5 Creative Examples of Digital Out-of-Home Advertising Campaigns
This campaign from McDonald's took into account the current temperature outside and recommended desserts based on it
The best outdoor ads are the ones that break the online-offline barrier and become truly global sensations. People love to take photos of them, videos about them are endlessly shared on social media. They inspire and show the vision of a hopeful future, filled with even more beauty and wonder.
And, of course, they are often an excellent news story — allowing you to launch online campaigns, talk about new launches on your social networks, and share news on the website. It doesn't work the other way around, by the way: few people care if you've launched a new ad on Facebook, or what new keyword you've added to your SEO profile. It just doesn't have the same visual flair.
Only outdoor advertising has the striking visual factor. It's palpable, it's part of the urban environment, it's an event in itself. That's why I love witnessing outdoor digital campaigns so much. It's our future, and it's beautiful.
Here are some of my favorite DOOH ads to get inspired by:
1. Apolosophy by Apotek Campaign
First, a very basic idea of what a digital outdoor ad can do to brighten the world around us.
An ordinary-looking poster on the Stockholm subway surprises travelers when the model in the advertisement suddenly reacts to an approaching train, as her hair is swept by the gust of wind.
Swedish pharmacy Apotek Hjärtat launched a new line of hair care products under the Apolosophy brand in 2014. To showcase the product's ability to bring hair to life, ad agency Okestam Holst created this captivating digital ad. To detect approaching trains, they used ultrasonic sensors, and when the signal from them was confirmed, the second video launched. This created the illusion of women's hair reacting to the wind. Unexpected and surprisingly beautiful.
Innovative and playful approaches to advertising can blur the line between the real and virtual worlds. Apotek also demonstrated that impressive campaigns can be produced without exorbitant budgets or large marketing teams. To expand the campaign beyond the subway station, the agency made a short online film depicting the ad and people's reactions to it, which garnered over 2.9 million unique views in 190 countries. The campaign has multiplied sales and awareness of the Apolosophy brand, making it one of the most successful in the Apotek Hjärtat lineup.
2. British Airways #Lookup Campaign
One of the most iconic digital outdoor advertisements. I'm sure you've seen it.
In 2013, British Airways placed billboards in London's Piccadilly Circus and Chiswick highway that reacted to aircraft flying overhead. When the billboard "saw" a BA plane passing by, the child started running, pointing up into the sky, chasing the plane. The billboard then updated and displayed information about this flight, showing, for example, that it is "BA 475 to Barcelona".
A very unique advertising campaign that truly transformed the world around us. Sometimes a person can catch himself looking at the sky and wondering where this plane is flying. Now, thanks to British Airways, they can get the answer. And, subconsciously, they will think about whether it's about time to book a flight somewhere as well.
The #Lookup campaign was implemented by Ogilvy 12th Floor advertising agency. Their ad has garnered over 3 million views across various web platforms and channels, making it not only an outdoor, but also an online sensation. This shows one of the very best things about DOOH advertising: it can (and should!) go viral on its own. People are much more likely to share something they saw on the street than something that randomly appeared in their search box or on the sidebar of their phone.
3. GMC Interactive Campaign
In 2016, General Motors made history by creating the world's first advertising campaign using facial recognition technology. It employed hidden cameras to determine gender, age, facial expressions, and audience composition.
Depending on who was in front of the screen and what they were doing, one of 30 pre-recorded videos would play. For example, if facial analysis detected parents with children, they were shown a family-friendly version of the ad.
Digital screens attracted passers-by with interactive games like Simon Says and conversed with passers-by in casual, playful tones. As a result, the viewer had a complete feeling that this advertisement was speaking personally to him.
The interactive campaign was developed by Posterscope Worldwide for the new GMC-branded Acadia SUV. It ran for eight weeks at the Santa Monica mall in the US on eight screens equipped with facial recognition technology, and gathered at least an extra 80,000 views online.
This campaign showed DOOH's unparalleled ability to personalize content and leverage targeted messages, and demonstrated the potential of machine learning in digital outdoor advertising.
4. Netflix French Launch Campaign
Taking everything we've learned so far, this is one of the best Netflix ads out there. Turns out, even purely digital services can use outdoor commercials to wow potential customers.
For the Netflix launch in France, advertising agency Ogilvy Paris created 100 different GIFs and posted them on street boards. The GIFs depicted key moments from the best series and movies available on the service.
The emotions on the faces of the wonderful actors spoke well enough for themselves. But more than that, these ads reacted in real time to current events and breaking news by switching the GIF and changing the message below it.
This was the most impressive factor: how these digital banners reacted to the environment. If it was raining outside, they showed King Leonidas from "300 Spartans" protecting himself from pouring water with a shield. If the screen was next to a perfumery or bakery, the person in the GIF sniffed and smiled. If the French team won a football match or scored a goal, the actors in the billboards rejoiced and jumped for joy.
As a result, these posters seemed to read the feelings of passers-by, and clearly conveyed the same mood. The campaign turned out to be very distinct, memorable and successful: in all of Europe, France now has the second highest number of Netflix subscribers (in percentage to population) behind only the UK. They bring in an average of 1.6 billion euros per year.
5. Coca-Cola "Share a Coke" Campaign
Oldie but goldie. In the early 2010s, this campaign took Australia by storm. And the trick, again, was personalization.
In this campaign, Coca-Cola used digital billboards to display personalized messages based on social media information such as user names and interests. At first, 150 of Australia's most popular names suddenly appeared on millions of bottles in stores. This blew up the Internet: people ran to buy those bottles that had their name on them, and many even bought a bottle as a gift for someone.
When the word of mouth seemed to have reached its climax, DOOH went into action. People could submit their name to the website and it would be displayed on a huge billboard with a Coke bottle in downtown Melbourne or Sydney. In 17 hours, 1001 unique names were displayed this way. Advertising made in collaboration with its target audience!
The interactive billboards also showed the process of creating a can with the new name printed on it, and featured photos from other people with the same name (they needed to share a link to the campaign on Facebook first). People are always curious what someone with the same name looks like, and what their interests are. Plus there was always something new going on on the billboards.
The result was a personalized and unforgettable experience for customers, which forever changed the attitude towards the brand in the entire country. A month earlier, 50% of Australian teenagers and young adults had never even tried Coca-Cola. And then — the campaign became the most discussed event of the summer and brought 121 million new visits to the brand page. Some 380,000 extra "named" cans were printed at kiosks, and sales of the brand grew by 7% among Australian youth.
The campaign was so well received that it has since been replicated in dozens of other countries around the world. With conventional static billboards such a huge success would have never been possible.
The Power Is in Your Hands
We hope you’re feeling inspired by these amazing outdoor campaigns.
These ads are not as hard to make as it may seem. The only thing required is sufficient technology.
Our work is just one example of the type of data-driven, dynamic digital out-of-home advertising experience. We provide supply- and demand-side platforms for DOOH that connect advertisers with screen owners from any part of the world. You can easily buy an ad space in the location you want, and upload your video to it within minutes. Our technology allows you to see where your target audience is located, and even counts every time your ad is being viewed. It's literally impossible to overpay.
Our platform revolves around digital out-of-home advertising, and we are enthusiastic about the immense potential of this marketing channel. We've compiled a list of our top DOOH ads that we find truly impressive, and we are excited to witness how the medium evolves alongside new technology and opportunities for audience engagement.