From Attention to Connection: The New Paradigm of OOH
- Matt Hawley
- Sep 22
- 5 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
If you’re reading this, then you’re probably already aware that OOH media has been undergoing a fundamental shift. And in the past couple of years, that shift has accelerated, evolving into audiences that demand experiences that invite participation, spark conversation, and build community.
Why...? Because audiences today want more than passive messages. In a world of endless scrolling, content saturation, and digital isolation, people crave experiences that feel rare, collective, and unforgettable. They want stories they can share, moments they can own, and create memories that outlast the feed.
This shift is driven by more than just rising screen time and saturated content. It’s cultural and behavioural: younger audiences value experiences over possessions; scarcity and FOMO fuel demand for live stunts; social currency makes participation shareable; and multi-sensory engagement creates deeper, lasting emotional bonds.
OOH has become more than a medium for awareness — it’s become a stage for connection.
My rules for authentic engagement.
Cultural Agility
OOH must move at the speed of culture. Campaigns that react within hours, not weeks, generate relevance and buzz. Quick-response activations linked to news, sport, or cultural moments give audiences a reason to stop, look, and share.
Innovation as Experience
Innovation is not just new tech — it’s new ways of experiencing. Nike’s city run initiatives prove this: branded events that feel authentic, rooted in purpose, and empowering to communities taking over cities in new and unexpected ways. LEGO Ideas applies the same principle digitally, giving fans a stake in product design. Both succeed because they put participation at the heart, giving audience their own voice to which they are listening.
Integration Over Isolation
Stand-alone stunts may generate headlines, but without a bigger ecosystem they fade quickly. The most effective campaigns are engineered backwards from a flagship stunt into integrated ecosystems that live across social, PR, influencer content, and community dialogue.
Community & Participation
Audiences want to be part of the story. Patagonia has built loyalty by turning sustainability into a community mission. Glossier thrives by encouraging UGC. The Ordinary brings its science to life through immersive pop-ups. These aren’t one-off campaigns — they’re ongoing conversations rooted in belonging.
Insight as Creative Fuel
Measurement has evolved from reporting to shaping creative in real time. With behavioural and sentiment data, campaigns can adapt dynamically — ensuring experiences resonate, not just run.
My Work in This Space
I’ve had the privilege of leading campaigns that embody this shift.
Lenovo x Formula 1 #RaceToCreate – A media-first, social-first campaign engineered backwards from an iconic projection at London’s Walkie Talkie.
Fans co-created AI F1 liveries, unlocking AR videos to share, while influencers amplified the stunt from an exclusive event at the Gong Bar, The Shard. This wasn’t a projection for spectacle’s sake — it was an ecosystem built to create ownership, conversation, and reach.
Result: 126M impressions, 21M social reach, 100% positive sentiment.
Lenovo x F1 - Race to Create Car Configurator
Nike Pegasus Premium Launch
To showcase Nike’s most responsive Pegasus yet, we transformed the London Eye into 16 “Power Pods” fitted with treadmills. Elite athletes and influencers — including Mo Farah, Nafi Thiam, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen — raced to generate energy that powered real-time light and sound animations across the skyline.
A projection-mapped show on County Hall and an influencer seeding moment amplified the spectacle far beyond the site. On TikTok alone, the campaign reached 19.1M users, exceeding targets by 32%. This wasn’t just a trial; it was a multi-sensory brand experience designed to connect product innovation with human performance.
Blizzard x Diablo IV – A global launch that turned cities into "Portals to Hell", with 3D DOOH takeovers in Las Vegas, New York, and Seoul, alongside projection-mapped murals in London, Stockholm, and Berlin. Fans flocked to witness Lilith’s arrival in real time, contributing to over 1.2BN impressions and helping deliver Blizzard’s biggest launch ever, with $666M+ in revenue.
This wasn’t advertising in the traditional sense — it was media as experience. Instead of serving passive impressions, the creative actively pulled audiences into the world of Diablo. Contextual placements, anamorphic illusions, and unexpected environments blurred the line between gaming and reality.
The magic lay in reimagining familiar media formats as portals, turning everyday spaces into thrilling, unexpected and unforgettable encounters.
These examples show why stunts resonate:
Experiences over possessions – They create memories, not clutter.
Scarcity & FOMO – Limited-time, exclusive activations feel urgent and worth sharing.
Social currency – They give audiences something to talk about and post.
Multi-sensory engagement – Scale, sound, and light make them unforgettable.
Belonging – Being part of a crowd experiencing something together is powerful in an increasingly digital world.
The Future of OOH
In my opinion, the next chapter of OOH will be defined by four principles:
Integration as Standard
Stunts alone don’t shift culture. Campaigns must be designed as ecosystems, engineered backwards from the desired emotional outcome.
Innovation as Experience
Expect more phygital activations — AR layers on billboards, multi-sensory installations, contextual stunts in high-traffic spaces. Innovation will be judged not by novelty, but by memory.
Precision + Agility
The right message, at the right time, to the right audience — delivered with the speed of digital and the impact of physical.
Community at the Core
Experiences must be rooted in shared purpose and active participation. From Nike’s city runs to LEGO Ideas, community-led creativity builds long-term loyalty.
Every Idea Needs a Soundtrack
In the same way that audiences crave authentic experiences from brands, I believe it’s important to bring authenticity into how we share ideas too, as seen with the fads of FOOH social assets. The most impactful initiatives — whether in OOH, experiential, or digital — are those that feel genuine, personal, and connected to real human passions.
For me, music is at the heart of that. Sound has an unmatched power to shape how we feel and remember. In campaigns, great sound design or music sponsorship can transform visuals into experiences, turning fleeting moments into something immersive and unforgettable.
It’s a subject I’ll explore more deeply in my next article — the role of music and sound in facilitating human connection, but for now, consider this section a teaser.
If you know me well, you’ll know electronic music is a huge part of my life. It’s my constant source of energy and inspiration in my everyday life. So, to make this piece a little more personal, here’s the track that was on repeat while I wrote it :)
Matt
Comments