Ocean leans into the Women’s Euros with DOOH highlights
Ocean Outdoor has launched a large format DOOH campaign showcasing 31 big match moments from the UEFA Women’s Euros 2025, which kicks off today.
The campaign was developed in partnership with EE, lead sponsor of the England team, and planned through WPP Media Open Connect and Posterscope, with screens featuring across 11 UK cities, including Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Liverpool.
As England’s Lionesses set out to defend their 2022 Euro title, women’s sport has been repeatedly highlighted by media agencies this summer as a significant opportunity for brand investment.
A recent report by Havas Play UK, for example, found that over 40m UK adults now follow women’s sport, with 20m interested in women’s football.
Yet one-third of those fans said they could not name a single sponsor of women’s sporting events, despite the finding that half of Brits indicated they feel more positive towards brands who sponsor women’s sport.
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“Fans don’t just want to watch, they’re willing to spend,” Havas’ report reads. It also revealed one in three fans are willing to subscribe to a dedicated TV service to watch women’s sport.
According to recent research from Visa Europe, the top pain point for women’s football fans is the limited amount of broadcast coverage for matches, though the Women’s Euros more than trebled (+215%) viewership from 2013 to 2022. Meanwhile, 70% of women’s football fans believe sponsors help boost visibility of the sport, compared to 63% for men’s football.
The suggestion is thus that fans want brands to have greater visibility in women’s sports.
Speaking at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival at Stagwell’s Sport Beach, ex-MLB star and new Minnesota Lynx (WNBA) co-owner Alex Rodriguez stressed the opportunity available to brands in women’s sport, referring to it as “the greatest investment” a brand could make while at Cannes.
James Masters, a strategy partner at Havas Play UK, suggested that OOH in particular will remain “a crucial channel” for brands wanting to get involved in the Euros, but he stressed the focus should be on the intention behind ad placement, regardless of format.
“Our research shows that audiences respond to brands that genuinely support the sport by championing its players, values, and future growth,” he said.
“With the women’s game in a pivotal phase of growth, this authentic engagement is essential for driving long-term relevance and sustainable commercial success”.
Head of client strategy at OOH agency Talon UK Dilki Weerakoon added: “The surge in popularity and engagement around women’s sport is undeniable and 2025 is shaping up to be one of its biggest years yet.
“Now more than ever, people are craving real world moments and OOH brings these to life. For brands, this is a golden opportunity to align themselves in a cultural moment that really matters to people.”
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Ocean Outdoor partnered with ITV to broadcast highlights of the Women’s Euros this year, which forms part of a longstanding relationship between the DOOH media operator and the broadcaster. The media owners previously collaborated to broadcast highlights from the Rugby World Cup and Grand National.
The Women’s Euros marks the launch of Ocean’s summer of sport schedule, which will also feature the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August.
Ocean will manage and present the official fan zone, which opens in September.