Sport + OOH = The Dream Team

2024 is set to be another bumper year for sports with the return of the Euros and the Olympics, as well as the British Grand Prix, Wimbledon and more. And we know we say this all the time… but it’s true. It really does start Out of Home!  

From the electrifying energy of the stadiums to the hospitality venues heaving with fans, it begins with people heading out of their homes to enjoy the action.  

• Driving to the airport? Roadside formats.
• Travelling to work and play? Public transport formats.
• Getting snacks? There’s a D6 outside of the supermarket for that! 
• Visiting hospitality venues and fan zones? OOH within proximity of the venue.

It really does begin Out of Home

However, to avoid a case of “all the gear and no idea” – OOH at your fingertips but how to effectively use it – we’ve put together this handy guide to ensure your brand is also winning this 2024 season of sport! 

Why advertise with OOH around sports events? 

The summer Olympic Games in Paris will be the first in-person games since Rio in 2016. Over 15.3 million visitors are expected to visit Paris and its surrounding areas for the games, with an estimated €4Bn to be spent by tourists. Similarly, the UEFA Euros will return in Germany this summer, with 2.7 million people predicted to attend the tournament. The last tournament in 2021 saw an impressive 5.2 billion tune in globally and fans boost footfall on the day of the final at UK high street pubs by +129%. 

Sports fans are dedicated to watching sporting events – whether they have tickets to the event or not. Thanks to its millions of sites across the UK, Germany and Paris, OOH is best placed to reach these fans.  

Not only are they dedicated, but sports fans are also a highly engaged audience who notice advertising. This is evidenced by recent research from Clear Channel which found that 77% of sports viewers notice brands surrounding sports events, with a +68% uplift in related brand perceptions because of OOH sports advertising.

The study also found a +47% increase in brand usage by respondents who saw an OOH ad from the surveyed brands, and a +33% increase in “brand liking” after seeing OOH advertising related to sporting events.

How to use OOH’s ACES to win 

In 2024, OOH delivers across four main benefits. At Talon, we call these ACES. We play these four ace cards to make sure your media plan delivers:  

Audience, Creative, Effective & Sustainable.

Audience 

Using Ada, our proprietary DMP, we can better understand audience behaviour and hone in on target audience groups such as “sports fans” or something even more niche like “millennial six nations” fans. 

This data is then combined with a programmatic OOH buy via Atlas, our proprietary DSP, to deliver strong brand payback on consideration and purchase intent metrics: 

• 2x increase in purchase consideration
• 15% more relevant to audience lifestyle
• 3x increase in purchase intent.

To improve campaign effectiveness amongst these audiences, we find that this is best achieved by integrating OOH as part of an omnichannel strategy: 

• By activating the same content across a digital OOH and social media campaign, effectiveness across the brand funnel increases by an average of +23% 
• Eye-tracking research found a +52% increase in the time spent looking at a mobile screen when there had been ‘priming’ on an OOH screen 
• Mobile searches when out of home are 38% more likely to lead to a purchase compared to at home. 

Creative 

With audiences out of home, use this opportunity to really grab their attention with creative OOH. 2D Full-motion DOOH video is 2.5X more effective than static creative – but implementing 3D creative enhances consumer engagement and preference even further: 

• 70% of A18-34s are more likely to want to see the 3D ad again 
• 33% uplift in overall consumers describing the campaign as innovative (Opinium Research)

One brand who did this well were Lenovo for the 2023 British Grand Prix. As the official technology partner of F1, Lenovo utilised a 3D domination to build awareness of this partnership. An anamorphic domination across Piccadilly Lights, the Arndale and Canary Wharf grabbed attention of Lenovo’s key audiences, aligned with Lenovo’s tech-first message with creative production supercharged using Lenovo’s technology.

For brands wanting to connect with audiences through brand activations, look no further than experiential OOH. This is a powerful way of ensuring your brand is front of mind in the lead up to sporting events, at a time when excitement is in the air. Research has shown that: 

• 72% positively view brands that provide quality event content opportunities 
• 74% said branded marketing experiences made them more likely to buy the products 

Effective 

Be at “the moment of truth” with proximity advertising that resonates with consumers and offers brands the opportunity to capitalise on the unique context, emotions and activities associated with these special times. Audiences will be out of home, so proximity advertising provides an added layer of reaching them across these touchpoints. As a result of proximity advertising: 

• +60% agreed it is more noticeable 
• +49% agreed it encourages them to visit a store 
• +47% agreed it encourages them to make a purchase (Talon 2022 research)

Additionally, brands can lean into context with dynamic OOH. Implementing dynamic elements into campaign creative such as time, date and location callouts increases relevancy with audiences. Brands who executed dynamic OOH campaigns saw: 

• +18% increase in brain response 
• +16% increase in in-store sales 
• +32% more effective by activating relevant content at a relevant moment. 

Sustainable 

Sustainability is a huge focus for consumers and sporting events across 2024, with the Euros aiming to set a benchmark for ESG, the London Marathon achieving gold for sustainability and environmental projects and Formula 1’s carbon footprint and Net Zeo pledge. 

According to research from Euro Monitor National, 64% of global consumers are worried about climate change. 

OOH gives back, with 46p in every £1 and £441 million contributed to public infrastructure in 2022. Per emission, OOH also emits less carbon than all other media measured – contributing just 3.3% to UK total ad power consumption and accounting for less than 3.5% of the UK’s total ad carbon footprint. 

Use OOH’s ACES to win your 2024 season 

And there you have it, our handy guide to ensure your brand wins this 2024 season of sport. Remember to play your ACES to make sure your media plan delivers:   

• Audience: Use Atlas to hone in on target audience groups including sports fans or Millennial Six Nations fans 
• Creative: 70% of 18-34 are more likely to want to see a 3D ad again 
• Effective: +68% uplift in related brand perceptions because of OOH sports advertising 
• Sustainable: Invest in the channel that gives back. 

Ready to win with OOH? Get in touch with Talon today!