Out-of-home ads more than just a head turner

The results of a new study show the majority of out-of-home advertising secures more than 2.5 seconds of active attention, proving it’s more than a ‘glance-only’ medium.

Research has found that outdoor advertising is more than a glance-only medium.

A new study by Amplified Intelligence and outdoor media company QMS has revealed that the majority of out-of-home advertising secures more than 2.5 seconds of active attention, confirming it is more than a “glance-only” medium.

The research found that OOH was 5.9 times more likely to deliver above the global attention memory threshold – which is the 2.5 seconds before something is committed to long-term memory – than other digital channels.

The research, which is a global first, reveals the role of human ­attention in OOH environments, where the audience is more attuned to their physical surroundings and more likely to pay attention.

However, the research also revealed that, while creative content is important for brand success, it is not a driver of attention, according to Amplified Intelligence founder and chief executive Karen Nelson-Field.

“Creative doesn’t determine how much attention you can achieve, the platform does,” Dr Nelson-Field said.

“The user experience defines how much attention you pay and the creative fits within that.

“We know that media is the driver, attention is the stage, but creative drives the outcome.

“Creative is literally the most important to get the sale.”

Dr Nelson-Field said the research confirmed that OOH “captures real, measurable attention that translates into meaningful brand impact”.

“This OOH data will serve as a powerful extension of our attention measurement framework, demonstrating how attention-based insights can complement traditional metrics to reveal the true impact of ads across multiple channels,” Dr Nelson-Field said.

“In an era where capturing and holding attention is increasingly difficult, this data is key to driving stronger, more effective brand outcomes.”

The research captured the attention of 1.23 million people and included 11 different advertising categories on 12 large and small format sites in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

QMS said it planned to continue to work with Amplified Intelligence to build on their attention-based research study by adding more markets and ­formats.

QMS chief strategy officer Christian Zavecz said: “This research is at the forefront of global campaign innovation and is a significant step forward in understanding how people engage with OOH and the various dimensions that need to be considered for OOH planning and buying in this new era.

“Traditional metrics like reach and opportunity-to-see still have a role to play in measuring OOH, but they are not enough.

“It’s time to pay attention to modern media metrics that will shape the future of OOH and ­omnichannel marketing and drive greater campaign effectiveness.

“As leaders in understanding real human attention, Amplified Intelligence’s first to market technology, real world approach and uniformity of models for channel comparison, have allowed us to understand the power OOH has in gaining attention like never ­before.”