The Out-of-Home Marketing Association of Canada (OMAC) has shared new research confirming the effectiveness of large-format out-of-home (OOH) advertising, showing significant increases in brand awareness leading to a higher probability of purchase.

The new ‘Atlas Study,’ conducted by BlowUp Media in conjunction with market research company UniQma, examined cognition with relation to large-format OOH ads after participants were taken on a simulated drive through a city, using eye-tracking technology. The study revealed the probability of contact with the ad medium was higher than 70 per cent and concluded it would be nearly impossible not to notice giant posters while driving through a city.

Four out of 10 participants immediately recognized the test ‘motifs’ from images after only a single viewing during the virtual drive in a simulator. Further, the average viewing time for passersby was 3.6 seconds, surpassing even the average dwell time for newspaper and magazine ads.

The test group participants also tended to view each advertised brand more positively than other participants in a control group who were not presented with the same motifs. The study was able to determine spontaneous decisions between tested brands and their competitors were influenced positively by the simulated OOH ads.

“Large-format OOH provides huge benefits to brands, which receive a higher degree of attention,” says Carolin Baumann, group marketing director for BlowUp. “Their sheer size allows images and messages to be communicated with greater emotion, which in turn leads to a more memorable campaign and a higher probability of purchase.”

OMAC further reports OOH revenues increased by approximately five per cent in 2013 over 2012, according to data from Nielsen, fuelled by growth in automotive, finance, food-service and consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories, among others.

Meanwhile, OMAC and market research firm BrandSpark International have announced a new award to celebrate the best OOH campaign(s) in the CPG category. It will join the 11^th annual Best New Products Awards (BNPA) Show on May 22, 2014, after some 90,000 Canadian consumers vote to determine winners in numerous CPG subcategories.

“A jury comprising OOH industry leaders will review and select the best OOH campaigns, which will then be tested by BrandSpark’s shopper panel,” says Rosanne Caron, president of OMAC and member of Sign Media Canada’s editorial advisory board (EAB). “This research will gauge an ads’ ability to connect with consumers.”

“Effective advertising must communicate clearly,” says BrandSpark president Robert Levy. “The shopper-panel component will measure the ability to do so.”