viewpoint12A definitive insight into the

UK Out of Home industry

the london 2012 olympicsA look at how the Games have shaped the OOH industry

embracing digital OOHAn exploration of digital OOH and its evolving attributes

cannes lions 2012The best of OOH at this year’s Cannes Lions festival

future OOH innovationsAn insight into OOH trends we expect to see in 2013

introduction

Welcome to our latest viewpoint newsletter – the developments and reflections issue.

Published bi-annually, Viewpoint is Kinetic’s perspective on current industry developments, trends and innovations in the UK.

In this issue we delve into how successful the Olympic Games were for the UK and the OOH industry; how the digital OOH sector is being shaped by the technological revolution that has taken grip; we look at the future of OOH, and examine the innovative campaigns that are driving real activation and winning awards.

The London 2012 Olympics were unique in how they inspired and facilitated social media engagement - this was reflected in the 150million Olympic related tweets generated throughout the Games. We examine what drove the 9.9% revenue growth in the second quarter, showcase the best OOH activity and look at some of the key stats around the Games.

Interactive OOH campaigns are now more prevalent than ever before: we assess if they are being executed correctly and provide industry guidelines on how to encourage interactivity and activation; discover what people’s preferred engagement methods are out of the choices available, and determine why there is a bias towards touch.

In conclusion, we examine those recent campaigns that have embodied innovation and enticed consumers to engage with brands, including living verdure 6 sheets, liquid 3D spectaculars and iD6 screens that provide sound bites via headphone ports for fervent basketball fans.

We hope you enjoy this issue and appreciate your feedback at people@kineticww.com.

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The London 2012 Games have been broadly praised around the globe. All the anxiety over security, transport and whether Team GB would manage to bring home enough medals disappeared into a sea of Union flags and patriotic exuberance once the opening ceremony passed the international taste test and the medals did indeed start rolling in. When people were surveyed by the BBC during the last weekend of the Games, around 83% of people said the Games had a positive effect on the UK and 80% thought it had made people more proud to be British. The buzz out on the streets was undeniable and unavoidable.

London 2012 marked a significant change in the way people engaged with an Olympic Games. Advancements in technology, specifically smart phones and tablets, meant that people could engage with and discuss the Games in more ways than ever before and, importantly for OOH, could do so whenever and wherever they were, interacting with brand activity along the way. Back in 2008 during the Beijing Games, only 12% of people in the UK had a smartphone. This time around that number sits at over 50%. In 2008 you would have had to ask what a tablet was; in 2012 over 11% of households in Britain have one. To say much has changed in the way we follow large scale events in the last couple of years

would be an understatement.

There were 15 million downloads of the official London 2012 app.

4.7million social followers across official London 2012 channels on twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Foursquare.

80,000 tweets were made per minute about Usain Bolt’s 200-meter gold win, the record for tweets per minute during Olympic competition.

Between July 27 and August 8, Jessica Ennis experienced an increase of more than 500% (541,946) in the number of fans on her Facebook page.

This gives an indication as to how social media helped people to feel closer to the Games and particularly to the athletes, which inevitably meant they felt more engaged with the event as a whole.

Outdoor advertising also performs this function and has proved to drive social media activity, albeit in a different way. Sponsor activity provided masses of colour and atmosphere out on the streets leading up to and during the Games, helping to create buzz and get people talking - online and offline.

There were hundreds of references to athletes on posters (Jessica Ennis, Tom Daley, Usain Bolt and Mo Farrah) and

It’s all over. The athletes have gone home and the volunteers are back at work. Everyone is talking about the impact the London 2012 Olympic Games have had on Britain, but what was the impact for the OOH industry?

the london 2012 olympic games06 A definitive insight into the

UK Out of Home industry

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other overt references to Nike, Adidas, BA and McDonald’s advertising. From a brand perspective, sentiment swayed from clear support (majority; for athlete-themed ads) to confusion (some ad messages) and negative (mainly around corporate ticketing). Significantly, the ads were clearly noticed.

Campaigns

BP took over the Cromwell Road for 12 weeks and welcomed visitors coming through Heathrow T5 and the Heathrow express.

