How to create immersive campaigns using both digital and print in outdoor advertising

Rather than being pitted each against each other, print and digital media can be combined to create immersive campaigns to help capture the attention of passers-by. Rob Fletcher looks at some recent examples of this approach in action.

Not so long ago, many were talking about the “death of print”, given the influx of new, digital technologies and their impact on the wider market. While it is true that digital has changed the world that we live in, print continues to hold its own in many markets – even expanding in certain areas – thus proving its long-term durability.

One sector that has proved particularly interesting is outdoor advertising. While there is no doubt that digital is the driving force of many campaigns, marketers continue to hold print in high regard, often combining the two medias to make the most of both their qualities and ensure maximum impact on consumers.

In this article, we highlight several campaigns that show that rather than facing off against each other, print and digital can live and be used in harmony for many years to come.

Inclusive campaigns

The first example comes from outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux, which teamed up with British healthcare company Bupa on an innovative campaign aimed at highlighting the lack of diverse perspectives when it comes to showcasing what ‘health’ looks like.

Caption: Bupa’s ‘This Is Health’ campaign with JCDecaux featured elements of digital, print, braille and audio. Image credit: JCDecaux.

Bupa’s ‘This Is Health’ campaign launched with an accessibly immersive takeover of St. Pancras International’s Underground tunnel in London, featuring giant wall wraps, moving images on digital six-sheet screens and mirrors encourage commuters to see themselves in the story.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this campaign was understanding the challenges faced by disabled people is at the heart of this campaign. As such, the type was set in an accessible typeface in the tunnel, with the campaign story told across three accessible media: print, braille, and audio. Braille featured on the underside of handrails while spatial audio narrations directed people to the braille handrails.

“The campaign aims to showcase different perspectives on health,” said Angelique Waker, director of brand marketing at Bupa Global India & UK. “To ensure we were able to truly reflect what life is like with a disability we worked with photographer Sonny McCartney, an amputee, to capture those everyday moments, as well as accessibility Marketing Specialists. We hope the resulting campaign is a positive step forwards in representation of health in a more inclusive way.”

Caption: Wimbledon Station was transformed using print and digital technologies for this year’s Wimbledon tennis championships. Image credit: JCDecaux.

Another recent project at JCDecaux was when it worked with the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club on a campaign for this year’s Wimbledon tennis event, also in London. For this project, Wimbledon Station was transformed with a host of tennis-related installations to welcome visitors to the championships.

Elements included out-of-home posters and wrapped gates within the station, as well as a branded Wimbledon zone on the station forecourt - complete with artificial grass and walkway to guide spectators to the courts. The activation fitted in with the wider ‘Always Like Never Before’ campaign.

Also from JCDecaux, the company linked up with Uber to help the transportation business raise awareness of a service that allows customers to book trains through its app. Uber is known by many for booking cars, bikes and even food delivery, but not so much trains – and the muti-media campaign sought to change this.

Developed by Mother and booked by EssenceMediacom, Kinetic and JCDecaux UK, the Uber Travel campaign is running until the end of the year at train stations across the UK. The project features both print and digital media in an effort to capture as much attention as possible among commuters.

Blockbuster campaigns

Up next, Ocean Outdoor Linked up with Hollywood film production company Warner Bros. Pictures on an eye-catching campaign for ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, the long-awaited sequel for Beetlejuice.

Caption: Print and digital media was used to promote the new ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ film. Image credit: Ocean Outdoor.

Billed as a “takeover” campaign, this saw promotional materials installed across Westfield Stratford City in London ahead of the film’s September release date. This included applying graphics to the Meridian Steps, featuring a swarm of larger-than-life beetles, while vinyls and large-format posters were also installed along the whole of Westfield Stratford Bridge.

In addition to this, digital screens adjacent to the steps featured more promotional material and branding for the film, which saw Michael Keaton return to the iconic role of Beetlejuice. The whole campaign focused on a black and white motif, in tribute to Beetlejuice’s iconic black and white suit.

Also from Ocean Outdoor, the digital out of home specialist worked with chocolate giant Kinder on an outdoor campaign for its much-loved Kinder Bueno product. For this project, Ocean Outdoor and Kinder chose to combine digital and innovative print to showcase the core campaign message: “Why be basic when you can be Bueno?”

Caption: Ocean Outdoor placed saw a giant, life-like Kinder Bueno on top of a printed backdrop. Image credit: Ocean Outdoor.

Targeting Gen Z and Millennials in particular, the £6m, multi-channel creative set saw Kinder Bueno promotional messages appear on digital screens across several major UK cities, such as Manchester. To accompany this, Ocean Outdoor installed several, eye-catching printed pieces, including one piece that saw a giant, life-like Kinder Bueno bar placed on top of a printed backdrop.

Keeping your cool

Rounding off our brief trip around the market with Clear Channel, which, like JCDecaux and Ocean Outdoor, works with a range of brands on multi-channel campaigns. For one of its most recent campaigns, Ocean Outdoor partnered with ice cream manufacturers Unilever Walls to showcase its range of products to consumers during the summer months.

Caption: Unilever Walls worked with Clear Channel on a campaign to promote its ice creams. Image credit: Clear Channel. 

This saw Ocean Outdoor use digital out of home as part of a wider, multi-million marketing campaign, which included digital and printed posters in towns and cities right across the UK. Twister, Solero and Cornetto were among the ice cream brands that were featured in the campaign.

These projects offer just a small example of the potential for combined print and digital campaigns and what is possible with this approach. From this sample set, it is clear print and digital medias are more than capable of working side-by-side to maximise campaigns of all shapes and sizes.