STANDOUT OUT OF HOME CAMPAIGNS IN 2023

With less than 20 days to go until we welcome in another new year, the Talon team are back for the fourth edition of our annual wrap up. In this series, we celebrate the campaigns and accomplishments of the last 12 months and share our expectations for Out of Home (OOH) and the wider landscape in the new year. 

Despite cost-of-living concerns and belt-tightening, OOH revenue for the first half of 2023 totalled £554m, an increase of +4.7% year-on-year (Outsmart). Q3 2023 advertising revenue was up +4.9% compared to Q3 2019, the first time this has been higher for a corresponding quarter pre-pandemic.

We’re predicting OOH will grow +7% to £1.26bn in 2023 and +5% to £1.324bn in 2024. For 2024, we estimate that digital OOH will account for 66% of overall OOH revenues, totalling £874m. 

In this blog, we’re reflecting on some of the standout out of home campaigns in 2023 from our clients this year that reimagined and re-invented the possibilities of what outdoor can be.

Our favourite Standout Out of Home campaigns in 2023

All the campaigns below showcase the best in “thinking outside” in 2023 – exemplifying independent thought and big ideas, bolstered further by Talon’s technology, data and measurement expertise. 

Starbucks: How data-driven OOH helped win the hearts and minds of Gen Z 

In 2023, Starbucks embraced a data-driven, cross-format strategy to boost brand appeal and attract the attention of Gen Z in the highly trusted OOH environment. A first of its kind approach for Starbucks, the campaign has achieved notable results, including a year-on-year increase in rewards customers, improved ROI, and multiple weeks of record sales in 2022/23.

Choosing Starbucks as her standout campaign, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Sophie Pemberton, said, “Our collaboration with Starbucks has been exceptional, receiving recognition at the Drum Awards, Media Week and the OMAs. Our data integrations and digital activation strategies are really setting a new standard across the industry which we hope to build on next year.” 

Budweiser & Pepsi MAX 

For both Grand Visual’s Chief Client Officer, Jay Young, and Head of Client Services, Ben Gardiner, the activations for Budweiser and Pepsi MAX stood out to them the most.

“Our Budweiser billboard at the start of the year absolutely stole the show,” said Jay. “We transformed a billboard into a live music stage and provided a unique platform for underrepresented artists to showcase their talent to the world. One of the artists was given a record deal off the back of the campaign and we won a bronze Cannes Lion in June. It doesn’t get better!”

“For me it’s a tough choice between Budweiser’s ‘this billboard is yours to take’ and the Women’s World Cup reactive campaign for Pepsi MAX,” said Ben. “Both were epic for very different reasons but they both had massive ambition and creative drive. They were bold, brave and showed what’s possible when all teams really pull together and in the same direction to move mountains.” 

Johnnie Walker Xordinaire

“It has to be Johnnie Walker’s launch of its exclusive Blue Label Xordinaire for me,” said Alanna Solanilla, Business Director, Talon International.

“As well as securing premium airport signage in Heathrow, Paris, Incheon and Hong Kong, our team secured our first airport campaign in Seoul’s Jeju Airport. We also secured the launch of a bespoke pop-up tasting lounge in Dubai Airport. This beautiful and premium installation drew inspiration from the refined ambience of a Parisian hotel. We’re very proud to work with Diageo and Johnnie Walker, exploring familiar environments but using innovative and interactive formats.”

Lenovo 

“The team have done some fabulous work this year, and Lenovo comes to mind,” added Camille Uzan, Business Director, Talon International.

“The Lenovo F1 campaign in the UK stood out as the first-ever 3D project for Talon International with impressive campaign results and significant extra value for the brand. It led to strengthened ties with agencies and clients, showcasing Talon International as a strong partner to work with as well as a strong social amplification using Talon’s channels and a fantastic uplift from Assembly, Lenovo and Formula 1’s channels themselves.” 

Yorkshire Tea: Tea so nice, Brits won’t shut up about it 

Launching in Australia last year, Yorkshire Tea has since been ranked the best-tasting black tea in the country. To celebrate, whilst raising awareness for Aussies who hadn’t yet tried Yorkshire Tea, we launched a cheeky OOH and experiential campaign in Sydney and Melbourne. 

Discussing the campaign, Melanie Lindquist, Managing Director of Talon APAC said, “To achieve our objective of raising awareness, we implemented a three-pronged approach consisting of data-driven audience targeting with Large Format OOH and DOOH sites, DOOH sites in proximity to Yorkshire Tea stockists and experiential sampling. A tea-riffic 1.4 million tea bags were sampled by ambassadors over the 4-week campaign!” 

Scene + Loyalty Launch 

Choosing the Scene + Loyalty launch as her favourite campaign, Talon Canada’s, Sarah Kim, Senior VP Client Partnerships said, “This campaign was part experiential, part programmatic and 100% fun as it included a game show taking place in a transit shelter. Not to brag, but it also won ‘Best in Show’ at the Ad Club OOH Awards.” 

Specsavers: Hearing Services 

Talon Ireland’s Insights Director, Caroline Decourcy, chose this clever campaign for Specsavers which utilised onomatopoeia, “One of the most ingenious OOH campaigns this year for me has to be Specsavers Hearing Services.

Clever creative using words, depicting sounds, was showcased across multiple environments nationwide. The campaign communicated a sound so articulately with audiences that were captivated by the meaning behind the ads. A great example of a brand conveying a distinct message to grab audiences’ attention using the power of OOH.”

To get the first look at part 2 of our blog, in which our 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.