Despite being one of the oldest sectors, out-of-home has firmly established its role on modern media plans as brands and their agencies are attracted to its ability to marry broadcast messaging and sophisticated targeting.
Outdoor media has had an eventful few years. The lockdowns in 2020 decimated adspend as people stayed indoors. But, as everyone started to rediscover the world in 2021, a renaissance quickly flowered.
Then, in 2022 – if the entries to the Outdoor Media Awards are anything to go by – it flourished.
Lots of brands used outdoor to build fame last year. Dramatic ads for Nike and Sky demanded the public’s attention and helped both brands stand out from their competitors. Channel 4 and Tesco deployed out-of-home to intelligently target diverse communities. While the likes of the Alzheimer’s Society, Bank of Scotland and Bristol City Council used the medium to communicate a message of responsibility.
Mark Smith, Clear Channel UK's sales director, cited several highlights of the last 18 months at the Outdoor Media Awards ceremony, particularly the increased representation of different communities in outdoor advertising, the impressive levels of creativity and copywriting on display, the use and value of data in plans and the return of the "mighty" special build. He added that he believed it was the growing awareness among agencies of the responsible and trusted nature of the channel that was allowing it to flourish.
Given that outdoor was my first patch when I started at Campaign’s sister title Media Week 15 years ago, it was great to chair the judging panel for the first time this year.
The judges had a thoughtful and spirited debate when we came together back in April. After narrowing down the separate categories to individual winners – a significant undertaking given entries were up 60% year on year – the task ahead was to determine the Grand Prix. A number of campaigns were worthy of the top prize.
In the end, only one could claim the trophy.
Nike’s “You’ve never seen England like this” hit the back of the net after scoring real-world impact with premium outdoor teamed with earned social and editorial media coverage. The campaign was a true collaborative effort with bold ads by Wieden & Kennedy placed by Kinetic onto landmarks that were associated with the skillsets of the players being celebrated.
It’s easy with hindsight to see the logic of presenting the Lionesses in such a confident way but the judges gave Nike and its agencies credit for their support of the players ahead of the tournament, before anyone could be sure they would bring it home.
The judges described the Nike campaign as “a classic case of right medium, right message, right time”.
Brands are becoming increasingly aware of the power of using their adspend to support responsible media owners. Given that the outdoor industry often shares as much as 50% of its revenues with local communities, it is in a good position to capitalise on this.
The momentum of 2022 appears to have continued into this year as brands look to build trust and reinforce their premium positions against a difficult economic backdrop. And it’s not hard to understand why – outdoor sites are out in the real world, offering broad reach in a responsible way.
THE WINNERS
GRAND PRIX
Nike “You’ve never seen England like this” by Kinetic / Mindshare / Wieden + Kennedy London / Pixel Artworks
CREATIVE
Visual Craft Award
Gold:
Nike “You’ve never seen England like this” by Kinetic / Mindshare / Wieden + Kennedy London / Pixel Artworks
Silver:
Müller “It could only be Müller Corner” by Kinetic / EssenceMediacom OOH / EssenceMediacom / VCCP
Bronze:
Sky Sports “Start of season 2022” by Rapport / EssenceMediacom / Sky Creative
Shortlist:
PepsiCo “Pop, fizz, ahh” by Talon / OMD / PepsiCo Design Centre
Rays of Sunshine “Making children’s wishes real – Rays of Sunshine by Essence Mediacom / Ocean Outdoor
Specsavers “Should’ve 2.0” by Talon / MG OMD / Grand Visual / The Agency / JACK / Global Street Art
Tellmi “Tellmi” by Dentsu / JCDecaux
WhatsApp, Meta “WhatsApp privacy” by Spark Foundry / BBDO
Tech Innovation Award
Gold:
Boots “Bootsxmas 2022” by StoreBoost
Silver:
Heinz “Heinz magic breakfast” by Dentsu / Carat / Dentsu Creative
Bronze:
NBCUniversal “Dream big dreams with sing 2” by Kinetic / Essence Mediacom / Stellar / XYI Design / Ocean Outdoor / Global
Shortlist:
Budweiser “FIFA World Cup 2022” by Starcom / DraftLine
Lumo Trains “Cure your flight shame” by Kinetic / Essence Mediacom Scotland / Mother / Hivestack / Flux Outdoor
Rays of Sunshine “Making children’s wishes real” by Essence Mediacom / Ocean Outdoor
Installation and Experience Award
Gold:
Sky Broadband “Gigafast” by Rapport / Essence Mediacom / House 337
Silver:
Müller “It could only be Müller Corner” by Kinetic / Essence Mediacom OOH / Essence Mediacom / VCCP
Bronze:
Elvie “#LeaksHappen” by Kinetic / Mindshare / Don’t Cry Wolf / Jack Agency / Build Hollywood
Shortlist:
Crisis “How Crisis made homelessness impossible to ignore” by The Kite Factory / Adam & Eve/DDB
Currys “Cash for trash” by Spark Foundry / AMV BBDO
