages in innovative and special ways.  

Sustainability will be of key importance and it’s our job to communicate the industry’s efforts in all that we are doing to be kinder to our environment in 2023.”

Aoife Hudson, Deputy Managing Director, Talon Ireland

“Clearly there are some global economic headwinds that will influence our market, however, OOH has never been in better shape. The inventory and our ability to leverage data and tech platforms to drive effectiveness is continually improving.  

OOH is very well placed in the wider media landscape to improve client outcomes, and the huge steps forward the industry has made in sustainability makes OOH one of most responsible choices a client can make.”

James Copley, UK CEO

“I think Q1 is going to bring a lot of unknowns for every industry, including media. Clients are going to wait and see what the economic impacts are on consumers, before committing budgets. However, the OOH industry is in a fantastic position. The medium delivers trust to consumers. People are spending more time OOH than ever before, and the investment in technology means we can now be smarter, delivering audience-based outcomes. 2023 is going to be a challenge, but it’s one we are ready for!”

Luke Willbourn, Chief Client Officer

“From an International perspective, despite a number of political and economic uncertainties I’m confident we’ll see a return of passengers to a pre Covid level in airports and an going commitment from clients and agencies to invest in OOH globally to deliver on their strategic objectives.”

Adrian Skelton, Managing Partner

“2023 will be an interesting year for OOH, as the cost-of-living crisis continues, we expect to see more brands reviewing their media strategies and OOH represents a real opportunity for brands to effectively use media to build trust amongst consumers. 

Research from the last economic downturn clearly shows the benefit to brands ‘staying on’ during a recession, and as we enter the start of an uncertain year, 2023 represents a good opportunity for brands to evaluate strategy and ensure they have the right share of voice to stay front of mind and strengthen market positioning.”

Helen Saffer, Group Client Services Director

“Continued growth and development, plus an ever-increasing focus on sustainability and impact on the environment which will without doubt continue to be high up on the agenda for any CMO / key decision maker at client level.  

Fortunately, OOH continues to make great strides in this area and the industry as a whole takes sustainability very seriously. From DOOH screens using 100% renewable energy sources, to zero carbon vans now provided for billers, and the phased-out use of non-recyclable materials means Out of Home already has the key foundations for building on a renewable future in 2023.”

Jamie Finn, Group Client Services Director

“Even more blurring of the lines between OOH and Experiential. The two environments work well apart but when combined the results multiply even further. Media owners are investing in this space and we’re primed to support brands in this space.”

Jay Young, Chief Client Officer

Here’s to a successful 2023 and a happy, healthy and successful New Year to all our clients, agencies and partners. 

Part 2 of our reflections series, Talon’s team discuss new initiatives, launches and share advice.

Out of Home is changing fast, and Talon is at the forefront of that change. We’re passionate about OOH and are on a mission to drive the growth of this sector within the media industry – changing perceptions of it as a legacy medium to one that is highly connected, effective, creative, sustainable, and measurable for our clients. 

In this blog, our experienced team are reflecting on new initiatives, launches and sharing advice for others who are striving to work at the very edge of what’s known with Talon. 

A New Year full of new initiatives

After a turbulent couple of years, ensuring that OOH is even more accountable has been a key focus for us in 2022. At the beginning of the year, we introduced classic OOH site inspections and digital OOH verification on a client opt-out level. Bringing more effective and accountable campaigns to our clients, agencies and partners.

Group Client Services Director, Jamie Finn, explains, “We developed appropriate ad-tech to simplify and streamline reporting for both Classic and Digital OOH, allowing us to ensure full accountability for every single campaign we plan and buy and addressing any under-performance accordingly ensuring that what our clients buy is exactly what is delivered in the public space.

Since the start of 2022 we have verified the playouts for almost 350 digital OOH campaigns and physically inspected more than 3,200 classic OOH frames – providing key data and insights to our clients and without a doubt something we will continue to build upon and fulfil for our clients and agencies as we enter 2023.”

ABSOLUT
Virgin Atlantic
BBC: Green Planet

The rise of Programmatic DOOH

Over the past 12 months, the demand for pDOOH has increased from advertisers across all sectors. With flexibility and cost efficiency recognised as the key strengths of the channel, spend in pDOOH is forecast to grow in the near future.  

Group Client Services Director, Helen Saffer, elaborates, “2022 has really seen the turning point for brands embracing pDOOH and we’ve seen more advertisers using it strategically to add in a behavioural audience targeted layer to their OOH strategy alongside traditionally bought impact and fame building formats.   

