OOH reaches more people than live TV—but visibility isn’t enough. Real impact comes from emotion, recall, and smart creative. It’s time to stop joking and start using OOH’s proven levers, believes System1's SVP, Andrew Tindall.

Out-of-Home (OOH) remains one of the most powerful, public, and trusted marketing platforms, reaching more people each week than live TV in many markets, a fact often overlooked in today’s fragmented media landscape. But high visibility alone doesn’t guarantee effectiveness. To truly succeed, brands must go beyond just showing up and focus on capturing attention, creating emotional connections, driving recall, and delivering real commercial impact. Like digital and TV, OOH has its own proven levers for effectiveness, yet marketers still joke about “making the logo bigger” and dismiss the very tactics that boost sentiment, awareness, and action. It’s time to stop laughing and start using those features smartly.

The Double Take Effect

System1 and JCDecaux UK teamed up to find out what makes OOH creative work. Testing over 1,000 ads with more than 180,000 responses with Test Your Ad, we uncovered what drives emotion and brand recognition.

For the first time, we linked creative quality to real business results. When OOH sparks emotion and is clearly branded, it delivers double the impact, which we call the Double Take Effect.

The full report reveals five behaviours that make OOH unforgettable. Here is a sneak peek at how branding boosts commercial impact.

A Helping Hand in Branding

OOH is a two-second medium. JCDecaux UK and attention experts Lumen show the average glance at a static poster lasts just two seconds. That is the reality marketers face and why realism is the first rule for cutting through. Yet a third of global campaigns fail to clearly link to a brand within that critical window.

In just two seconds, you either land the brand or lose the chance. Our analysis of thousands of OOH campaigns shows ads with brand recognition in that window deliver a 54% boost in recall. Yet most OOH creative isn’t designed for real-world attention; it’s made in meeting rooms, not on motorways. Getting it right means embracing these realities and turning them into advantages.

Here’s a sneak peek: Brand Bold. Brand Big.

No joke. Branding must be immediate and obvious. People naturally scan OOH ads from top to bottom, so placing your brand at the top nearly triples your chance of high brand recognition.

It is not just about placement; it is about impact. Don’t be afraid to brand boldly. Logos covering at least 10% of the ad boost viewing time by 28%.

So next time the board laughs at your big logo design, remind them that in OOH bigger always drives effectiveness.

Create with Confidence

Double Take is now open for registration. It’s packed with exclusive insights and practical strategies to help you maximise the commercial impact of this high-visibility platform.

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