British Airways used a wide variety of OOH formats to trumpet their support of Team GB including 96s, 48s and London Underground formats. Along with the M4 Tower and 100 wrapped taxis.

You couldn’t have missed Visa if you have been in London anytime over the last few months. They have dominated the streets with wrapped buses and taxis. They also welcomed visitors coming into London via Paddington Station and Heathrow airport.

The more than 5.5 million people who passed through Westfield Stratford during the games wouldn’t have been able to miss Lloyd’s domination of Stratford Station.

It wasn’t just Westfield that saw huge numbers of visitors, retailers across London’s Bond, Oxford and Regent Streets too saw an increase. In the first week of the Games, Heart of London reported that footfall around Piccadilly, Haymarket, Shaftesbury Avenue and St James’s was up 11.6% on the previous week and 16.2% up on the same week in 2011. John Lewis said sales over the first week of the Games are up 22% compared to the same period last year.

Shoppers in these areas were treated to some spectacular station dominations; Nike at Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus, H&M at Covent Garden station and JD Sports showing heavily on

London Bus.

Despite initial fears, London’s transport network performed well and the Underground carried more passengers (4.4m) on Friday 3rd August than on any other day in history. Heineken kept travellers informed wherever they were with dynamic copy changes to show which events were on that day.

OOH advertising contributed hugely to building the atmosphere around the Games; revenues grew 9.9% to £229m in the second quarter of 2012, led mostly by sponsors. Q3 is expected to be even more successful with as much as a 25% lift.

Just drove past @TomDaley1994 Adidas campaign poster #buff

Passing the Jess Ennis poster every morning on the bus makes my day

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The digital OOH sector is in its relative infancy and already in the midst of a technological revolution that is changing the way OOH campaigns can interact and connect with their target audiences. The fast growth and development in this market segment have cemented a platform for the evolution of the industry and technological advancements are fast changing the face of this medium - literally, in the case of the new Amplify Eyelites, which now incorporate interactive mobile panels on each of their interactive 6 sheets.

The sector is booming and after a strong start in the first quarter of this year, digital Out of Home continues to go from strength to strength. The sector has grown 24% and 53% in the second and third quarters of this year and Kinetic estimates that by the end of 2012, spend will reach over £165m, an increase of 32% on 2011. If this level is achieved, digital OOH will account for 17.1% of the overall UK OOH market.

Recent developments

Recognising the potential to reach consumers in a more eye-catching and engaging way, media owners have been investing heavily in their digital Outdoor portfolios. Key media owners such as JCDecaux and Clear Channel have expanded their digital mall and roadside offerings and in London there have

been new installations at King’s Cross Station and the digitalisation of the Eurostar terminals at St. Pancras. Primesight has invested in its Cinema portfolio by introducing a national network of digital screens; whilst Ocean, Outdoor Plus and MediaCo are just some of the media owners constantly developing and innovating their product range with more opportunities to reach people in a receptive frame of mind. Where previously media owners focused on location and screen development, technological advancements in the field of communications mean they are now able to invest in interactive elements as standard, and indeed are doing so.

Pioneering advertisers

Recognising the encouraging statistics produced by various research projects that have examined how consumers are embracing digital Outdoor advertising, such as CBS Outdoor’s European study which confirmed that the number of people prepared to take ‘interactive action’ is impressively high at 70%, advertisers are starting to adapt their campaigns to take advantage of the interactive possibilities. A notable campaign was Nike’s ‘Make it Count’ campaign that introduced a pioneering example of interactivity at Westfield’s Stratford complex. Shoppers were invited to write a New Year’s pledge and have it instantly uploaded with their photo to the 200 CBS Outdoor screens throughout the shopping centre for all to see. The campaign demonstrated the versatility and flexibility of the digital screens and the ability of audiences to interact with brands in real time.

By choosing digital OOH, clients can now achieve a truly flexible broadcast communication, but can also customise their message to location, circumstance, time of day and day of week. The combination of mobile and digital OOH is already leading to instant interaction, digital coupons, brand content, games and apps, as well as search. All of which will ultimately result in more engagement and a stimulus to purchase.

embracing digital OOH and the technological revolution

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The ability to share content is becoming paramount and this aspect of digital OOH will continue to grow; already we have seen strong examples, from Sky News, Time Out, and ITV driving news and information content, to strong brand associations with relevant and location-based context from TomTom, IBM, Amex and others, effectively blurring content and message to great effect.

