OOH boosts social media impact during daytime gap

A new study finds that out of home (OOH) advertising strengthens social media performance during the daytime, when engagement with social platforms tends to decline despite high usage.

The research, published in The Point of Social report, shows that social media campaigns experience 11 percent lower attention and engagement between 8am and 6pm. The findings point to an opportunity for advertisers to use OOH to support and amplify social activity during these hours.

Understanding the daytime attention gap

Commissioned by Bauer Media Outdoor UK, Global, JCDecaux, Ocean Outdoor and Posterscope, the study builds on earlier research into cross-channel behaviour. Norstat conducted consumer research among 1,150 frequent social media users aged 18 to 65, combining survey data with a one-day mobile diary to compare behaviour at home and outside.

The diary data shows that nine in 10 out-of-home social media sessions occur during daytime hours. Analysis of 3.5 billion impressions across 11 advertisers’ campaigns confirms that engagement per impression drops by 11 percent during this period across metrics including link clicks, post engagement and video plays.

Behaviour shifts outside the home

The study highlights clear differences in how people use social media depending on their environment. At home, activity tends to be more passive and habitual. Outside, usage becomes more purposeful and influenced by surroundings.

Consumers are more likely to explore products and services or seek inspiration when out of the home, with 47 percent doing so compared to 36 percent at home. Sharing content and capturing photos or videos also increase significantly in outdoor contexts.

Context shapes engagement and intent

Location plays a key role in shaping behaviour. Workplace environments encourage higher levels of content viewing, while retail settings drive more product research and browsing. Exploration-related activity rises to 28 percent in shopping centres and 31 percent in shops and supermarkets, compared to 13 percent at home.

Out-of-home usage also shows stronger intent to act. Users are more likely to visit websites, continue searches or make purchases, and are more often in social settings. The research shows that 44 percent of out-of-home sessions take place with others, compared to 23 percent at home.

OOH primes social media performance

The report identifies OOH as a channel that can help address the daytime attention gap by preparing audiences for social media exposure. Its reach and alignment with daily routines position it to influence consumers before and during peak social usage.

Russell Smither, Head of Research & Insight, Posterscope: "What this study proves is that social media behaviour is very different during the day when people are outside of the home. It becomes more diverse, more influenced by their context and surroundings and is more action orientated. Whether that’s exploring products or searching for things to do or places to go, and importantly capturing photos or videos of real-world experiences with intent to share on social. That creates a very different environment for advertising, where attention is harder to capture and where social media ads are more likely to get noticed if primed beforehand."

Evidence from multiple studies cited in the report shows that OOH can increase dwell time on social ads by 42 percent on average. Campaign effectiveness, including memorability and brand impact, rises by 7 percent, while business outcomes linked to social media improve by 34 percent when OOH is included in the media mix.

OOH and social as complementary channels

The findings suggest that combining OOH with social media leads to stronger commercial results. Data indicates that campaigns integrating both channels see sales increase by 28 percent, profit by 14 percent and market share by 59 percent.

Ciara Smyth, Managing Partner, Total Social, dentsu: "This report reframes how we should think about social media use during the day. It’s not just a channel people consume passively; it’s an active behaviour shaped by where they are and what they’re experiencing in the real world. In many ways, social and OOH have become the dual screening of the outdoors, working in parallel as people move around. OOH sits in the same environments and plays a critical role in priming audiences before and during social use, helping to increase attention and drive stronger business outcomes. The findings point to clear headroom for the two channels to work more effectively alongside each other."

www.oceanoutdoor.com

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn