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07/14/2020

From Restaurants to Salons: How COVID-19 is Impacting Out-of-Home Exposure

New Place-Based OOH Categories for COVID-19 Movement Dashboard

We are excited to announce the addition of five new categories to our dashboard demonstrating the impact of COVID-19 on movement around place-based out-of-home (OOH) screens. The new categories include airports, campuses, doctor’s offices, restaurants, and salons and can be viewed alongside convenience, grocery store, gyms, and malls. Using insights from the dashboard, brands and advertisers can tailor their OOH campaigns by understanding how specific venues and locations are being impacted differently and recovering at different rates.

The new categories include airports, campuses, doctor’s offices, restaurants, and salons and can be viewed alongside convenience, grocery store, gyms, and malls.

Here are some of the top insights of the week:

On a national level, movement around media in airports the week of 6/29–7/5 was -71.6% below pre-COVID levels as people traveled less. Foot traffic around screens on college campuses was down -91.8% since students were sent home. Movement around place-based OOH in doctor’s offices was down -42.7%. And in salons, foot traffic was -65.1% below pre-COVID levels.

Let’s dive in and look at some high-level insights from one of the new categories added to the dashboard: restaurants.

Many restaurants closed completely or remained open only for takeout during the initial spike of coronavirus cases. And the good news is, some are now beginning to reopen. However, this reopening looks different across various DMAs and is not a steady increase. Two cities where reopening has led to higher movement around OOH screens in these venues include Nashville, TN and Springfield, MO. For example, movement around restaurant screens in Nashville the week of 6/29–7/5 was -35.3% below pre-COVID levels. And in Springfield, it was -32.6% below pre-COVID levels.

Both of these DMAs have higher levels of movement around screens in restaurants than New York or San Francisco, which both halted plans to open indoor dining. In New York the week of 6/29–7/5, movement around OOH screens in restaurants was -57.7% below pre-COVID levels. In San Francisco, it was even lower: -72.2% below pre-COVID levels.

These insights highlight the fact that individuals are still out making trips, often purposeful in nature, to perhaps visit the doctor or pick up takeout from restaurants. Purposeful trips can be opportunities to provide valuable messages and connect with audiences in a meaningful way. By identifying the differences across venues and DMAs, brands can strategize to make every campaign a more effective one.

Purposeful trips can be opportunities to provide valuable messages and connect with audiences in a meaningful way.

Contact us to talk about how in-store and street-level Out-of-Home advertising can reach your audiences with Ubimo’s programmatic DOOH solution.