Our own research in Reading with JCDecaux, found that brands that elicit the most positive interactions did so though a combination of relevance,

dynamic content and a strong call to action. Conversion and deeper engagement rates were strong and even redemption rates – where tested – yielded weekly results as high as 18%.

Sustainable growth

At the core of digital OOH sustainable growth and development, is recognising its unique flexibility, adaptable nature and potential to connect with consumers. Campaigns such as ‘The Times, The Paper of records’, which streamed images of the next morning’s cover pages to London Underground

commuters, capitalised on digital Out of Home’s key attributes – its ability to react in real-time with relevant copy to a broadcast audience. Ideal campaigns for DOOH are those focused upon the medium’s capability to reach consumers in a purchase mode, with a real-time message and a true incentive to engage, whether it is via an instant QR code scan, NFC voucher download or a social media communication.

Request a copy of Kinetic’s 2012/13 UK Digital Handbook with our expert view on each UK digital site. Contact details are located on the back page.

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Interaction insights

Mainstream campaigns now appearing across the interactive Out of Home networks have created real potential for activating brand engagement in the OOH environment.

Our recommendations for maximising the impact of interactivity are derived from numerous campaigns and some real research and data capture around activation, both physical (through touch, gesture or other means) and device-led (through smartphone technology).

Kinetic has pioneered a media first in the UK market in a collaborative venture with JCDecaux. Every 6 sheet panel in the town of Reading became fully interactive for four weeks in March 2012 – thanks to an investment and commitment from JCDecaux - allowing people to download content, information, offers and directly engage with brands through an NFC or QR link to their smartphone. 13 Kinetic clients tested real interactive content to give us genuine data and insight around the current and future potential of interactivity and OOH.

While much of the focus on NFC has been on mobile payment applications, the immediate opportunity appears to

be in using the technology to enhance mobile marketing techniques. Education, even among smartphone users, is still paramount to foster the uptake and understanding of NFC whilst in the early stages of adoption, and we need to see more penetration across handsets.

What drives activation?

The study elicited 6,000 scans using QR and NFC-enabled devices as people freely chose to interact with communication messages for 16 separate campaigns across 300 JCDecaux 6 sheet panels in the town. The brands ranged from cars, TV channels and film releases to personal care products, drinks and grocery retailers. The results clearly show us that new technology is fuelling the public’s appetite for interactive Out of Home advertising. Over 3,000 individuals engaged and people were overwhelmingly positive about the experience, citing the ease of use of the technology (in particular NFC) as a real driver.

The study revealed that campaigns that combined relevance, dynamic content and a strong call-to-action received the strongest interactions.

There were differences in the number of

interactions by genuine interest in the brand, but relevance is the key driver, coupled with the nature of the content or the presence of a valuable and tangible offer. Male-orientated brands drive higher interaction rates generally, with greater affinity to technology and video content. However there was strong female engagement across deals, ideas and social media.

Conversion and redemption rates were particularly high and exceeded our expectation, signalling a real propensity for engaging with content, data and brand offers. The average initial download conversion rate was 24% and ultimate voucher redemption - where tested - was 7%. Voucher redemptions were found to attract new customers, with activity highest where the poster site was in proximity to the store.

The full interactive choice

Kinetic has partnered with Clear Channel to investigate the Out of Home interactive experience, to identify the goals and guidelines to make this experience effective and what are the consumer preferences to activate that experience into a longer-lasting and impactful brand engagement. A de-branded game was devised to test people’s interactive preferences (experience: call to action and data

activation research

capture) with a competitive element and a prize-winning opportunity.

Learnings demonstrate a very positive future for interactivity and activation in OOH, through the nature of the engagement people are happy to have with OOH messages, their understanding of the creative experience and an appreciation of what the future potential interactive experiences can deliver to brand relationships.

The test, also conducted in early 2012, elicited over 2,000 interactions across the 14 days (at one panel). That meant an average of 161 people per day interacted, for a considerable time of over 3 minutes (195 seconds).Interacting attracted an audience of both genders and a fairly broad age range up to the mid-40s. Reasons for engaging included...

