Innovation in OOH
Leah Murchan, Marketing & Research Executive, PML Group NI
When we talk about innovation in Out of Home, it’s easy to instantly picture big builds or extreme costs and feel it is out of reach. But more often, the most effective innovation is simply clever use of the medium.
That might be:
- Clever Placement – showing up when audiences are primed to care or act.
By placing a Digivan on the road into The Open, Frank and Honest met audiences who have travelled and are finally approaching their destination, ready for a coffee to fuel their long day ahead.
- Clever Creative– messages that do more than repeat a line.
Carlsberg didn’t rely on big budgets or complex special builds. It used clever creative that responded to what was already there, letting the placement also amplify the idea.
- Clever Data Use – time, location, weather or cultural triggers that add relevance.
These Guinness campaigns show clever use of data. The first uses proximity data to show walking time to the Guinness Storehouse in minutes rather than kilometres or miles. This keeps the message relevant to anyone passing by and makes the distance feel achievable. The second uses live pub footfall data to signal where the atmosphere is building, tapping into those FOMO feelings from viewers.
This is where PML’s mantra of Think, Feel, Do comes into play. When developing ideas, it’s useful to ask: what do I want the audience to think? How do I want them to feel? And ultimately, what do I want them to do? Once you understand that journey, innovation becomes easier and your audience becomes much clearer.
The goal is to find the level of innovation that best answers the brief. Sometimes that’s as simple and cost effective as making the format work harder to help the message land. Other times it might mean dynamic Digital Out of Home, or a more immersive approach through public interaction. And sometimes it’s not about selling the product at all, it’s about solving a problem or adding value, with the product enabling that outcome. Essentially, it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.
Kellogg’s reacted quickly using the flexible power of Digital Out of Home after Colin Farrell exposed Barry Keoghan for stealing his Crunchy Nut cereal back in 2023. This simple campaign had a reach of 3.2 million and 32 PR pieces globally, with Barry Keoghan reposting it on his socials!
The reality is, we can’t predict what will happen in the media world but we can control how we respond to it. When brands are agile enough to engage with what’s happening in the moment, Out of Home becomes relevant rather than reactive. Quick thinking is often the difference between an acceptable ad and one that stands out and becomes memorable.
Innovative ads can spike interest across all media formats but Out of Home and innovation are particularly powerful together. People aren’t able to scroll past it, mute it or opt out of it. They get to experience it collectively and in real time. The public nature of Out of Home creates a natural halo effect, when people see others engaging with an ad, they’re more likely to engage themselves. That collective experience strengthens both impact and credibility.
And that matters more than ever, at a time when attention and trust are increasingly hard to earn.
Research from Ipsos B&A consistently shows that innovative Out of Home formats perform strongly across key brand metrics, with effectiveness spanning age groups from 16–24s right through to 45–54s.
Even without specials, Out of Home advertising continues to attract attention. Ipsos B&A research shows that 83% of people say Out of Home advertising has caught their attention and 55% have responded to an Out of Home ad in some way, whether that’s talking about it, searching for the brand or taking action.
