Poster Impact, the out the home campaign evaluation tool launched by PML Group in 1996, has hit two major milestones – 25 years of service and surpassing 20,000 campaigns measured. Recall and creative rating have always been to the fore, but as Poster Impact methodology moved from face-to-face interviews to online surveys in 2007, the study widened.
Metrics such as call to action, message understanding and relevance were introduced. Poster Impact was the first service of its kind in outdoor in Ireland and the first wave of research was carried out in April 1996, with PML engaging TNS MRBI (now Ipsos MRBI) to carry out the fieldwork. The PML Group/Ipsos MRBI partnership continues to this day.
Among the first campaigns to be evaluated were PMPA, Ritz, Castrol, Brennan’s Bread and Club Lemon. Beamish Stout was the best recalled campaign in April 1996. The effectiveness of more than 1,000 OOH campaigns are measured each year, with the best in class celebrated via the Poster Impact Awards, details of which are published first in Marketing.ie.
Winners in 2021 included AIB, McDonald’s, Virgin Media, Disney+ and Diageo. The HSE’s OOH work around Covid-19 was also among this year’s winners and was also voted the highest recalled campaign ever measured by Poster Impact. Almost 5,000 48 sheet campaigns were included along with over 1,800 T-Side campaigns and thousands of six sheets.
As the market has developed, so too has Poster Impact. For example, since their launch a decade ago, 650 digital mall dPod and iVision campaigns have been measured. 300 different respondents are surveyed for Poster Impact each cycle and to date, more than 130,000 respondents have taken part in the ongoing research programme.
Colum Harmon, marketing director, PML Group said: “We’re immensely proud of the contribution that Poster Impact has made to the learning and understanding of OOH media and its audience. We believe in a data-led, evidence-based approach to making great outdoor campaigns and our commitment to the Poster Impact offering is testament to that.
Damian Loscher, MD, Ipsos MRBI, said: “PML Group has built an unrivalled understanding of out of home, one campaign at a time. Their commitment to research is hugely impressive, spanning over 25 years and across 20,000 campaigns, and never wavering. PML have used research to gain the experience, knowledge and the insights they need to help clients.”