• To be stimulated, relieve boredom

• Doing something different/for a change

• Attracted by incentives

• To engage with brands they like

A real preference for touch

Whilst strong triggers and a clear call to action are required to start the

experience, intrigue is the initial attraction; people are curious and interested in this type of experience; only a minority is self-conscious.Colour and the positioning of triggers will have an impact, for example red is preferred over green, but people are much more comfortable engaging in touchscreen technology (over gesture or body motion). Having experienced the options, around 85% found touch more enjoyable and interactive; 97% found it easier to use.

Data capture

The rules change slightly for capturing data and information. Over half chose a direct mobile route to leaving details or as an option to engage further. Half of all selections on the screen were for smartphone activation, a further 30% were for social media engagements (where a significant minority is comfortable) and only a fifth for touchscreen, which is felt too impersonal for such details.

In terms of final activations, a similar ratio was delivered, with 57% being through smartphone and a third via social media options.

The Future

One consistent observation is the halo effect created around brands and how

much more positive people are about brands that encourage interaction. Over 80% believe it is a good way for brands to talk to people and to promote their products and services, whilst leveraging engagement and dialogue with their customers on a long-term basis.

Furthermore, 93% say they will be likely to take notice of this type of interactive experience in the future; 3 in 4 people are likely to interact again, with over a third very likely.

Clearly there’s a strong opportunity to leverage technology and consumer comfort around activation of their brand experience whilst out and about and in proximity to shopping and purchasing moments. The study has identified strong levels of interaction, long dwell times, consumer positivity for the experience and a positive potential brand halo effect. Significantly, there is a high propensity for further interaction and this opens the scope for increased potential in OOH for the activation of dynamic content through NFC, QR and location-led solutions.

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The results clearly show us that new technology is fuelling the public’s appetite for interactive Out of Home advertising. Over 3,000 individuals engaged and people were overwhelmingly positive about the experience.

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outdoor creativity is alive and well at cannes lions 2012

For nearly 60 years, the Cannes Lions have set the standard for excellence in creative communications. The Festival is where creative professionals come to debate, learn and be inspired and where those pushing creative communications forward are celebrated. This year’s Cannes Outdoor Lions unveiled some truly spectacular work and reinforced the key attributes that make Out of Home such a potent and evocative advertising medium.

Of the 4,843 entries in the Outdoor category, 588 made it to the shortlist with a total of 112 selected as winners, of which 25 were Gold, 35 Silver and 50 Bronze. Two Grand Prix were awarded in the Outdoor category.

Coca Cola’s Grand Prix delivered the power of strong creative, dovetailing a neat idea and iconic imagery to give the campaign genuine standout.

The ad shows what can be achieved with the power of an image and a simple concept. With no copy, the message is so strikingly visual that it plays to the core strengths of Out of Home. The unification of the famous branding of Coca Cola with the linking hands sharing a bottle neatly crystallised the message behind Coke’s ‘Open Happiness’ global marketing campaign.

The other Outdoor Grand Prix winner showcased how technology and creativity can fuse together to create eye-catching results. Mercedes launched an inventive campaign showcasing hydrogen-powered cars. Designed especially to promote the car’s ability to produce zero emissions and protect the

environment, the automobile was covered in several mats of LEDs on the driver side of the car and mounted a Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera on the opposite side of the vehicle. The imaginative mechanism shot video on the passenger side of the car and the video is displayed in real time on the driver side of the car. A simple enough concept, but the execution was a genuine innovation that again neatly encapsulated a message in a surprising way.

From these two very distinct pieces of work, we can see the raw visual power and intrinsically innovative capabilities of Out of Home.

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Innovation has been a driving factor behind Out of Home in recent years, through a combination of media owner investment, technology advancement and consumer accessibility. We expect to see the following innovation trends come to the fore within Out of Home in 2013, capitalising on the technology, digital and social media revolution we have seen impact the medium in 2011 and 2012.

Interactive 6 sheets

We expect to see a growth in the use of interactive 6 sheets in more environments. A number of brands, including Foster’s, Volvo and Microsoft have embraced interactive campaigns creating real engagement, social media tie-ins, data capture and promoting brand advocacy. We expect touch to prevail as the key interaction technique, but camera-based technology is also possible. NFC or QR integration will facilitate content download and brand activiation.