Simply Roasted “Simply Roasted’s ginormous packs” by And Rising / Clear Channel
Specsavers “Should’ve 2.0” by Talon / MGOMD / Grand Visual / The Agency / JACK / Global Street Art
Subway “Go big go subway” by Kinetic / Essence Mediacom Scotland / Above and Beyond / DOOH.com
PLANNING
Data and Intelligence Award
Gold:
Tesco “Together this Ramadan” by Kinetic / Essence Mediacom / BBH / DOOH.com / The Unmistakables
Silver:
Lumo Trains “Cure your flight shame” by Kinetic / Essence Mediacom Scotland / Mother / Hivestack / Flux Outdoor
Bronze:
Starbucks “Winning the hearts and minds of Gen Z For Starbucks” by Talon / Havas Media UK / Iris
Shortlist:
Aperol, Campari Group “Aperol Spritz: together we joy” by Kinetic / Wavemaker Select
CRUK “CRUK race for life” by Kinetic / Essence Mediacom / Choreograph / Finecast / Xaxis / DOOH.com
Cross-Format Award
Gold:
Home Office “Violence against women and girls” by Posterscope / Wavemaker / OmniGov at MGOMD / FCB Inferno
Silver:
GWI “Made you look” by Mediabridge / December19 / Truant London
Bronze:
KFC “There’s nothing like the first bite” by Kinetic / Mindshare / Mother
Shortlist:
BBC “BBC women In sport dynamic DOOH” by Talon / Havas Media UK / Grand Visual / BBC Creative
Gousto “Give it some” by Kinetic / the7stars / Mother
HSBC “Safe spaces” by Talon / PHD / Wunderman Thompson
Shelter “No More Unhelpful Hacks” by Talon / Yonder Media
Sky Entertainment “The midwich cuckoos” by Rapport / Essence Mediacom / Sky Creative
Cross-Channel Award
Gold:
NBCUniversal “Dream big dreams with sing 2” by Kinetic / Essence Mediacom / Stellar / XYI Design / Ocean Outdoor / Global
Silver:
Durex “The glory wall” by Publicis Media / Zenith UK / Vayner Media
Bronze:
Cadbury, Mondelez “Cadbury secret santa” by Dentsu / Carat / VCCP
Shortlist:
Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group “Halifax best places to live” by Zenith OOH / Zenith / NCA
NOW “The fear index” by Rapport / Essence Mediacom / Stink Studios
EFFECTIVENESS
Brand Building Award
Gold:
Reed “Love Mondays again” by The Grove Media / Isobel Advertising
Silver:
Sky “Content worth paying for”by Rapport / Essence Mediacom / Sky Creative
Bronze:
H&M “Delivering meaningful fun and fashion for all” by Kinetic / the7stars
Shortlist:
GWI “Made you look” by Mediabridge / December19 / Truant London
Starbucks “Winning the hearts and minds of Gen Z For Starbucks” by Talon / Havas Media UK / Iris
Starling Bank “Forget everything you know about banking” by Talon / Electric Glue
Local Advertising Award
Gold:
Channel 4 “Proud all over” by Talon / OMD / 4creative
Silver:
Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group “Halifax best places to live” by Zenith OOH / Zenith / NCA
Bronze:
The British Transplant Games “Leeds 2022” by The Ark Marketing & Media / We Are Liquid / St James Hospital
Shortlist:
Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group “Cost-of-living support” by Zenith OOH / Zenith / Adam & Eve/DDB
Greene King “Pulling people back to the pubs for Greene King” at Posterscope / Total Media
Newcastle World “Targeting the toon army for Newcastle World” by Regital / Bonded Agency
Wendy’s “Wendy’s Camden opening” by Energy / Spark Foundry / VML&YR
New Approach Award
Gold:
Royal Opera House “New worlds await” by Immerse Agency / Altair Media
Silver:
La Vie “La Vie launch” by Rapport / Bicycle / Buzzman
Bronze:
Starbucks “Winning the hearts and minds of Gen Z For Starbucks” by Talon / Havas Media UK / Iris
Shortlist:
Hollywood Bowl Group “Brighten up their day” by Talon / Smithfield / Satellite Creative
TalkTalk “Building TalkTalk’s brand & business through OOH” by Kinetic / mSix&Partners / The&Partnership Manchester
A PLATFORM FOR GOOD
National Social Impact Award
Gold:
Alzheimer’s Society “Dementia Action Week 2022: it’s not called getting old, it’s called getting ill” by
MediaLab / New Commercial Arts / Clear Channel
Silver:
Home Office “Violence against women and girls” by Posterscope / Wavemaker / OmniGov at MGOMD / FCB Inferno
Bronze:
Yoko Ono “Imagine peace” by CIRCA / Landsec / Piccadilly Lights
Shortlist:
Currys “Cash for trash” by Spark Foundry / AMV BBDO
HSBC “Safe spaces” by Talon / PHD / Wunderman Thompson
Shelter “No more unhelpful hacks” by Talon / Yonder Media
Community Social Impact Award
Gold:
Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice “Nurse recruitment campaign” by OMD / Oliver
Silver:
Channel 4 “Proud all over” by Talon / OMD / 4creative
Bronze:
Sistah Space “Valerie’s law the threat is just as deadly” by Clear Channel
Shortlist:
Bristol City Council “Bristol’s clean air zone” by Bauer Media / T4 Media Group / Out of Hand / Elonex / I-media / Build Hollywood / Bristol Design / Clear Channel / JCDecaux / Global Media
Tellmi “Tellmi” by Dentsu / JCDecaux
The British Transplant Games “Leeds 2022” by The Ark Marketing & Media / We Are Liquid / St James Hospital
TALENT
Rising Star Award
Winner:
Lucy Baumgartner, senior effectiveness executive, Talon
Shortlist:
Annabel Mizen, client manager, Evolve OOH
Emily Outram, account manager, The Ark Marketing & Media
Georgia Hamp, client manager, Grand Visual