Why the LHF ban shouldn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth
The 1st October marks a significant change in restrictions for advertising less healthy food or drink (LHF) on TV and online. For the OOH industry, this is nothing new. For almost a decade we have worked in line with Transport for London’s forward-thinking advertising policies, which include limiting products high in sugar, fat, or salt (HFSS) and supporting healthier choices across the capital. Leaders from the OOH advertising industry have discussed what these changes could mean for brands and advertisers in a thought-provoking article for the Media Leader UK.
While the law aims to tackle childhood obesity and improve public health linked to dietary choices, it’s naturally caused a stir in the advertising industry. An Outdoor format like Taxi Advertising, however, has been subject to these regulations for 10 years already. The Ubiquitous team can easily prove the effectiveness of OOH and Taxis in a regulated environment.
OOH is flexible enough to stay culturally front and centre
Tim Lumb, director of OOH industry body Outsmart, notes that OOH offers the reach, creativity, and versatility to deliver across multiple marketing objectives. Tim’s point speaks to how the creativity and versatility of OOH formats maintains its relevance. We’ve experienced this first-hand: taxis are inherently flexible and have thrived within TfL’s framework.
Beyond scheduling and strategic placement, OOH formats allow brands to think outside the square and reach their audiences in an intelligent way. The impact of OOH formats are well-known too. The Ubiquitous team have seen an increase in purchase intent directly, with post-campaign Attest research for a market-leading brand finding that audiences who viewed a branded taxi were more likely to purchase the product in-store (1).
OOH offers interactive experiences
In the article, Nicole Lonsdale of WPP discusses how OOH drives mental availability, reinforces physical presence, and increases the prominence of brands at the point of sale. The physical presence of OOH is representative of how it stands out in the eyes of audiences. How many advertising formats can you reach out and touch on the high street? Research from Amplified Intelligence highlights the efficacy of Taxi Advertising thanks to its captivating nature: it found that OOH captures attention for an average of 12 seconds, comfortably exceeding the global attention threshold of 2.5 seconds. This is critical for committing content to long-term memory (2).
Dr Nielsen-Field, from Amplified Intelligence, suggests that the user experience contributes to the power of OOH. In OOH environments, the audience is naturally immersed due to their physical surroundings, allowing for more sustained attention. It’s a brilliant lesson for advertisers willing to push the boundaries of their campaign.
Taxis go where the people go
Luke Willbourn, the Managing Director of Talon UK, makes a great point. OOH delivers the mass reach and impact traditionally associated with TV, while also offering the agility, targeting and contextual messaging they’ve relied on from digital. OOH formats are a tangible touchpoint that create triggers in the minds of audiences thanks to its presence in the places where they eat, shop, and play. They build engagement without making audiences feel they’re being ‘marketed’ to. OOH is regularly voted as the most trustworthy by audiences (3), which makes it the perfect match.
These revised HFSS regulations are part of a new environment that advertisers must adhere to. The team at Ubiquitous firmly agree with what key media leaders have had to say because we’ve experienced it: it truly has been an eventful 20 years as the UK’s leading Taxi Advertiser. But during that time, it’s clear we’ve adapted. We’ve thrived. And, we’ve proven just how effective OOH advertising formats like taxis can be in a more regulated environment.