Summer of sport: Ocean’s bumperbroadcast schedule delivers the halo effect

from Ocean Outdoor

With the UEFA men’s Euros just around the corner, followed by Wimbledon and then Paris 2024, this summer’s bumper sports schedule offers brands multiple ways to reach and engage with the UK’s army of fans.

As England and Scotland head to Germany, Ocean will broadcast highlights of the UEFA group stage matches in partnership with our partners ITV. Forty second clips will run across all 50 of our full motion screens for a 28 day period (14 June – 14 July).

The Wimbledon Experience

For the fourth year, Ocean Labs will be hosting official viewing zones for Wimbledon (1-14 July), with a full partner activation at Battersea Power Station in London for the duration of the Championships. Selected tennis highlights will also be shown in 13 UK cities

Here’s a reminder of what Ocean served up last year as a long term OOH partner of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Official Paris 2024 fan zones

Curated Olympics and Paralympics viewing zones will be presented across various UK cities. Hosted for the duration of the Paris 2024 period, these will deliver an estimated footfall of one million.

Content for the Olympics, Paralympics and Wimbledon will be presented in partnership with Discovery+ and the BBC. The combined OOH audience across all three global sports events is forecast to deliver more than 20 million impacts, presenting a superb opportunity for sponsors and partners to reach sports enthusiasts outside of linear TV or streaming services.

Understanding fandom

To understand fans’ expectations and what they expect of the official brand sponsors, Ocean asked it’s @TheLocal consumer panel how they are preparing for Paris 2024.

• With 77% of respondents having previously watched the Olympics and Paralympics, 44% say they are eagerly awaiting Paris 2024.
• Top reasons to look forward to the Olympics and Paralympic Games are: seeing well-known athletes; being part of the atmosphere; or being able to be there because it’s close to the UK.
• Top five things respondents would like the fan zones to deliver: taking in the atmosphere; seeing the sport on the big screen; socialising with friends and family; purchasing food and drink; and visiting official Olympic and Paralympic partner stands for giveaways and discounts.
• 22% of respondents say they would attend an Olympics or Paralympics fan zone in the UK during the Paris 2024 period.
• 21% say they are likely to feel positively towards a brand if they had an affiliation with the Olympic or Paralympic Games.

(source: @TheLocal November 2023, sample size 2000 people)

Fortune favours the brave

While media attention is largely focused around the “on-air” sports experience, out of home offers brands a magnificent opportunity to creatively break through with their “ground” game  – at scale.

What’s possible is admirably demonstrated by the brands embracing this year’s Super Bowl which saw PepsiCo turn the Las Vegas sphere into a Cherry and Frito-Lay transform the Luxor Hotel & Casino into a giant Dorito.

As an experienced all screen media provider, and through our Team GB, ParalympicsGB, Wimbledon and broadcast partnerships, Ocean can help official rights holders activate limitless opportunities by offering them irreplicable backdrops to tell their stories.

And as the Super Bowl shows, a little imagination goes an exceptionally long way.