Measuring Advertising Effectiveness
Advertising effectiveness. It’s easily one of the most significant, and most daunting, benchmarks we can set for measuring campaign success. Speaking at the Future 100 event earlier this year on the factors contributing to campaign success, Emily Alcorn, Chief Effectiveness Officer at Talon, offered some thought-provoking insights. She pointed to achieving reach, investing in brand building, and nailing creative as key.
As the UK’s leading Taxi Advertiser, the Ubiquitous team completely agrees with Alcorn’s three pillars – reach, brand building, and creativity – and we’re keen to consider how each applies powerfully to Taxi Advertising.
Reach
Alcorn makes the point early that to make an impact, you have to be seen by real people. Quality reach is about the right message at the right time, to the right audience. OOH provides high-impact visibility in physical spaces that drive memorability because that visibility delivers contextual creative that lands in the moment.
Taxi Advertising is a visible format that exists in our world. Route data suggests that a Taxi will be seen on average 6 times by an ABC1 adult. Combine this with a discerning audience who ‘pay attention to the adverts they see on the side of taxis’, and you have a switched-on audience willing to accept your message. Taxis do more than just grab attention though. They also have a habit of prompting action. Attest research for a luxury brand found that audiences who viewed a branded taxi were more likely to purchase from the same brand after the fact. It’s a testament to the effectiveness of Taxis in being there at the moments that matter.
Brand Building
Long-term brand building drives sustainable growth. Central to that is mental availability – being top of mind when purchase decisions are being made. OOH formats naturally excel at brand building because they excel in driving authentic, emotional engagement. They create memorable moments in the real world that stay with audiences long after they’ve seen them.
Alcorn references the humorous Specsavers advertisements (‘should have gone to Specsavers’), but there are plenty of examples closer to home. OOH formats like taxis use their impressive frequency and mass reach on the high street to drive home a convincing value proposition to audiences. Attest research confirms the impressive brand building power of taxis. Post-campaign tracking for a luxury brand campaign in London found that those who regularly visited the central locations that taxis are known to frequent were more likely to search, shop online for the brand, and visit in-store. In fact, 60% of those who viewed a branded taxi searched online for the brand advertised.
Creativity
Great creative is naturally an impressive driver of results. However, the demand for uniform data metrics across channels has the potential to put a leash on creativity. One solution put forward by Alcorn is to play to the strengths of each channel in the media mix. It allows each format to shine according to its own strengths.
We think it’s worth explaining why at Ubiquitous we often describe Taxi Advertising as the ‘golden thread’ that connect campaigns together. It’s been found to boost the effects of other media channels like search (+54%), social (+20%), and of course, TV (+17%) too!. It’s the impressive reach, frequency, and exposure of Taxi Advertising that doesn’t just make brands look their best. It makes other formats look great too.
The taxi solution?
Evaluating effectiveness is a necessity in a fragmented media landscape that demands concrete results. It is a necessary justification of advertising spend. There’s been no shortage of creative ideas, or impressive results, at the Ubiquitous offices. It’s proof that OOH formats like taxis justify the creative effort that makes a great idea worth it. Whether you’re putting IKEA sofas on the top of taxis or tennis balls inside a HSBC-branded taxi for the Queens Championship, taxis are just as comfortable driving results as they are making ideas shine.
Sources: Route Data 2025, YouGov Profiles GB, 2024, Peter Field & Les Binet, ‘The Long & The Short of It’, IPA Databank, Peter Field & Rapport Analysis