All you’ve ever needed is an idea - but now the fame is bigger

Digital out-of-home has exploded in the 15 years since Ocean Outdoor’s Digital Creative Competition first launched in the UK. 

One thing has been consistent over the years: the contest, run with Campaign, has always been a constant force for bold, creative DOOH ideas. But the change it has witnessed across the industry over that time has been at an accelerated pace. 

How so? Some examples:

• DOOH now makes up 65% of OOH revenue, according to figures from PwC for Outsmart, and grew by 22.8% year on year in the first quarter of 2024.

• The tech capabilities of premium digital outdoor sites such as mid-air haptics (see Lego’s immersive play experience at Westfield Stratford) and 3D DeepScreen® (take a look at Magnum’s recent “Pleasure Express” ad on Piccadilly Lights) were the mere stuff of hopes and dreams back at the time of the competition’s debut in 2009. 

• And, a five-part Ocean-commissioned neuroscience programme over 10 years, which backs DOOH’s priming effect and the power of amplifying DOOH via social media, has built a robust narrative around how DOOH plays a potent part in any campaign.

Yet, despite the unchanging central ethos of the annual digital creative competition - all you need is an idea - the contest itself has also been evolving.

Having expanded from the UK, it is now in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway and will be in Germany too this year. In total, 30 winners (gold, silver and bronze) will be chosen across two categories – commercial and non-profit. They will be given space across Ocean screens in their country of entry to bring their campaigns to life.

There’s also a new UK category in 2024 - rewarding original concepts which leverage the scale and technical opportunities of the 900m2 full motion ceiling at Manchester’s Printworks SkyLights.

And, for the first time, the competition will be awarding a Grand Prix from among all of the 2024 international winners. 

While the 13 contenders will be judged on their original gold-winning concepts submitted through the individual country competitions, the champion can use Ocean’s screen space for a brand campaign of its choice. 

Ocean Studio will film the brand campaign, creating an asset to share across the Grand Prix winner’s owned digital and social channels. The DOOH campaign will run across seven European sites including: London’s Piccadilly Lights, the Amsterdam Leidseplein, Stockholm’s Halo, Copenhagen’s The Iconic, Helsinki’s Redi Icon, Oslo’s The Cube and a German site to be confirmed.

So the competition is fiercer, the prizes are bigger and the fame is greater - but all you’ve ever needed is an idea. And that hasn’t changed. 

If you’re still not sure whether to enter, hear how four recent winners did it.

Why is the Ocean Digital Creative Competition important?

Saatchi & Saatchi London, 2022 gold winner in the commercial category for EE’s “ Stay connected at night”: “The Ocean Digital Creative Competition helps agencies to get their work out on the big stage. It's free to enter and so it's easy to convince your boss or agency to enter work into it. And because Ocean provide a good chunk of the funding to help the work go live, it removes the money worries that sometimes stop clients backing an idea that they might not otherwise back.”

Mr President, 2023 gold winner in the non-profit category for Stonewall Housing’s “Behind closed doors”: “At Mr.P, we’re all about making your mark on the world. This competition allowed us to do just that! It gets agencies to flex their creative muscles in a completely different way, pushing us to think about how we can solve client challenges the opposite way round. Not only that, it’s a great opportunity for agencies and clients to push the boundaries of what’s possible with the latest DOOH tech, and ultimately get brands seen!

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, 2023 silver winner in the non-profit category for “Big Face” by Open Creates: “Because all it takes is an idea. That's why this competition is so incredible. It's accessible to everyone, offering an exciting opportunity for charities that might otherwise struggle to secure support for digital out-of-home channels. The competition pushes creative agencies and charities to think big and embrace new technologies, turning powerful stories into captivating moments that (hopefully!) inspire the public to engage with the causes we exist to support.”

ACNE, 2023 bronze winner in the non-profit category for The Hygiene Bank’s “Hiding in Plain Sight”: “It’s a measuring stick for the industry. And a great resource to steal ideas from for future OOH ideas. I’ve always used it as an inspiration to see what’s possible in OOH.”

What does it take to win? 

Saatchi & Saatchi London: “I'm sure it will all depend on what the judges are looking for each time, but we started with a strong idea and then looked at how the tech in each billboard could really help amplify our message. Could we use light to light up someone’s way home? Could we use the cameras to connect to other billboards? We also thought about how we could use each site location to amplify our message along a user’s journey around town.”

Mr President: “Number one is use it as an opportunity to work on something you’re passionate about, then pick a client that’s equally as passionate. Then, as always, the idea is King. Have a powerful insight that is super compelling that is then made even stronger by the smart innovative tech of Ocean Outdoor, rather than tech for techs sake! From a practical POV, it’s always good to create a case study film that brings your vision to life.”

GOSH Children’s Charity: “A willingness to play, explore the technology, and find a connection to your message is crucial. Day-to-day, we put seriously ill children and their families at the heart of everything we do, and that’s exactly what we did with our idea. They literally took over the entire screen! Staying true to our core purpose while harnessing the medium's possibilities was key for us.”

ACNE: “It’s a compelling idea that’s conceived with the tech in mind. Not an idea retro-fitted into OOH.”

What has winning meant to you? 

Saatchi & Saatchi London: “The idea that we created for Ocean Outdoor has gone on to win awards in other areas and has helped solidify the customer view that EE aren't just a brand that creates electronics, they also care about people. We truly believed in our ideas and that they were doing good for groups of people; that's a nice feeling to get out a bit of work that gives something back and it's also nice that the very same work increases the PR for us, the agency and the clients.”

Mr President: “We were genuinely honoured to receive the top prize among such great contenders. Stonewall Housing is a small charity and therefore the exposure alone is massive for them. The campaign has opened up further opportunities such as a partnership with Shelter HQ, where you can see the campaign photography in their window. They also got a shout out from Dame Kelly Holmes on socials! We hope this is just the beginning of them getting the attention they need and deserve.”

GOSH Children’s Charity: “This has been a wonderful achievement for the charity. It has revealed the incredible talent within our own teams and shown us that we can achieve things we never had before. It’s allowed us to bring patients and their families into the centre of the project, as well as enabling them to create unforgettable memories of their own. Personally, I've admired this competition from afar for years, amazed at how it encourages charities to step out of their comfort zones and find impactful new ways to tell their story. Now, I'm thrilled to be listed among the winning charities.”

ACNE: “It’s given a charity a national platform to raise awareness about its vital cause across media it would have never been able to use. As an agency, it galvanises our creatives to think differently about OOH.”

Go here to find out more and enter the 2024 competition and here for more on the 2023 winners.