The Big Game is just weeks away and TV ad slots for the broadcast are sold out. According to the Wall Street Journal, advertisers paid up to $5.6 million for 30 seconds of airtime, which exceeds the $5.3 million spent per spot last year.

According to the calendar it's officially fall, even though the kids are still wearing shorts to school, the air conditioning is cranking into the night and sweat is dripping from your brow. Despite these oddities, it must be October because football flags are flying high and Instagram is flush with proud apple-pickers and those adventurous others sporting lederhosen while drinking from steins. Welcome to Oktoberfest! To see how outdoor creatives are embracing the season, check out what we're loving in out-of-home.

Smokey Bear, the face of the longest-running PSA campaign in United States history, turned 75 this August, continuing his legacy of bringing awareness to unwanted, human-caused fires in America. Smokey Bear's wildfire prevention campaign has had a dramatic impact since its introduction in 1944, and this progress continues today, with an approximate 14 percent reduction in the average number of human-caused wildfires from 2011-2018, compared to the previous 10 years. While it's clear his work has been successful, 9 out of 10 wildfires are still caused by humans, which means Smokey's iconic message is as important as ever.

Outdoor and Smokey have a storied history. To see how Smokey’s image has evolved through the years, scroll through Clear Channel's vintage billboard collection dating back to the 1950s.

One of auto marketing’s most venerable and powerful partners, outdoor advertising (OOH), is harnessing mobile data to help advertisers understand consumer behaviors so they can more efficiently plan, amplify and measure their campaigns.

With these new groundbreaking solutions, local, regional and national auto dealers can reach different consumer groups based on their behaviors exhibited in the online and offline worlds and deliver advertising when they’re most receptive to commercial messages.

Here are two success stories that illustrate how these methods increased lift in visits to auto dealerships.

To boost brand awareness, provide consumers with an experience and become part of their travel journey. With 88 percent of air travelers spending 30 plus minutes walking the concourse, this is an opportune time for brands to connect with an on-site campaign.

It's exactly what leading brands 3M, Barclays and Wrigley’s Chewing Gum did when they teamed up with Clear Channel Airports to execute specially crafted experiential programs. All unique in their own way, these promotions offered travelers a one-on-one, hands-on experience from enjoying free chewing gum to participating in a product demonstration to immersing themselves in a "Win" tunnel for a chance to win prizes. Here's how these brands did it:

All they do is WIN, WIN, WIN. Of course, we're referring to the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. Throughout their journey in the 2019 World Cup, powerful imagery of the team clad in bright red jerseys with stoic poses and strong statements displayed prominently on the outdoor canvas. As they continued to knock out competitor after competitor, the vision of their strong legs gliding across the turf, connecting with their teammates and shooting past the goalie will stay with their fans forever. Check out the inspiring out-of-home creative that has recorded history this summer, and more head-turning campaigns that will make your world go upside down.

Distracted driving took the lives of 3,166 people in 2017. Research shows texting while driving increases the risk of a teen vehicle crash by 23 times, and is the leading cause of teen deaths. One in three teens who text said they have done so—while driving. This is why Clear Channel Outdoor has partnered with Project Yellow Light and the Ad Council for the fourth year in the effort to #StopTextsStopWrecks.

Project Yellow Light hosts an annual nationwide scholarship competition calling for students to create a TV, radio or billboard PSA to educate the public about the dangers of distracted driving. Scholarships of up to $5,000 are awarded to those who create the most captivating PSAs promoting safe driving habits. This year, 2,709 students vied for the scholarship awards, a 69% increase from 2018!

Visually striking, vinyl-wrapped outdoor displays, Premiere Panels are informative, engaging and effective. They deliver reach, scale and frequency similar to bulletins, combined with the street level impact of transit shelters. According to a recent Nielsen Poster Study, 55% of those surveyed said when they noticed a directional Premiere Panel they changed their plans and visited the business advertised, and 60% said they are a good way to learn about sales, events and new businesses in the area. And they're memorable—those exposed 11+ times had an average ad recall of 55%.

Here are 5 reasons to add Premiere Panels to your media mix:

For grocers looking to cut through the clutter of weekly mailers, Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising has proved to be an effective partner in ringing up new sales opportunities. By using digital mobile location data, marketers can now identify shoppers’ travel patterns and behaviors in the physical world, identifying routes consumers most often travel and the optimal billboard locations to reach them.

Once consumers have been exposed to the billboards, marketers can retarget them with a digital coupon/offer via mobile and other digital platforms. Analysis of this same data delivers measurable outcomes and actionable insights to further reinforce a brand’s message among their desired consumer groups. In this post, we share a recent case study from a leading grocery chain employing this strategy.

In a city commonly referred to as Cowboys' Country and inside a state whose slogan starts with “Everything’s bigger…”, the Dallas Mavericks knew they had to GO BIG to standout in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. Heading into the 2018-2019 season, they had a clear mission: To excite, inspire and unite communities through entertainment, service and memorable experiences, creating Mavs Fans for Life.

If you’ve ever attended a Dallas Mavericks game, you've seen firsthand how the entertainment inside the arena spans far beyond the basketball played on court. Each and every game is uniquely memorable for those in attendance with immersive experiences scattered throughout the entire stadium. But this year’s mission was to unite “communities,” and not just the fans inside the building. So, how did Clear Channel combine the Mavs' experiential marketing initiatives with their dominant OOH presence outside of the stadium?