Outdoor Ads Stimulate Responses In Europe

Out-of-home commercials are increasingly driving European consumers to go online to shop, ‘like’ a brand on Facebook or download an app. This implies that relationships between technology, consumer behaviour and marketers’ willingness to tap new communication channels to build brand loyalty need thorough reconsideration.

According to CBS Outdoor International’s Interactive Europe 2013 report, commercials seen outdoors trigger action among 77% of European consumers, on par with TV in terms of stimulating a response but better than print or radio ads.

CBS questioned about 5,300 consumers across the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy to get a clear picture of their mindsets and attitudes towards interactive out-of-home ads. The results show that 32% of the respondents went online to read additional information about the product being advertised and 20% went online to make a purchase. Another 16% ‘liked’ the brand’s page on Facebook and 13% downloaded an app after seeing an outdoor ad.

Out-of-home commercials also made 11% of respondents scan a QR code; 10% stated that they turned to their mobile gadget to make a purchase and 4% started following the brand on Twitter.

When comparing these results with 2011 figures, it turns out that more people have started using their mobile for online purchases, downloading an app and scanning QR codes as a result of interacting with outdoor ads.

The research confirmed that outdoor advertising could perfectly fit marketers’ measures to reach more potential customers and achieve higher engagement levels. The increasing adoption of smart devices is also having a dramatic impact on the way in which audiences consumer media, with media multitasking becoming the new norm in terms of brand/consumer communication.