WHY OOH INTERNATIONALLY & IN AIRPORTS THIS WINTER

As winter settles in, it brings not only a seasonal shift but also a transformation in consumer behaviour. The chilly holiday season paradoxically warms hearts around the globe. As people travel to reunite with loved ones, relish the festive charm of Christmas markets, and of course partake in gift . Whatever consumers get up to this winter, one thing is certain – they will be OUTSIDE. Talon International is your gateway to unlocking the immense potential of the season. With a network spanning 20+ offices worldwide, we empower brands to launch captivating Out of Home campaigns in over 100+ markets globally, emphasising the importance of why OOH internationally during the winter season.

In this “Sleigh the Season” blog, we’ll explore why OOH should top your priority list this Christmas. Including:

THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF AIRPORTS

Consumers are more eager than ever to get away, despite the challenges of a rising cost of living. ABTA’s latest report highlights that booking numbers are at an all-time high and increasing +16% year on year.

As key travel gateways, airports offer an unparalleled opportunity to capture consumers in a relaxed state of mind. Statistics reveal that within airport environments, 85% of frequent flyers express their enjoyment of airport ads and a striking 90% maintain a high level of ad awareness. When it comes to shopping, the allure of airports is undeniable, with 73% of travellers indicating their likelihood to indulge in retail therapy. Furthermore, a staggering 70% of global shoppers are enticed to visit airport retail establishments after exposure to OOH ads. Airports have earned their reputation as iconic shopping destinations that particularly appeal to affluent audiences. In fact, a remarkable 71% of luxury jetsetters anticipate encountering prestigious brands’ advertising when travelling through an airport.

TIP: Leveraging our global expertise in planning OOH campaigns in airports, we strategically identify prime locations to target diverse audiences worldwide. From arrivals to departures, this approach highlights the significance of why OOH internationally, ensuring effective engagement and influence over a captive audience during the festive season.

POWER OF PROXIMITY

When planning an international winter campaign, remember proximity reigns supreme.

Proximity targeting allows brands the opportunity to capitalise on the unique context, emotions, and activities often associated with Christmas. With location data enhancing the precision of Out of Home campaigns across cities and transport hubs, targeting becomes not just strategic but measurable. Imagine reaching passengers as they arrive at their destination airport. Enticing them with an advert for nearby hotels, or showcasing convenient onward connections upon their return home. Insights from a Talon study underline the impact of proximity touchpoints. 60% of audiences agree that ads are more noticeable when seen at key locations. Furthermore, 49% express an inclination to visit a store, while an additional 47% consider making a purchase after encountering an ad.

TIP: Strategically placing ads in high-traffic areas like transports hub and major cities becomes a catalyst for brands to genuinely engage consumers and drive meaningful action.

TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT OF PROGRAMMATIC

As a report from Barclays notes, consumers will remain mindful of their spending this year. This is amongst a backdrop of audiences becoming more dissociated with brands that don’t align with their priorities. How do you target this audience staying mindful of the current landscape?

OOH advertising has always been front of mind to drive brand fame and reach audiences at scale. However, the advancements in Out of Home technology means it is no longer simply a top of the funnel medium. It has been proven to work effectively along all stages of the purchasing process. Moreover, the growing use of audience data and measurement capability in OOH has seen the rapid growth in programmatic OOH. Results from a Talon study show PROOH drives a +15% higher level of audience relevance and 3x increase in purchase intent.

TIP: Using audience behaviour data, PROOH effectively delivers a transformative boost to Christmas campaigns as advertisers can use their own or third-party data to achieve a granular level of audience targeting and focus on those key ‘consumption moments’.

THE MAGIC OF DYNAMIC DOOH

The name dynamic DOOH itself highlights how flexible and changeable it can be; creative executions that adapt based on specific parameters. This dynamic capability can unlock the magic of OOH during the Christmas season. With results indicating an +18% increase in brain response among those exposed to such campaigns. Moreover, this approach yields an additional +16% increase for in-store sales, amplifying effectiveness.

TIP: As OOH continues to evolve, using dynamic DOOH is a sure-fire way to make your campaigns successful this festive season. It helps brands forge emotional connections with their audience by adding context. This not only makes the ads engaging, but also makes them memorable.

CITY SPOTLIGHTS

Discover the escalating trend in winter air travel, especially during the festive season. Talon International provides insights on why OOH internationally is key to effective planning.

Ireland

Despite the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, research from Talon Insights shows Irish consumers are maintaining their spending habits, with 18% budgeting for winter sun destinations like Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Morocco. Dublin Airport has witnessed YoY growth in passenger numbers, reaching 1.48M passengers travelling between December and January 2022.

USA

The average American spends nearly $1000 on gifts at Christmas time, underlining the need for heightened investment in advertising to appeal to more affluent consumers. Post-pandemic travel continues to grow, particularly in states like Colorado, Arizona, and Nebraska, where interstate travel has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Regarding travel into the US, New York City attracted 6.5M visitors during the festive period in 2022. What beats New York in the snow!

APAC

83% of shoppers in the APAC region take advantage of year-end sales for purchases, surpassing the global average of 70%. This presents an ideal scenario for proximity targeting, allowing advertisers to connect with audiences in the right mindset. Furthermore, 40% of Singaporeans are motivated to travel due to the holiday season. With top international destinations including Bangkok, Seoul, and Kuala Lumpur. 4.6M passengers travelled through Changi Airport from December 2022 to January 2023, solidifying its position as the Skytrax World’s Best Airport winner in 2023.