We expect this momentum to continue to build as we move into 2023, with brands who have already tested the water returning and continuing to develop bespoke OOH strategies, alongside new advertisers looking to expand their online strategies to boost additional reach via pDOOH.”  

All our initiatives and launches started with our people who constantly challenge themselves and the industry at large – “to imagine what’s possible when they think outside.”   

Tourism Ireland
Audi

Expanding into MENA & APAC

Back in March, we announced the expansion of our global footprint in Asia-Pacific and Middle East, with our new hires Melanie Lindquist and Chadi Farhat leading MENA and APAC respectively.  

The opening of Talon’s new offices in both the UAE and Singapore was a highlight for Tom Perrett, International Client Services Director, “Bringing further leadership, experience, and interconnected business opportunities across borders.” 

Melanie Lindquist, Managing Director, Talon APAC, added, “The APAC market is largely untapped but with huge potential. Being in the same time zone and hubbed in Singapore has allowed us to work closer and faster with clients to drive campaigns within the region but also take regional clients onto the global OOH.” 

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, our team was working hard to launch an API connection between Plato and NetSuite. This has strengthened our automated process from booking in Plato to invoicing in NetSuite for our US, UK, MENA & APAC markets.  

Group Transformation Officer, Amy Horton, said, “Launching the API connection between Plato and NetSuite has been a huge achievement. For the first time, we have an organisational design that will give us a great structure for our further growth ambitions.” 

The Evolution of Talon

Another project we were working on behind the scenes was a strategic repositioning for Talon. As we approach our second decade, we commenced a brand refresh project to support our ambitious global expansion and commitment to being the global OOH media agency of choice.  

It was time to “think outside.” 

This refresh began with merging Talon’s award-winning Creative Solutions team with industry-pioneers Grand Visual to offer a full suite of OOH and digital OOH creative services. Discussing the merge, Chief Client Officer at Grand Visual, Jay Young, said, “The relaunch of Talon’s Grand Visual is of course the most exciting. We’ve now combined our creative solutions team with our brilliant in-house studio to create a creative OOH powerhouse. We now get to spend more time with clients, more time brainstorming exciting ideas and we’re winning more awards. It’s an exciting place to be right now.” 

With our full rebrand unveiled in December, CEO, James Copley, said, “Working in a business that is surrounded by great creativity, it was really gratifying to see all that great thinking and execution applied to our own brand.” 

So, with the year behind us, knowing what you know now, what is one piece of advice you would give to your 2021 self? 

“We are currently living in a world where things can change very quickly and are often out of our control. Don’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. Focus on what you can control, not worry about what you can’t.”

Luke Willbourn, Chief Client Officer

“When you’re leading a team, you have to spend time thinking about the mid and long-term strategy. This can sometimes place your focus consistently in the future rather than the present.

I’ve had to teach myself to avoid the allure of what might happen and to focus on the next 8 hours only. Every morning I think ‘what can I do today that will nudge us closer to our goals.’ It’s been a game changer for my mindset, wellbeing and general performance.” 

Jay Young, Chief Client Officer

“Be brave – leverage the power of the burgeoning Talon network and understand the importance of informed risk to help unlock real growth.”

Andrew Sinclair, Managing Director, Talon Ireland

“It’ll be a busy year so buckle up! But in all seriousness, we’ve learnt to be kinder to ourselves as human beings and within a team when it comes to our workloads. 

You can’t be what you can’t see so I try to be quite vocal about aiming for a work life balance. At Talon, we don’t ever sit still, we are always striving to lead the way, to grow, to learn and 2022 has been no different.” 

Hayley Tiptaft, People Director

To get the first look at part 3 of our blog, when our team share their thoughts and predictions for 2023, make sure that you are following us on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also keep up to date with the latest Talon news and views by signing up for our monthly newsletter here.

For Part 1 of our reflection series, the Talon team highlight their favourite campaigns of 2022.

With the new year approaching fast, we’re back to reflect on the past 12 months. In this series, we are celebrating the creative, data and technological boundaries that were pushed in 2022 and sharing our expectations for Out of Home (OOH) and the wider landscape in 2023.

Despite two years of recovery and re-growth, the world of OOH has changed and continues to change fast. Boundaries are being redrawn every day; with OOH becoming a more connected, creative, effective, measurable and sustainable medium than ever before. This year, OOH has seen the strongest recovery coming out of the Pandemic, with an increase of +146.2% in expenditure. The first quarter of 2022 also outperformed expectations by +7.7%.

