Interactive Europe 2013: Outdoor advertising drives consumer purchase
According to the latest Interactive Europe report from CBS Outdoor, outdoor advertising leads all advertising formats in driving consumer responses for purchases online, Facebook Likes and the download of apps.
Interactive Europe is an annual study of over 5,000 people in six European countries, giving insight into the out-of-home habits of 18-54 year olds that live, work or visit an urban area at least three times a week.
77% of respondents reported doing something as a direct result of outdoor advertising, including making a purchase (24%) and ‘liking’ a brand on Facebook (16%) – significantly higher than those that followed a brand on Twitter (4%).
The report revealed that there has been a noticeable rise in smart device ownership over the year, with penetration growing 16% in the UK to 80% in 2012, the highest penetration across the countries analysed. Overall, 75% or urban audiences own a smart device, almost a 20% increase year on year.
The majority of interactive mechanisms have remained relatively stable across the period, with augmented reality ads seeing no growth at all (14%), however QR codes have risen from 40% to 54%, the only mechanism to cross the half-way mark.
The general feedback from respondents was that QR codes on ads made them curious, and that they would be more inclined to use them if a discount was involved.
The survey also evaluated three interactive client campaigns comprised of different categories, markets, formats and interactive technologies.
The results showed that there was a 45% average uplift in terms of the ad being ‘for people like me’ when respondents had interacted with the ad, and a 54% average uplift in terms of being likely to mention the advertising in conversation. There was a 45% increase in those that admitted to having a better opinion of the brand because of outdoor advertising.
“The research shows that outdoor advertising presents the opportunity to supplement reach and promote deeper levels of engagement,” said CBS Outdoor International’s CEO, Antonio Alonso.
“Additionally, with smart device ownership continuing to grow, even amongst older demographics, it is clear that outdoor advertising is beginning to offer brands new channels for distribution and direct marketing.
“This report, coupled with the launch of our new positioning ‘engaging audiences’, brings to the fore our continued focus and commitment to delivering valuable audiences for advertisers.”