UK

Passenger numbers in the UK are on the rise. Notably at London Heathrow, which has experienced a 32% rise so far in 2023 and 38% MoM. Popular destinations include New York (JFK), Dubai (DXB), and Los Angeles (LAX) each served by five, four, and five airlines respectively from LHR. When it comes to splashing the cash on Christmas gifts, Brits are expected to spend an average of £602 each. An increase of 40% from an average spend of £429 in 2022. A Mintel report highlights that chocolates, coffee, cooking kits, clothing and alcoholic beverages top the list when it comes to Christmas gifting in the UK, with clothing accounting for 50% of gifts given and alcohol more than half of the food & drink category.

USE OOH TO CREATE GLOBAL IMPACT THIS CHRISTMAS!

Talon International is perfectly positioned to assist your brand navigating the global shift in winter consumer behaviour. Whether that be strategically placing your message in airports through PROOH or launching a dynamic campaign across major cities, armed with insights on why OOH internationally matters, our team ensures you Sleigh the Season with impactful OOH anywhere!

In recent years, Out of Home (OOH) advertising has shown massive resilience in reinventing itself and staying relevant. Technological advancements and the digitization of media assets are transforming how and why advertisers use the medium. With digital fatigue one of the main challenges to be faced by advertisers and today’s consumers smarter and more tech-savvy than ever, they have more control over the ads they would like to see. Companies that want to stay agile, need to return to more established channels such as OOH. A recent study conducted by Talon UK and OnDevice Research recorded that OOH had the largest increase in trust across any medium, jumping from 14% to 57%, while 40% of people were more positive towards Out of Home compared to 16% for online ads. Looking ahead to the 2023 OOH forecast, we predict modest double-digit growth in the OOH channel. As new technologies continue to emerge, and consumer behaviour evolves it has become clear that OOH is now perfectly positioned to take its rightly place as a lead channel in the communications mix.

VW’s sustainability OOH billboard sketched entirely with pencil
Prediction: The road to net zero.

2023 must be the year of sustainable innovation for the media and advertising industry. Whether that’s rethinking the way we plan and buy, looking at energy consumption, or offering brands more green products and services in the planning process such as recycled material for posters or using electric fleets for billposters, sustainability should dominate conversations across all media channels.

Prediction: Programmatic will be one of the most promising advertising opportunities in 2023.

Digital Out of Home has created huge opportunities for brands. We now have a format that holds the necessary tools to drive a more targeted, memorable, innovative, and measurable campaign. With continued investment from media owners in the digital out-of-home space, this channel has untapped potential going into next year, which brands need to take hold of.

Heineken Zero’s Dry January OOH Campaign

Sustainability and Innovation: Advertising’s 2023 Projections

Prediction: Growth in Multi-channel integration.

Looking ahead to next year, we see Out of Home advertising integrating with other channels especially, TV and online. According to BARB Mediaplanner+ 2020, investing 26% of TV budget into Out of Home has a positive outcome on reach, with OOH and TV working most effectively at different times throughout the day. When looking at OOH and Online, a recent 4th space project, from Talon UK shows that by adding FMDOOH to a social campaign increased effectiveness across the brand funnel by 23%. Exposure to FMDOOH had a positive impact on the whole brand funnel from awareness through to call to action, not only generating desire and interest but generating consumer action. In fact, it was in consumer action that we saw the largest shift (+48%) when FMDOOH was added to a social plan.

Prediction: Data & Technology will supercharge the campaign planning process.

2023, will deliver numerous new technologies and further enhance existing tech.   

To date, data has powered both dynamic and programmatic campaigns and, although, in the early stages of this market, it’s set to continue but in more innovative ways. We envisage more clients using clever data sources to capture audiences on the move with impactful and attention-grabbing campaigns. 

Applying a prescriptive approach to the campaign planning process is a high priority for 2023. At Talon, we have plans afoot to invest and launch new platforms that will ensure that our planning process is second to none and will give clients a more granular level of measurability and accountability.

Aer Lingus Mural
Prediction: Advertisers will get creative.

Grabbing and maintaining attention will be huge for brands heading into next year. The longer a brand can stay top of mind with consumers the better, because of this we will see more brands shift spending from performance marketing into brand building, making OOH the perfect canvas. Talon’s research shows that special builds not only position a brand as exciting and innovative but positively influence consumers’ purchase behaviour. In 2018, Talon UK conducted a special build campaign effectiveness research study whereby they compared those exposed to special builds vs those that were exposed to standard OOH formats. The results showed a +15% increase in positive impression of the advertising, +17% increase in consumer action and +35% increase in purchase consideration.

Summary

“2023 promises to be another exciting year in Out of Home’s renaissance.  With a wider industry lens on areas such as data & tech, programmatic, creativity and of course sustainability, we believe Out of Home is uniquely placed to take a leadership role in each of these spaces.  As we begin to shift focus to next year, the team at Talon Ireland are excited to lead that renaissance and champion Out of Home’s unique proposition, all kickstarted early with our new branding and new office move” – Andrew Sinclair, Managing Director, Talon Ireland