When DOOH goes social

You only have to stroll through London’s West End on a busy weekday evening to see how DOOH is shaping culture, entertainment and live performance, and how brands are embracing premium DOOH as a stage to interact with audiences both in person and online. 

The British Fashion Council marked London Fashion Week with an immersive star studded red carpet pop up at Piccadilly Lights, using The Venue, an events space below the big screen, partnering with the fashion brand Top Shop to mark its return to high street retail. Moments from the night were livestreamed, generating acres of press coverage and shareable social content, turning a cultural moment into sales.  

Over in neighbouring Leicester Square, our large format screen is reinforcing this trend, becoming a magnet for both talent and global music titans. It’s where Spotify UK, Amazon and YouTube, artists, influencers and sports stars are going to share messages and big milestones which naturally travel across social channels.    

And in London’s Waterloo, car brand JAECOO and Uncommon made history, turning the roof of the landmark DOOH banner BFI IMAX into a giant working compass. Spanning 1,256 square metres and projected from an adjacent rooftop, the installation pointed Londoners towards intrepid destinations, reminding them that adventure is never far away. 

Premium DOOH is without doubt a destination where cultural breakthroughs happen.  

Quality is the vital ingredient 

Since I’ve been in this business, DOOH has evolved from a relatively misunderstood and undervalued newcomer to edgy, measurable and mind-bendingly creative. As a platform it’s a combination of three things. It’s authentic, audience driven and performance capable.    

Three years ago we commissioned independent research to understand what happens when DOOH creativity is designed and delivered with other digital channels in mind.

Our fifth neuroscience led study, Ocean Outdoor: The Vital Ingredient, demonstrates how premium DOOH primes and optimises social media campaigns, elevating brand relevance, likeability and authenticity.

The study concluded that when brands share compelling DOOH campaign imagery across their social channels it builds personal relevance and familiarity, leading to a 21% uplift in engagement and 35% increase in brand lean in when influencers share brand content.  

Put simply, if a brand has a social media strategy on the plan then it needs to build in DOOH to make it better and more effective. For advertisers these are serious benefits, proving DOOH is a vital ingredient when used to make big statements and mark important moments which by their very nature are both social and incredibly shareable. 

Our long term analysis around the interplay between DOOH and social media has since brought about another significant step change in how brands and creators are showing up. 

 Launched in February, Ocean Creator brings together two powerful levers of modern marketing communications, pairing the public impact of premium DOOH with the authenticity of creator-led social storytelling. The result is a fully measurable hybrid format designed for brands seeking reach, relevance and resonance across both the physical and digital worlds.   

Sky was the launch partner, marking the Winter Olympic Games with a series of themed activations including a giant curling showdown featuring creative duo the Berry Boys in the experiential space directly below Ocean’s Westfield Stratford City screen. 

This new content first approach generates a powerful ripple effect that will unlock broader audiences and better outcomes for brands. Not only that. It’s fun, opening up DOOH’s creative wizardry to new minds and new worlds. I can’t wait to see how this unfolds.