As we enter the thick of the festive season, New Year’s resolutions are once more beginning to come into the forefront of people’s minds and after a testing 2020, many are looking to ensure that the year 2021 will be a year that is lived out to the full.
Research carried out by Clear Channel suggests that four in five UK residents have health-related New Year’s resolutions as their top priority, with the Covid-19 pandemic significantly heightening people’s awareness of and willingness to discuss physical and mental health and wellbeing. Other popular trends include individuals wanting to travel more and learn new skills, with Covid-19 restrictions preventing such activities throughout 2020.
With consumers raring to get outdoors and fulfil their goals going into the New Year as the mass rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine eventually begins to allow restrictions to be lifted, out of home [OOH] media specialist Talon Outdoor believes that advertisers have a significant opportunity to utilise OOH to engage with consumers.
A driver behind this logic is that over the first few months of each year, there are several “resolution” events that occur, some of which enjoyed a healthy uptake in 2020. The number of participants in this year’s Veganuary increased by 50 per cent on January 2019, with over 400,000 people involved. Furthermore, since lockdown came into force in March, people decided to persist with their newfound lifestyle change with one in five people turning vegetarian or vegan.
Elsewhere, four million people took part in Dry January this year, which resulted in a 0.3 billion litre decrease in alcohol consumption over the month, and a £2.224 million rise in the value of soft drinks across the last five years, Talon Outdoor adds.
For those brands which are looking to deliver relevant and engaging messages to consumers looking to make positive lifestyle changes, Talon Outdoor is clear that OOH media is an ideal candidate which business leaders should consider investing in, not just for its ability to deliver and amplify messages but also provide valuable and actionable insights on consumer movement and behaviour.
Furthermore, data from the OOH industry taken from the results of 65 different advertising campaigns carried out between March and September suggests that brands which continued to invest in OOH saw positive outcomes even during the Covid-19 restrictions, with a 51 per cent shift in ad recall and top of mind awareness, as well as a 16 per cent rise in purchase intent.
Talon Outdoor managing partner Nick Mawditt commented: “For those companies willing to be bold and try to engage with these consumers who are looking to make a fresh start and hit the reset button, the rewards are certainly there.
“Talon Outdoor has a number of high-quality digital inventory packs at its disposal to deliver reach, location and context to connect brands with their target audiences while on the move.”