People-powered campaigns

A key trend for 2013 will be user generated content (UGC), making consumer engagement with OOH authentic and real through live brand experiences and smartphone interaction. Content generated through live brand experiences can be leveraged to connect through to other media platforms including other OOH formats, social media and digital.

UGC streamed to digital OOH puts consumers at the heart of any campaign. This creates a platform for sharing experiences and social media commentary on a broadcast scale with brands facilitating the experience. Grand Visual’s OpenLoop technology allows brands to directly update live content to multiple digital formats at the touch of a button, as used by Nike throughout its #makeitcount campaign in 2012.

Mobile Interactivity

Mobile and the smartphone will infiltrate all aspects of OOH interactivity and activation. We expect to see growth in mobile interactive campaigns via QR and then NFC as NFC-enabled phone penetration and contactless payments and m-commerce grows.

New technology provides potential for all smartphone users to actively engage with campaigns in OOH environments. The increased availability and demand for campaign activation is becoming anincreasing feature of the UK market. Kinetic has conducted two major insight projects, with partners JCDecaux and Clear Channel, to understand how interaction and activation works (from Touchscreen to NFC) and has a fuller understanding of how campaigns can activate consumers in the right way.

Use of mobile Augmented Reality techniques such as Blippar and Aurasma are also expected to expand in 2013.

Multi sensory experiences

Multi sensory creations are gaining

popularity as OOH engagements are being made more immersive through the addition of touch, sound and other stimuli. Technology advancements offer strong connections to social media as consumers are keen to share their experiences. 4D projections with sound or smell, lift wraps with smell, sound showers and touchscreens all provide opportunities to enhance the human brand experience.

Urban installations

The emergence of smarter cities to galvanise our immediate surroundings has created the landscape and opportunity to communicate directly to the urban, mobile, connected consumer.

Urban dwellers spend more. They also expect more from their surroundings and actively adopt brands that enrich their environment. And there is no better way to do this than through OOH. The insights gained from the sophisticated data trails left by urbanites enable more detailed and targeted OOH planning.

Despite having global connections, people’s identity is still heavily anchored to the city they live in. Through OOH, brands have the opportunity to start conversations amongst these urban communities and become part of the cultural and social landscape. From living art to graffiti walls expect to see an increase in examples of brands creating artistic installations in unexpected places.

future innovation trends

A definitive insight into the UK Out of Home industry12

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Bespoke living 6 sheets were designed for PIRI’s latest campaign. Twelve sites nationwide were transformed to accommodate and nurture living floral environments to create awareness of the increase of hay fever over the summer months.

The campaign used special water retaining soil and fans to maintain temperature and regulate humidity. Interior LED lighting added a final flourish, as well as full colour border graphics with PIRI branding.

Carling’s latest campaign for its “Brilliantly British, Brilliantly Refreshing” message pioneered a spectacular 3D special build. The billboards incorporated a 3D vacuum formed model of a Carling pint glass containing liquid inside, which moved to create a refreshing bubble effect within the glass.

The special builds, which appeared around the country, created a wow factor that genuinely engaged passersby.

For Nike+’s Basketball promotion, ID6 screens were placed in bus shelter wraps to allow the consumer to plug in their headphones so they could view video content of basketball star Lebron James in action and listen to sound bites from the player and the campaign.

The user could also choose to view imagery and details of the footwear in the Hyperdunk+ range, as well as the science behind the making of the sports range.

innovation in out of home Out of Home advertising is currently going through a rapid growth in innovation. Campaigns are becoming more interactive through the employment of gender, facial and gesture recognition, touch screen technology and the integration of mobile, social and interactive applications. This will ultimately make campaigns more memorable and personal by connecting the consumer to the brand.

The following examples show how the boundaries of traditional Outdoor formats are being pushed.

Continued innovation is imperative for the future of Out of Home, keeping the medium directly in-line with customer needs will ensure the longevity of the medium. The integration of social media and interactive applications keeps brands at the forefront of the consumers mind, giving maximum impact to any campaign.