Reaching a Captive Audience: Holiday Travelers in our Nation's Airports
Whether they're home-bound, warm-weather bound or off to a destination less charted, travelers are in countdown mode to take flight this holiday season. AAA projects 54.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving, a 4.8 percent increase over last year.
"Consumers have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season: higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels of household wealth," said Bill Sutherland, AAA Travel senior vice president. "This is translating into more travelers kicking off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving getaway, building on a positive year for the travel industry."
Topics: Travel & Tourism
What We're Loving in OOH: Lady Gaga, AR and The Grinch
For some, the thought of stowing the Halloween decorations and going full-on 'Santa and snowflakes mode' is just too much. They need more transition time. Don't fret, the terror isn't gone yet − we're sharing some of our scarier fall campaigns, and Mr. Grinch himself for those cringing at holiday music (too soon, too soon)!
There's nothing we love more than the creative geniuses that display their art on our billboards across the country. Check them out in these unskippable campaigns.
Topics: Entertainment, OOH Capabilities, What We're Loving, Digital Billboards
Regardless of issue, affiliation, party, candidate or zip code, only one thing will make a difference on November 6th: Showing up. Of the myriad challenges political candidates face today—delivering campaign messages to their voters, getting new voters to the polls, standing out against their opponents—what they need most is for their constituents to move beyond social media posts and dinnertime debate and to VOTE.
Billboards deliver by building brand awareness, driving action with no interruptions, reaching voters by district, demographics and behavior and by being omnipresent. While political campaigns have traditionally placed their buys on television, many are becoming more savvy in their planning and using out-of-home strategically, including Vote.org, which placed their messaging on more than 2,500 billboards in nine states, including Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
Topics: OOH Capabilities, Political, Digital Billboards
With fall's arrival, it gets darker earlier, an eeriness lurks in the air, protruding skeleton bones emerge from lawns across your neighborhood, and creepy clowns are celebrated. Folks...this is Halloween.
Halloween is the third largest holiday in the U.S., following Christmas and the Super Bowl, and almost 80% of households are expected to make related purchases. With over 171 million Americans celebrating Halloween each year, there is a huge opportunity for your brand to utilize the largest creative canvas to elevate your seasonal message—and to share a little scare!
Topics: What We're Loving, Holiday
Football Creative: Using OOH to Reach NFL Fans on the Move
With unusually warm weather lingering across the country, the only thing making it feel like fall again − is football season! Tailgating, trash-talking, high-fiving, Super Bowl-predicting fans dominate the chatter at the office, on social and in our very own kitchens, Thursday thru Monday. Ok, it's ALL THE TIME...up until the Big Game in Atlanta this February.
While you may think of NFL fans as glued to the screen, they're on the move:
- 59% are more likely to have a daily commute of 30+ minutes
- 52% are more likely to travel 500+ miles a week, and
- 124% are more likely to take 3+ personal vacations a year (maybe they're checking off that stadium bucket list one by one?)
With 256 regular season games and over 17 million fans heading to stadiums each season, there is huge upside for advertisers to align themselves with game day. Whether your brand's focus is local or more of a national play, out-of-home is an unskippable medium that reaches consumers en route to the game, those picking up eats for their own turf, and those reliving every blissful touchdown during their drive the next morning.
Topics: Entertainment, Sports, What We're Loving
Java, Cawfee, Mud: Out-of-Home Helps Consumers Find Their Brew
Are you a walking zombie until you've had your morning Cup of Joe? How do you take it? Black, no sugar...cold brew...or, are you a little more particular as in "Triple Venti, Half Sweet, Non-Fat, Caramel Macchiato"? No judgment, just hope we aren't waiting behind you in line...
Here's a fun fact: Light coffee has more caffeine than dark coffee. That's because the longer the coffee is brewed, the more caffeine is cooked out of the beans.
Topics: Food & Beverages, Digital Billboards
What We're Loving in Out-of-Home: A Megalodon, Vodka and Tom Cruise
Not since childhood have we been so terrified of the water, thanks to this haunting visual of summer fun that's about to turn horrifying. The Meg, is apparently not the nickname for the cute, friendly lifeguard at the neighborhood pool, but a prehistoric-sized creature that likes tubes, legs and all things made of flesh. Check out this adrenaline-boosting out-of-home creative that may make some weekend warriors change direction while en route to the beach:
Topics: Entertainment, OOH Capabilities, What We're Loving, Digital Billboards
Pearl Jam Raises Awareness for Homelessness in their Hometown
Topics: Entertainment, Travel & Tourism, Airports
Made You Look! Using Humor in Outdoor Advertising
Certain human emotions are universal, we all like to laugh (and scream...sometimes), but yes, that tummy-aching, cackling, snorting, "I just spit out my coffee" laughter ranks high on the list. To wake up worker bees and catch the attention of frenzied commuters, humorous outdoor imagery is used to not only make someone's day, but to leave a lasting brand impression.
Truly brilliant copywriters insert tongue-twisters, teasers, slow reveals and copy that will give the brain pause, and make passersby take a second look...and then another and then maybe an Insta-selfie. If those engaged consumers suddenly feel a smile spread across their face, accompanied by a side stitch of laughter, consider your campaign a bona fide success.
Here's one recent example that made its debut in the NYC neighborhood of Soho last week:
As Adweek shared, The focal point of these ads are gushing (made-up) quotes like “Sensational in bed!” or “A total snooze fest!” Printed in old-fashioned fonts, these humorous ads meant to invoke the feeling of a Broadway playbill. “While we take sleep very seriously at Casper, we don’t take ourselves too seriously," said Jeff Brooks, Casper's CMO. “That’s been a big part of our brand from the beginning."
Topics: Entertainment, Digital Billboards
Airports Boost Brand Awareness Among Travelers Attending Major Sporting Events
Sports Tourism is a hot and fast-growing sector of the global travel industry. Ranking high on the bucket list in the U.S. are the Super Bowl, the Masters, the Triple Crown of Horse Racing (Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and Belmont), the NCAA Final Four, Daytona 500, the US Open of Surfing, and the US Open Tennis Tournament. Recent trends show that these travelers want an authentic experience, extending their stay to get a taste and feel of the city they're visiting.
Topics: Innovation, Airports, Experiential