According to the latest data from IAB, the UK’s ad market is set to grow a further +4.4% in 2023 – further accelerated by the demand for programmatic digital OOH (pDOOH), with 38% of media professionals adding to the pDOOH budget.

In this blog, we’re reflecting on some of the standout campaigns from our clients this year that reimagined and re-invented the possibilities of what outdoor can be.

Standout campaigns from 2022 

All the campaigns below showcase the best in “thinking outside” in 2022 – exemplifying independent thought and big ideas, bolstered further by Talon’s technology, data and measurement expertise.

Specsavers: Should’ve 2.0

Lost Ladder
Dodgy Install
Billboard Blunder

In Q1, Specsavers made its return to OOH with three ingenious special builds. Choosing Specsavers as his standout campaign, Chief Client Officer, Luke Willbourn, said, “2022 has seen the boundary for creativity pushed to its limit, with clients showcasing fantastic executions on a weekly basis. My favourite campaign this year was Specsavers Should’ve 2.0.

A simple, but brilliant campaign, it encapsulated Specsavers’ playful side. The campaign was also a great example of how brands can use social channels to amplify OOH executions.” 

Netflix: Warriors of Future

Taipei
New York

For Talon APAC’s Managing Director, Melanie Lindquist, the Warriors of Future campaign for Netflix stood out to her the most. 

“Talon in Singapore worked with the client on a strategy to select iconic sites for this global campaign, including the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Taipei Arena, Storm Cromination and Nasdaq + Midtown Financial. This created an impactful campaign with shareable content for the client’s large online followers and fans.”

Guinness: Summer

Hornsey
Brighton

The 2022 standout campaign for both UK CEO, James Copley and Group Client Services Director, Helen Saffer, was Guinness’ surfboard creative – a discreet nod to their iconic 1998 ‘Surfer’ TV ad, brought to life outside across the UK 

“This was a great example of creative and media placement working perfectly in sync to deliver a standout campaign that really resonated with consumers,” said Helen. “The campaign used bespoke installations to cleverly capture the iconic Guinness pint, with ‘Guinness’ surfboards placed across iconic UK seaside resorts.” 

James adds, “The Guinness special builds were a great combination of creativity, context and location that led to some stunning executions that really cut through and made an impact.” 

BBC: Brand Building

Peaky Blinders
Freeze the Fear
Killing Eve

The BBC utilised the magic Talon OOH formula of creativity, data and technology throughout 2022 – which saw them winning both the Brand Fame award at the Drum OOH Awards and the Brand Building award at the Clear Channel OMA’s. Aiming to ensure they were at the forefront of a cluttered market; OOH was primed as the perfect platform to reach and engage with new and existing audiences to encourage positive perceptions of the BBC. 

Frozen Planet II
BBC Sounds

Group Transformation Officer, Amy Horton, said, “There wasn’t really one campaign that stood out to me, however, the breath and varied executions of the BBC’s campaigns this year have been incredible. They seem to get the balance right between creative use of OOH and simple effective messaging.” 

Specsavers: Ireland

Specsavers
Specsavers

Over at Talon Ireland, Deputy Managing Director, Aoife Hudson, chose Specsavers as her standout campaign for 2022. “The OOH Industry in Ireland had been lagging in terms of data and technology compared to other markets. At Talon, we’ve been the pioneers of leading the OOH industry forward in that regard.  

With that in mind, a piece of work that truly stood out for me was our work with OMD and Specsavers – Ireland’s first multi-media-owner programmatic digital OOH (pDOOH) campaign. The campaign went on to win 2 gold media awards – Best OOH campaign and Best Collaboration between Talon Ireland & OMD Ireland.” 

John Lewis: Newness

John Lewis

No stranger to programmatic DOOH, John Lewis launched its “newness” campaign, which was delivered via our proprietary DSP, Atlas. Discussing the campaign, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Sophie Pemberton, said, “We ran a 20-week campaign across 12 cities with new copy being delivered each week on panels and at times which we’re specifically chosen to reach ‘Busy Inspiration Seekers’.  

The initial results were brilliant and showed that audience visitation to those stores across the campaign period increased by a whopping +47%! We’ve seen phenomenal growth this year across from across all our agency partners and an increased appetite to apply intelligent data to deliver even more effective campaigns.” 

To get the first look at part 2 of our blog, in which our leadership team reflect on new initiatives, launches and share advice, make sure that you are following us on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also keep up to date with the latest Talon news and views by signing up for our monthly newsletter.