OOH Builds Positive Consumer Perception of Best New Products Program and Generates Traffic to Website

Toronto – June 21st, 2007

The annual Best New Product Awards are the result of one of the largest independent consumer surveys pertaining to new product development and innovation in Canada. Over 10,000 Canadians participate in an Internet survey, voting on whether they find the products appealing and would repurchase them in the future.

OMAC member companies: Astral Media Outdoor, CBS Outdoor, NEWAD, Pattison Outdoor and Zoom Media provided an OOH campaign that included Transit Shelters, Posters, Mall Posters, Resto-Bar Posters, Health Club Posters and Subway Station Posters.  The four-week campaign appeared in five major markets: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver and started the week of February 11th, 2007.

Transcontinental concurrently provided a four-week online program on MochaSofa.com beginning March 4th, 2007. The campaign creative was developed by ACLC Advertising in Toronto.

A continuous national online survey, as well as intercept interviews in Resto-Bars, was conducted by BrandSpark International with a total sample of 5,538 Principal Grocery Shoppers living in test and control markets.

The study results showed consumers’ overall opinion of the Best New Product Awards increased favourably from 67.3% in the pre-wave to 87.5% in the post-wave, representing an increase of 30%. There was also a positive change in brand equity statements. Respondents’ perceptions of trustworthiness, real consumer voting and independent market research were enhanced as a result of the campaign.

Aided awareness of the OOH campaign increased in all of the test markets with the largest increase incurring in Toronto, which was expected as this market had the most media support. Aided awareness in Toronto increased by 277% from 9% in the pre-wave to 34% in the post-wave. Aided awareness in control markets was 7% in the pre-wave and remained at the same level in the post-wave.

Traffic to the web site began to build in week one of the OOH campaign and peaked between weeks three and four.  Most people visited the website to gather information about the Best New Product Awards and to find out who the 2007 winners were.

OOH contributed to the online campaign by helping drive program awareness. There was an incremental increase in program awareness of 48% as a result of the OOH campaign. 

“As a result of this campaign, I realized that Out-of-Home media is much more of an “interactive” medium than I had originally appreciated,” said Robert Levy, President and CEO, BrandSpark International.  “I spent a full day interviewing real consumers on the streets, in the subway and in Resto-Bars, where the creative was posted.  In all cases, consumers were engaged by the creative and were prepared to trust me as the spokesperson in a way that would not have occurred without the campaign.”

For more information please contact:

Robert Levy, President & CEO
BrandSpark International
647.727.4576

Rosanne Caron, President
OMAC
416.968.3435 x 108