Outdoor Active Space & M-Commerce: Connecting with Young Consumers

 The Active Space

As online shopping moves out of the home, retailers are having to re-think their strategies for reaching and connecting with these young shoppers. Outdoor advertising is an effective medium to reach this young, urban, mobile audience at the time when they are on the move and connected. Active Space x (Outdoor + Connected devices) = Action A recent study by the Outdoor Media Centre (OMC) explored the concept of the Active Space – the time people spend engaged in activities when outside the home. The OMC hypothesised that a higher level of physical activity results in a higher level of brain activity, highlighting that this is the point in time when Outdoor advertising reaches people.

The 2 components of the study:

1. A mobile app used to collect regular ‘in-the-moment’ metrics including mood, activity, recall of advertising seen in the last hour and any resultant actions.

2. Recordings of levels of arousal (through skin-conductance) and eye-tracking data which provided comparisons between in-home and out-of-home environments.

Together, these 2 components provided evidence as to whether people were more receptive to their environment when in the Active Space. The study found that people were significantly more alert when in the Active Space (+33%), more engaged and generally more responsive to stimuli. Recall of advertising was higher when out-of home compared to when indoors. When out of home people responded to ads they had seen by going online to search for information, discussing the product with someone or even buying it instantly on the web. 70% of people who are out and about are in the active purchase mode, and 60% had made an unplanned purchase.

Campaigns that engage with young connected audiences

The connection between Outdoor advertising and e-commerce is not only about increasing brand awareness, but also about influencing the purchase process. Many advertising campaigns mix OOH with social media and new technologies to connect with young online shoppers. A good example of this connectivity is the campaign implemented by JCDecaux for the Isabel Marant collection for H&M in Sweden.  A free standing advertising panel displayed a different piece from the new collection every day, but it was hidden behind frosted glass. The screen would clear when people tweeted the hashtag #HMLookNbook, giving them an exclusive viewing of the outfit and allowing them to pre-order the item. The results speak for themselves; it took only a few short hours for all the showcased outfits to be fully pre-booked.
H&M really understood this young, connected and social audience and came up with a perfect campaign to appeal to them in the Active Space. By combining Outdoor, mobile and social and adding a touch of exclusivity, their customers were made to feel special and were also motivated to make a purchase on the spot. In a similar vein, Comptoir des Cotonniers wanted to reach tech-savvy, fashion-conscious consumers, so it ran a campaign in collaboration with JCDecaux and Powatags.  10,000 panels in the streets of Paris become virtual stores overnight, with ‘Fast Shopping’ being the motto of the campaign. Shoppers could make instant online purchases of the Comptoir des Cotonniers items displayed on the posters by scanning special Powatags (similar to QR codes) through a dedicated app and have their purchases delivered within 48 hours. This campaign shortened the buying cycle for the consumer who could preview, book or buy a product on the spot directly from the Outdoor panel.

 
Outdoor advertising has the unique ability to reach consumers in the Active Space. With growing levels of mobile searches in the Active Space especially by younger tech-conscious audiences, campaigns which incorporate both Outdoor and mobile will increase a brands opportunity of connecting with consumers and converting viewers to purchasers.