Understanding Impacts for Out-of-Home Advertising
Impacts is a powerful planning and measurement platform specifically designed for out-of-home (OOH) advertising in the UK. It provides media planners and buyers with comprehensive data on poster locations, audience demographics, and campaign performance metrics. Whether you're managing a small local campaign or a large national rollout, understanding how to use Impacts effectively is essential for maximizing your OOH investment.
What is Impacts?
Impacts is the industry-standard database for OOH advertising in the UK, operated by ROUTE (the trade body representing OOH media owners). It contains detailed information on thousands of advertising locations, including 6-sheets, 48-sheets, digital screens, and transit advertising. The platform enables you to:
- Search and identify available advertising locations
- Access audience and traffic data
- Plan campaigns geographically and demographically
- Track impressions and measure campaign performance
- Compare costs across different formats and regions
Planning Your Campaign with Impacts
Step 1: Define Your Campaign Objectives
Before diving into Impacts, clarify what you want to achieve. Are you building brand awareness across a region? Driving footfall to specific retail locations? Promoting an event? Your objectives will shape which locations you select and which metrics matter most.
For example, if you're launching a new coffee chain in Manchester, you might prioritize high-footfall areas near transport hubs and shopping districts rather than residential suburbs.
Step 2: Search and Filter Locations
Access Impacts and use the search functionality to identify suitable locations:
Geographic Filtering: Start broad by selecting regions or cities, then narrow down to specific postcodes or areas. This is particularly useful for hyper-local campaigns or multi-site rollouts.
Format Selection: Choose your preferred formats – digital screens offer flexibility and higher impact for short-term campaigns, while paper 48-sheets provide sustained presence at lower cost. 6-sheets work well for local high-street campaigns.
Audience Demographics: Use Impacts' demographic data to identify locations that align with your target audience. Filter by age groups, affluence levels, and lifestyle indicators. For instance, a luxury watch brand might prioritize premium shopping areas and affluent commuter routes.
Traffic Data: Review daily and weekly traffic figures. Impacts provides footfall and vehicle traffic data, helping you understand exposure potential. A busy transport interchange might deliver 50,000+ daily impressions, while a quieter residential location might deliver 5,000.
Step 3: Build Your Site List
Create a shortlist of promising locations and use Impacts' comparison tools to evaluate them against your criteria:
- Impressions: How many people will see your ad daily?
- Cost per thousand impressions (CPM): Is the price competitive?
- Demographic match: What percentage of viewers match your target audience?
- Dwell time: How long do people spend in that location? (Crucial for complex messages)
For a national campaign promoting a movie release, you might select 200 premium 48-sheet locations across major cities, chosen based on high daily footfall and strong demographic alignment with your target audience.
Campaign Execution and Setup
Coordinate with Media Owners
Once you've identified your desired locations in Impacts, work with the relevant media owners to confirm availability and negotiate rates. Impacts helps facilitate this by providing clear location details and owner information.
Note: Rates vary significantly by location and timing. A prime 48-sheet in Central London might cost £3,000+ monthly, while a secondary location outside Newcastle might be £400.
Plan Your Campaign Timeline
Use Impacts to check availability calendars. OOH inventory is finite, especially for premium locations. Early booking (6-8 weeks) secures better sites at competitive rates. Digital screens often have shorter lead times (2-3 weeks) but premium placements still fill quickly.
Measurement and Optimization
Understanding Impressions and Reach
Impacts calculates impressions based on verified traffic data. An impression is registered when someone passes a location where your ad is displayed. This is different from digital metrics – you're measuring passive exposure, not clicks.
For example: - A 48-sheet on a busy High Street with 20,000 daily footfall = 20,000 daily impressions - Run for 4 weeks = approximately 560,000 impressions - If 45% of that traffic matches your target demographic, that's ~252,000 qualified impressions
Monitor Campaign Performance
Use Impacts reporting features to track:
Reach and Frequency: Understand how many unique people see your ad and how often. Impacts models this based on the locations you've booked and the duration of your campaign.
Demographic Breakdown: See exactly which age groups, affluence levels, and lifestyle segments you're reaching. This validates whether your site selection matched your planning assumptions.
Geographic Performance: If running multi-location campaigns, identify which regions perform best. This informs future investment.
Optimize Mid-Campaign
The power of Impacts is real-time visibility into your campaign. After 2-3 weeks:
- Review performance data from your media owners
- Compare planned vs. actual traffic
- If underperforming locations exist, discuss relocations with media owners
- If performing well, consider extending or replicating in similar locations
A practical example: You're running a retail promotion across 50 locations. After week 3, Impacts data shows three sites with significantly lower footfall than predicted. Work with your media owner to relocate to nearby high-performing alternatives.
Tips for Success
1. Always verify current data: Footfall patterns change seasonally and post-COVID. Don't rely on outdated information – use Impacts' latest traffic counts.
2. Consider complementary channels: Use Impacts data to inform integrated campaigns. Pair OOH in commuter areas with digital targeting of the same audiences on their commutes.
3. Test and learn: Start with a smaller site list in one region, measure results, then scale to proven performers.
4. Account for seasonality: A seaside resort location might deliver excellent impressions in summer but decline sharply in winter. Plan accordingly.
5. Combine formats strategically: Use 48-sheets for broad awareness and 6-sheets for local, high-street activation. Impacts helps visualize this mix geographically.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Ignoring demographic data: Booking sites with high footfall isn't enough if the audience doesn't match your target.
- Underestimating campaign lead times: Book 6-8 weeks ahead for best availability and rates.
- Neglecting dwell time: Complex messages need locations where people pause (bus shelters, waiting areas), not just pass by (roadside 48-sheets).
- Failing to measure: Always collect post-campaign data. Compare planned impressions to actual traffic to improve future planning.
Conclusion
Impacts is an essential tool for professional OOH media planning in the UK. By mastering location selection, understanding impression metrics, and leveraging demographic data, you can build efficient, targeted campaigns that deliver genuine business results. Start with clear objectives, use Impacts' filtering and comparison tools strategically, and always measure performance to optimize future campaigns.